Grace Marestaing has been part of Marketplace Women since it’s founding in 1999. She, along with the founding committee, saw the need for an organization which would address some of the needs and issues facing women in the marketplace from a Christian worldview. Along the way she served as the first editor of the MPW Newsletter together with then chair and executive editor, Helen Steinkamp. She has headed up planning committees for the Christmas Tea, and two Marketplace Women retreats. She has served on the board as Director of Spiritual Development and continues in that capacity along with the responsibilities of leading the board as the current chair.
Marketplace women typically wear many hats, and Grace Marestaing is not an exception to this. She has had and continues to have a multi-track career in education, arts and ministry. Her academic training is in Music and includes B.M. and M.A. degrees from California State University, Fullerton and completion of Ph.D. courses at the University of Southern California, where she taught for a period of time. She is currently staff accompanist and on the part-time faculty of Santiago Canyon College in Orange, CA, and also teaches private students of all ages and stages.
She has a long career as a professional accompanist working with choirs, ensembles, and soloists. “I love all of styles of music from classical to contemporary worship music and getting to make music together with other people is a kick. It brings me so much joy and I’m so grateful to be able to do it.” That collaborative music making has allowed her to work with wonderful conductors and musicians and she has had opportunities to perform in Europe and, as accompanist for the California Master Chorale, in New York’s Carnegie Hall.
On the ministry side she has been a church musician since the age of 16, and is currently on the Music and Worship staff of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. Grace has served on the creative staffs of several churches including the position of Fine Arts Director at Coast Hills Community Church in Aliso Viejo, and earlier in her career the creative team and music staff of the First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton during the time that Chuck Swindoll was the senior pastor.
In this ministry/creative part of her career she has served not only as a musician but also with her skills for producing events, leading creative teams, as well as her writing. She has produced full staged musicals, including premiers for Christian publishing companies such as Maranatha! Music and Word Music, as well as writing scripts and narrations for publishers and special services and concerts. She worked in the Christian publishing area serving as print music director for Maranatha! Music.
Grace also has a high commitment to serving the community through volunteer activities. One of the key ones has been and continues to be Marketplace Women. However, a few years ago a battle with breast cancer broadened this part of her life and has since allowed her unique opportunities to minister to people on the cancer journey, in particular women. The experience brought greater depth, and as she says, “gifts that I would never have discovered and people that I would never have met.” Through this experience she became a patient rep with the Breast Care and Oncology Center of Orange where she has worked as part of the support team with the medical staff for patients that were newly diagnosed. She continues to serve there as a phone support rep. She also currently serves on the advisory board of the Cordelia Knott Center for Wellness, a cancer wellness foundation, and has helped produce their annual fall fundraiser for the last 4 years.
Among Grace’s passions are living with a sense of God’s purpose and direction, creative expression, and communicating encouragement. She also enjoys cooking, writing poetry and walking, especially around the community of Corona Del Mar where she lives.
