Grace volunteered to take the minutes at the first gathering of Marketplace Women’s Board in 2000 and she has continued to serve as the organization’s secretary since then with the duties of Editor of MPW’s Newsletter being added in 2003. Building on the dynamic writing of Helen Steinkamp, Grace recently created MPW’s first full-color brochure.
Some of Grace’s fondest memories occurred in her freshman year at Spring Arbor University where she met her future husband, Ron, and sang bass in a ladies quartet representing the college at Christian gatherings in several Midwestern states. She worked full-time as an Executive Secretary to put her husband through his last two years of college, seminary, and graduate school; and then earned her BA in Business Administration from the University of Michigan in 1975, and her MS in Administration from Central Michigan University in 1979. She was the Finance Director of a health maintenance organization in Michigan and transferred to California with her husband and two sons in 1980 where she also taught part-time at UC-Riverside and discovered she loved teaching. After eight years of teaching Business and Accounting full-time at Cal State University – San Bernardino, Grace joined Riverside Community College as Department Chair and Professor of Business, Accounting, and Computer Information Systems in 1990. Since her recent retirement from teaching, she began serving MPW in July, 2005, as Chairman and is committed to this ministry of encouragement for Christian women in the marketplace.
Along with her husband, Grace has been active in Christian education ministry to children and adults in churches in Michigan and California for over thirty years. They currently enjoy singing tenor together in their church choir in San Clemente. Retirement is providing her with more time to enjoy her family (two married sons, daughters-in-law, and six grandchildren), and traveling with her husband. One of her favorite hobbies is creating greeting cards, “Grace Note Originals,” using her own digital photographs and publishing software.
Grace is an encourager that delights in serving God along side other women and views herself still growing and learning to integrate her personal, professional and spiritual life as we discover our full potential together in Christ. Her lifelong Bible verse is I Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” She has learned through many experiences that she can trust God every day in every way. She gratefully acknowledges the strong foundation provided by other MPW servant leaders and knows that much can be accomplished as we work together united in love and prayer support for each other.
