Board of Directors
PRWA's working board is comprised of individuals with diverse interests and experience in rural development issues.
Kim Herman
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Kim Herman has served as the Executive Director of the Washington State Housing Finance Commission since being appointed in 1984.
Mr. Herman is a native of Washington State and has served as a member of the Commission, as Washington Project Director of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Rural Assistance Initiative Program, as Executive Director of the Housing Authority of the City of Yakima, and as Manager of Single-Family Housing for the Portland Development Commission. From 1988 through 2010 Mr. Herman served on the Board of Directors of the National Council of State Housing Agencies and served as President of the Council from 2006-2008. In 2012 Mr. Herman was re-elected to the board of NCSHA for a two year term and also served a one-year term on the Executive Committee through 2013. From 2008 through 2011, Mr. Herman served on the board of the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition. Most recently Mr. Herman served on the boards of The Housing Partnership, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Sound Families Steering Committee, and the Greater Seattle YMCA Public Policy Committee. Mr. Herman was a founding member of the WA Low Income Housing Congress/WA Low Income Housing Alliance and served on the Board from 1988 to 2013. Mr. Herman continues to serve on the Boards of Impact Capital, the National Rural Housing Coalition and Friends of the Dominican Republic. He is also a member of the Governor’s Affordable Housing Advisory Board and the Washington State Department of Commerce Bond Cap Advisory Group. Also in 2012, Mr. Herman served on the Attorney General’s Blue Ribbon Consumer Foreclosure Remedies Fund Committee to determine how to use the proceeds of the national bank settlement in Washington. Mr. Herman is a Graduate of Washington State University (B.A. 1967). |
Lael Duncan
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Lael Duncan is a Seattle native who transplanted to rural Okanogan County in 1987 after attending the University of Washington and pursuing careers in Insurance, Real Estate, and Real Estate Lending. Upon moving to Okanogan County, she developed a small organic farm and published books while working on fundraising for Share our Strength – a national Hunger Relief organization best known for the No Kid Hungry program. Duncan has served as the Executive Director of Okanogan County Community Action Council since 2002. She has also served on over 15 different Boards including the local Critical Access hospital(as a commissioner), domestic violence, local Economic Development Council, North Central Washington Business Loan Fund, Washington Small Business Development centers, Washington state Homeless Coalition, Washington State Community Action Partnership, and more. She has also served as President of 9 of the boards. Duncan has served on Senator Murray’s Rural Telecommunications committee, WSU’s Rural Bridges project, Congresswoman McMorris Rogers Advisory Committee, and was appointed by Governor Inslee to chair his State Advisory Council on Homelessness. Duncan credits her parents – a couple of creative rabble rousers - for teaching her to see the possibilities of people and places that can exceed their current circumstances. “My deep appreciation of our traditional economies and the way of life possible because of them, has spurred a vision for my county/community/region - that is attainable and will benefit the entire economy of the state and most importantly – our residents - when it comes to fruition” she says.
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Andrea Alexander |
Andrea Alexander (Makah) serves as the Tribal Outreach Coordinator for OneNet WA and Co-Chair for the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Energy & Technology Committee. Andrea served as the Deputy Director for the Washington State Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs, Director of Grants and Program for Social Justice Fund Northwest, Executive Director for the Makah Nation, Executive Director of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians and First Nations Financial Project. In her role as one of the early founders of the Potlatch Fund, she has also served with key philanthropic networks including: Philanthropy Northwest, Council on Foundations and the Regional Association of Grantmakers to help increase giving in communities of color. She attended the University of Colorado Business School in Boulder, Colorado and the Entrepreneurship Program at Peninsula College in Port Angeles, WA. As a sales trainer for the family business: Franklin Institute of Sales, she went on to gain corporate marketing experience with IBM, Nordstrom and major radio stations in Seattle. She enjoys attending the Intertribal Canoe Journey and supporting northwest native artists in their pursuit of financial self- sufficiency.
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Stephen Dunk |
Stephen Dunk works for the Washington State Department of Commerce as the Community Outreach Program Manager. The Outreach Program is charged with creating a presence and on-going relationship with rural, disadvantaged communities, throughout Washington State. Stephen has been working for the Department of Commerce since 2007. Prior to Community Outreach, Stephen worked for the Public Works Board as a Regional Services Coordinator helping local governments build and retain local capacity, coordinating with state, federal and local funders to assist in financing critical infrastructure needs.
