Tanis for Congress

I was raised in Holland, Michigan, graduating from Holland High School (1983) and Hope College (1987). While a student at Hope, I also served as the Second Ward City Councilman, leading the transformation of historic Centennial Park.

Immediately after graduating from Hope, I was elected Holland’s youngest mayor. My tenure was marked by the renovation of Holland’s downtown, including the installation of the snowmelt system.

Shortly after receiving a master’s degree in mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1992) I worked for the International Republican Institute as a resident program officer in Sofia, Bulgaria, assisting the post-Soviet Bulgarians develop democratic institutions in their towns and cities, as well as hold the first presidential primary in their history.

Subsequently, I served for 16 years on the communications and operations staff of the Reformed Church in America, living in Holland and working in Grand Rapids, and then for a decade as an executive in those same areas for the World Communion of Reformed Churches, based in Hannover, Germany.

I am currently the director of the Van Raalte Institute at Hope College, as well as the editor-in-chief of Van Raalte Press. I serve as the board treasurer of Al Amana Centre, a mission of the Reformed Church in America that fosters peace and reconciliation through interfaith dialogue and experiences in Oman. I am a board member of Holland’s historic Park Theatre which provides entertainment and culture while empowering local artists.

My wife of 24 years is a senior pastor at Hope Church in Holland, and we have two children, attending Hope and Holland High.