DALLAS, TEXAS (March 3, 2022) – The largest family violence service agency in Texas, The
Family Place, is anticipating the return of its annual spring fundraiser, ReuNight. The night to
remember will fall on Thursday, May 12, at the Nasher Sculpture Center Garden. This year’s
ReuNight theme will be An Evening in Provence. Each year, the limited number of guests who
attend ReuNight enjoy an exclusive dinner and live auction fundraiser benefiting the impactful
work of The Family Place with family violence intervention and prevention.
At this year’s event, 175 patrons will be seated at outdoor tables under the sparkling stars in
the Sculpture Gardens of the Nasher Sculpture Center, nestled among works of art by modern
masters. Respected leaders and philanthropists across North Texas fill the guest list each year
and enjoy an unforgettable evening.
ReuNight 2022 is led by three cochairs, all of whom are esteemed Dallas community
members—Marisa Howard, Roni Proter Kelly and Max Trowbridge—who share anticipatory
excitement for the memorable and meaningful event.
“We are so grateful for our esteemed co-chairs who are planning a fabulous fundraiser for The
Family Place,” said Mimi Sterling, CEO of The Family Place. “I’m looking forward to enjoying this
fantastic evening and meeting so many new friends who are helping us create bright futures for
survivors of family violence!”
Marisa Howard is a children’s book author who lives in Dallas with her husband and two
daughters. With a penchant for poetry and years of experience with aesthetics, she creates
vibrant stories based on travel and adventure that illuminate the special bonds of sisterhood in
her books, the Sissies Adventure Series. In her main role as director of communications and
media at GeneIQ, a molecular diagnostics company headquartered in Dallas, Marisa focuses on
all aspects of marketing and design. She has committed the past two years to providing
pandemic relief efforts in the community through the company’s RT-PCR test offering and other
COVID-19-related services. Marisa graduated with an arts degree from the University of Texas,
and later signed with the Campbell Agency and unexpectedly rode a decade-long career as a
model in the fashion industry. Throughout her continued involvement with The Family Place,
Marisa cochaired the Texas Trailblazer Awards Luncheon in 2019 with guest speaker Laura
Linney.
Roni Proter Kelly is an award-winning Dallas-based journalist, television personality and chef
who created her company, Dinner Reinvented, after realizing the challenges she faced when
cooking dinner as a full-time working mother to her two boys. As a regular contributor on
morning shows across Texas and television outlets nationwide, her online videos help tackle the
most challenging meal of the day so families can cook together and reconnect around the
dinner table. Roni graduated from Texas State University with a journalism and
communications degree and worked for a decade as a television reporter covering news,
lifestyle and entertainment before attending culinary school at El Centro College. She returned
to television to combine both of her passions, cooking and video, sharing approachable recipes
for dinner and creative uses for leftovers to reduce food waste and utilize all the food we keep
in our kitchen from the pantry to the freezer.
Max Trowbridge is the founder of womenswear brand Eve & Max and the cofounder of
Artrinity, a collective of contemporary art projects. She is a longtime supporter of The Family
Place and served as honorary chair for Partners Card in 2018. Arriving in Dallas in 2003 via
Miami Beach, Palm Beach and London, Max graduated from the London College of Fashion and
began her career as a designer in London. As the former editor-in-chief and group director of
PaperCity Magazine Dallas, and the founder of PinkMemo.com, Max has spent more than 25
years working within fashion, media, art and lifestyle businesses, in addition to supporting local
nonprofits in fundraisers.
The ReuNight fundraising evening will consist of a four-course, coastal French-themed dinner
provided by Wolfgang Puck Catering and a luxury live auction to follow. Guests will enjoy a
night of entertainment, elite service, and devotion to an excellent cause.
Sponsorships for the event begin at $5,000 and are named after various Provençal areas.
Individual tickets start at $1,500 and will be available after April 1. Guest count is limited.
To register for the event or to be a sponsor please click here or contact
ReuNight@familyplace.org or 214.443.7770.
ABOUT THE FAMILY PLACE:
In 1978 a group of community volunteers organized The Family Place as one of the first family
violence shelters in the state. Today The Family Place is the largest family violence service
provider in Texas, with three emergency shelters providing 177 shelter beds each night,
including the state’s only shelter for men and children, and three counseling centers. We served
9,466 clients last year providing 65,630 days of emergency shelter, 21,036 days of transitional
housing, 22,717 hours of counseling to nonresidential clients, and 10,465 hours of counseling to
batterers. All our services are provided in Spanish and in English. For more information on The
Family Place call 214.559.2170 or visit familyplace.org.