From 2001 to 2007 Stephen worked for the Skokomish Indian Tribe as the Manager for Housing & Infrastructure Development. He has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Colorado. Stephen was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay, South America and has a passion for travel, culture, rural communities and local government. |
Jon Devaney |
Jon DeVaney has served as the President of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association since September of 2014, when the Association was established through the merger of four existing tree fruit industry organizations. In this capacity he oversees the Association’s industry education, data collection and reporting, and state and local government relations activities on behalf of the growers, packers and shippers of the state’s apple, pear and cherry growers.
Prior to this merger, he was the Executive Director of the Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association from November of 2009. Jon has an extensive background in agricultural policy and politics, having previously served as a long-time staff member for Congressman Doc Hastings (WA-4), as Washington State Director of USDA Rural Development (2005-2009) and on the staff of the Northwest Horticultural Council. Jon also serves on the boards of the Office of Rural and Farmworker Housing, the National Council of Agricultural Employers, and the Association of Washington Business. He received a B.A. from the University of Washington and an M.A. from Georgetown University. Jon resides in Yakima with his wife and two sons. |
Tuana Jones |
Tuana Jones Tuana Jones is the Assistant State Director for USDA Rural Development in Washington State. She oversees the administrative functions in the state such as budget, management controls, contracting, and human resources. She supervises the agency’s leadership team in the state. She also supports the State Director as needed in policy, process improvement, outreach and other functions. She was the Acting State Director in absence of a director for the period of January-November 2017.
Ms. Jones has 39 years of experience with USDA Rural Development and predecessor agencies. She has served in a variety of positions such as overseeing a large single family housing office, serving as the Area Director for northwest Washington, and most recently as the Business & Cooperative Programs Director. Tuana has a strong commitment to Rural Development’s mission to provide technical and financial assistance to rural communities to improve the quality of life and economic opportunities for those residents. |
Jeff McMorris |
Jeff McMorris is the Regional Administrator for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Region X which covers Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. In a typical fiscal year, HUD brings about $1.5 billion in resources to the region’s state and local governments, Tribes and Native villages, and public housing authorities.
Prior to his role at HUD, Jeff served for 12 years as Chief of Staff for King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert. He was the Councilmember’s senior budget advisor, managed the office’s policy analysis and communications, and served as her liaison to local governments and community stakeholders in the Puget Sound region. An avid world traveler, Jeff has spent time in over 40 countries. He taught math and computer science in Guam, studied Spanish in Guatemala, and worked at the U.S. Embassy in San José, Costa Rica while completing his study abroad at INCAE Business School as part of his International MBA program. In 2002, Jeff received his MBA from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California and graduated in 1993 with a BS in Business Administration from Pensacola Christian College in Pensacola, Florida. Involved in his local community, Jeff has volunteered as a Big Brother and with Habitat for Humanity. Jeff and his wife Sarah live in Issaquah, WA with their four children. |
Craig
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Craig Muska founded and served as president of Canopy, a new model for strengthening local communities and promoting economic development by developing a pipeline of scalable, regionally-focused investment opportunities. Canopy was created to develop a place where community leaders, regional stakeholders and investors all have a seat at the table and connect its members to new opportunities that wouldn’t be otherwise possible. As president, Craig played a key role in the development and launch of Canopy and collaborated with a diverse group of community-focused leaders, public sector stakeholders, universities, and place-based foundations to craft Canopy into an innovative model for regional investcapital formation and rural economic development.
Craig brings over 20 years of investment expertise and is a nationally recognized expert in the field of impact investing. Prior to founding Canopy, Craig served as Director of Investments for Threshold Group’s Foundation Services, where he launched and developed the firm’s impact investing strategy across their client base. He has worked with leading private foundations, institutional investors and asset managers to develop impact aligned investment strategies and collaborations. Craig was also managing director at IW Financial, an investment research and consulting firm that integrates environmental, social and governance data into institutional investment frameworks. He brings a diverse background from his strategy and investment roles at Envestnet Asset Management, Credit Suisse HOLT, and Nuveen Investments. Craig earned a BA in finance from Northern Illinois University and a MS in public administration from the University of Illinois, Chicago. |
Jacqueline Barton True |
Jacqueline Barton True is the Director of Rural Health Programs for the Washington State Hospital Association. She works on a variety of policy and regulatory issues impacting rural hospitals, with an emphasis on delivery system reform and the transition to value based methodologies. A major focus is the Healthier Washington Initiative, through which Jacqueline partners with the Washington State Health Care Authority and the State Department of Health to build a sustainable path forward for rural health systems via the Washington Rural Health Access Preservation (WRHAP) Initiative. She with rural hospitals and communities to promote better health and a better health care system for all Washington communities.
Jacqueline joined WSHA three years ago. Prior to WSHA, Jacqueline worked in the office of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Originally from Cincinnati, she holds a Masters of Social Work and a Masters of Public Health from the University of Washington. |