Heather Valentine '86

Grand Valley State University holds a special place in alumnae Heather Valentine’s heart. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration in 1986 and is now the Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Product Management at Pilgrim Software, Inc. Grand Valley provided Valentine with many great opportunities and she shows her appreciation by giving back.

“I’ve been working in the healthcare information technology industry for a long time now, so it really made sense for me to focus on the Wesorick Center because of my background and interest in the healthcare field,” Valentine said. “Being a part of that was very important to me.”

Valentine made a generous gift to the Bonnie Wesorick Center for Healthcare Transformation, a center that will provide scholarly leadership that unites healers in the research and implementation work essential to transforming practice at the point of care. Gifts to the Wesorick Center provide perpetual income that will support the center for years to come.

“I’m not living in Michigan, but I still want to contribute in a meaningful way because Grand Valley was such a big part of the foundation of my success. I firmly believe that without my start at Grand Valley, I would not have achieved as much as I have.”

Valentine has also kept Grand Valley in mind when considering her long-term giving. She has also bequested a gift to the Wesorick Center in her will/estate plans.

“When developing my philanthropic plan, I thought about the most important things in my life,” she said. “Grand Valley was certainly near the top of the list because it really helped shape a large part of why I’m successful today.”