Mercedes Bartolomei Penner
Born and raised in California, Mercedes now splits her time between La Jolla, CA and Dallas, TX. She is a Design Institute, San Diego graduate with an MFA in Interior Design and Architecture. She is still the president of MB Design but currently, Mercedes is also the Chief Administrative Officer at Fireside Capital Advisors, a registered investment advisory firm, in Dallas, Texas. She is passionate about helping those in need, especially children, the underserved military men and women, and animals. Her volunteer and committee experience has been with St. Germaine’s Children Charity, Marine Corps Heritage Foundation and Operation Kindness, a no-kill animal shelter in Dallas, Texas. She has a great appreciation for the military and is a proud sponsor of the PROUD Foundation.
Monica Reynolds
Monica was raised in Northern Minnesota and is the 3rd eldest of 8 children. She has been Married to Shaugnessy Reynolds (USMC Col Ret.) for 32 years. They have 3 adult children and reside in Poway. Monica has devoted the majority of her free time to volunteer work most recently at her church managing the gift shop (5 years) and with Rady Children’s Hospital as an auxiliary member. She has chaired or been on the committee of several large fundraising events which have each raised a hundred thousand dollars or more. As a Marine wife she was active in the spouses club and has always taken on leadership roles wherever they were stationed. She has a great appreciation for the military and it’s profound sacrifice and is eager to support the PROUD Foundation and their cause.
Major Staci Reidinger, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
A Southern Louisiana native, Staci is a 24-year U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran. She is President of Reidinger Public Relations and is an active philanthropist offering support to nonprofits assisting military veterans, individuals and families experiencing homelessness and at-risk youth. Staci also serves as HomeAid San Diego’s Board Past President and Public Relations Society of America’s National Voices 4 Everyone Committee Co-Chair. Her military service included deployments in Afghanistan, Kuwait, the Republic of the Philippines, Japan and Australia. After retiring from military service in 2017, Staci joined UPS as The UPS Store's Director of Public Relations and Social Media Marketing supporting over 5,000 franchise locations across North America. She also served as Team Rubicon’s Southern CA Communication Director in 2019 and in 2020 Co-Founded the San Diego Business & Nonprofit Crisis Support Network during the surge of COVID-19. Staci and her husband Bradford Lackey reside in Poway, California, have two beautiful daughters and are committed to helping improve the lives of people in need around the world. #dowhatyoucan
Cathe Robling
Victoria Rodriguez
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Victoria immigrated to the United States as a young child. After her mother re-married to an Army Officer, Victoria grew up near various Army bases across America, finally settling in Colorado. She attended Colorado State University, studying Business Management and Biomedical Sciences. Professionally, she works in Clinical Research as an Operations/Project Manager. Victoria and her husband Scott, who is now retired from the Navy after 22 years of service, enjoy spending time with their furbaby and sailing. Volunteering has been a part of Victoria's life since high school, and she continues her volunteer work by supporting the military community. Since 2014, Victoria has committed to volunteer work with the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society as a Case Worker and Budget for Babies Instructor, and was even employed as a Relief Services Assistant for a time. Being a proud Navy spouse, Victoria is committed to using her background and experiences to contribute to the P.R.O.U.D. Foundation
Allana Meyer
Allana Meyer is a Chicago native, but also spent ten recent years in Columbus Ohio. She finished her career in building material sales, working for Masco Corporation, after being a software trainer for the State of Ohio and Weight Watchers Intl. She and her husband, Robert, are recent transplants to the San Diego area relocating in 2019. Seeking new volunteer opportunities, she assisted PROUD at the 2020 golf outing, and it was then she knew she would like to become more involved in serving within this worthwhile organization providing needed support to our troops. She has previously enjoyed involvement on the Associate Member Boards of Cincinnati Home Builders Association and NARI (National Assn of Remodelers Industry) serving in both their Dayton OH and Chicago IL chapters. She was awarded Dayton NARI’s Member of the Year Award in 2009. She spends time volunteering with the 4 Community Care food pantry since being in San Diego as well as her church.
