Our Board of Directors

Heather Roden
​​​President
Heather has over 20 years of experience in event planning for small and large-scale events and travel. She is the Event and Travel Specialist for Haworth Inc. and assists with operations at Juniper LLC. This family-owned business works to help people with physical and mental limitations find employment. A Hope College graduate who loves to volunteer, she proudly won a peer-nominated award from an international organization for volunteerism. She feels accomplished when she can check things off a list and thrives on organizing anything and everything. She lives in a self-restored 100-year-old home with her husband, three of her four children, and two dogs. She enjoys plants and gardening, traveling the US, and date nights with her husband searching for the perfect brew.

Dean Achterhof
Vice President
Dean is the current Board Vice President and is a retired engineer with an artistic flair for ceramics. He is an enthusiastic bicyclist, a religious exerciser, and an avid gardener who takes delight in his lawn and landscaping. Born in Wisconsin on a dairy farm, he is an avid reader of fiction, fantasy, science, and current events. Dean, a longtime Arts Council volunteer and arts supporter can regularly be found in the galleries helping hang new exhibits. Dean is a Holland native and West Ottawa High School alum. He graduated from Aquinas College with a bachelor's in Business Administration.
Denise Nestel 
​​​Secretary
Denise is the current Board President. A firm believer in the power of collaboration, Denise practiced construction law for 20+ years, receiving her Juris Doctorate from the University of Houston law school before retiring and relocating to Holland. She also volunteers as a facilitative mediator for general and domestic civil issues, including divorce and parenting agreements. Denise is a student of animal communication and animal reiki, conducting two pilot projects to provide professional animal communication services to shelter animals to improve the animals’ well-being while in the shelter and optimize their foster/adoption placements. She is the founder of Giving Animals Voice, a non-profit created to make animal communication widely available to shelter animals.

Cheryl Bell 
Cheryl has a lifelong career in graphic design—most recently as a principal with Fairly Painless, an award-winning creative shop here in Holland for 25+ years. As a boutique agency of idea makers, problem solvers and content generators for companies ranging from start up to Fortune 500, Cheryl is equally comfortable in the traditional and digital worlds, designing and overseeing the development of brand builds, websites, multi-platform videos, packaging and collateral. Fairly Painless became a Lambert company in 2019, where she continues to lead design for legacy clients. Her most recent project outside of work was designing and building an ultra-modern concrete and glass house, which she shares with her partner, an architect, and their cats Claude & Gigi. 
Maggie Bandstra
Bio coming soon!

Ann Whitmore
Ann is a West Michigan artist who enjoys spending her time painting watercolors and attending watercolor workshops taught by acclaimed artists. She is a retired public school art educator from Huron Valley School district with a master’s in Art Education from Eastern Michigan University. Ann aspires to work with the Holland Area Arts Council Art Teachers curriculum development.​
John Diaz
John has enjoyed a life-long involvement in both visual and musical arts. He earned a BFA in ceramics from The University of New Mexico, and an MFA in sculpture from The University of Illinois at Chicago. John was creating and exhibiting his sculptures and teaching ceramics while building a nearly 40-year graphic design and marketing career as an art director and creative director in Chicago. After retiring to Holland 2 years ago, John has enjoyed becoming a part of the Holland community as he continues to create and teach ceramics at HAAC while serving as a board member.
Carol Vredeveld
Carol has been a part of the Arts Council since 2000, starting at the front desk, and now she manages the books and serves as the Interim Secretary for the board, using her analytical and business skills to help the organization succeed. She is a graduate of Calvin College and is currently working as a Senior Financial System Analyst for MillerKnoll with a strong emphasis on International Finance. She has supported the MillerKnoll Financials for the past 25 years. She is passionate about training and transferring her knowledge to the younger generations on her team. A self-described workaholic, Carol is originally from Fremont. She is a caregiver to her mom, loves her dog Bayley, and dreams of purchasing a cabin in Grand Lake, CO, to spend time with her sister and her family.