At the Catholic Foundation, we are blessed to work alongside passionate individuals who heard that call and said yes. Through their time, talents, prayer, and leadership, they live out their faith in action and help advance the mission of our Church in the community. We are proud to welcome our newest board members, Laura Brownfield and Edmundo Reyes.

Learn more about each new board member’s unique set of experiences and skills, and passion for building up the Church below. If God may be calling you to get involved, we’d love to hear from you. Take our short interest survey to explore ways to serve!

Laura Brownfield is a partner in Plunkett Cooney’s Bloomfield Hills office, leading the firm’s Trusts & Estates Practice Group.  Prior to joining Plunkett Cooney, Laura served as Vice President and General Counsel of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. Laura’s practice includes estate planning and administration, charitable planning, and nonprofit law.

Utilizing her in-house experience as the former general counsel of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Brownfield’s nonprofit law practice includes establishing tax-exempt organizations, providing strategic and practical business advice, ensuring compliance with federal and state laws and regulations, and navigating the intersection of business and law to protect the interests of nonprofits in carrying out their mission.

Brownfield’s trusts and estate practice includes working with clients to develop comprehensive plans for the management of assets during their lifetimes, the protection of their assets in the event of disability, and the tax-efficient transfer of their wealth during their lifetime and upon death. She also assists individuals and families with succession planning for closely held businesses and with implementing charitable giving plans to protect their financial interests and to ensure a meaningful personal legacy for her clients.

Laura first learned about the Foundation seven years ago when she was working in the nonprofit sector. Laura has shared insights with Foundation staff in navigating governance issues, charitable vehicles, and the evolving federal laws governing tax-exempt organizations and charitable giving. She looks forward to strengthening her relationship with the Foundation as a Board member.

As a graduate and a parent of graduates of Catholic elementary and high schools, Laura recognizes the critical role of Catholic education in developing the mind and heart of young people and as a complement to family and the Church. She is eager to serve on the Board to give back to the Catholic community that has been instrumental in preparing her and her children as persons of purpose, integrity, and faith.

Edmundo Reyes is the founder and director of Digital Continent, a media production and creative agency that partners with apostolates on digital evangelization projects. Edmundo lives in Dexter, Michigan, with his wife and youngest son—three other children are studying at the University of Michigan—and is a parishioner at St. Joseph. He brings to the board deep roots in the Catholic community of Southeast Michigan, where he has spent 11 years serving at the Archdiocese of Detroit through storytelling and media.

Edmundo’s connection to the Foundation goes back to its very beginning. “I was working at the Archdiocese of Detroit when the Catholic Foundation was founded. It has been a blessing and a joy to watch it grow,” he recalls.

What called him to say yes was the Foundation’s unique role as a connector. He is drawn to its capacity to help people across the community encounter the good the Church is doing and find a way to participate in it. For Edmundo, generosity is not merely a financial act; it is a witness. “When the Church comes together, it is one of the most inspiring witnesses we can give to the world,” he says.

As a board member, his hope is to bring his experience in storytelling and communication to amplify that witness. In a world that too often traffics in outrage and discouragement, he wants to surface stories where God’s presence is tangible—stories of hope from the people doing the quiet, faithful work in the trenches.

A favorite memory from his years at the Archdiocese stays with him: hearing Archbishop Emeritus Vigneron say, “If God thinks we have enough, then we have enough.” It is a reminder he carries into this new role—that God continues to provide for His Church, and that joining together, sharing resources and talents, and serving one another is how that provision takes shape. We all need each other.

Learn more about our Board of Directors