NEW BUFFALO — A regional organization will soon see a change in leadership.

The board of directors of The Pokagon Fund has announced that, effective June 7, Janet Cocciarelli will resign her position as the fund’s executive director.

In making the announcement, Board Chair Rob Gow lauded the dynamic leadership that Cocciarelli brought to The Pokagon Fund during her four-year tenure as executive director. The Pokagon Fund is a nonprofit private foundation located in New Buffalo. It is funded by revenue from The Four Winds Casino Resort. Grants are awarded to nonprofit and governmental organizations in Southwest Michigan, as well as Hartford and Dowagiac and South Bend. Since the organization’s inception in 2007, The Pokagon Fund has provided over $25 million in grant awards and scholarships to enhance the lives of the families in its service area.

“Janet has implemented with extraordinary vigor and vitality the Board’s strategic vision of the Fund as a leader in community development. She has worked closely with municipalities and charitable organizations to support education, assist those in need and enhance community vitality,” Gow said.

“It is with a very heavy heart that I resign from my position as Executive Director of The Pokagon Fund,” said Cocciarelli. “The past four years have been a love affair for me. I will sorely miss Harbor Country, the Fund Board and Staff and those municipal and community leaders who are so devoted to improving the quality of life of Harbor country’s residents. I will also miss the close relationship I have had with members of the Pokagon Band and the grantees I have worked with in Harbor Country, Dowagiac, Hartford and South Bend. However, after four years of commuting from Grand Rapids, I look forward to spending more time with my family.”

Gow stated that the Board deeply regrets Janet’s decision to resign but understands her decision to devote more time to her family in Grand Rapids.

“We wish her the very best with anything she chooses to do in the future,” he said.