Jody Opheim
Director of Development, Eastern Region

Jody Opheim grew up in a small rural town in Missouri and she and her family currently live in Garfield, WA. Her professional experience includes 20 years in higher education fundraising and management, including partnership and project development, working with volunteer boards, proposal writing, and grant administration. She transitioned to rural development in 2020 and assists rural communities and counties with a wide range of issues. She especially enjoys developing collaborative projects and proposals for corporate, foundation, and government funding. She was the founding manager for the WSU Energy Systems Innovation Center and the WSU-PNNL Advanced Grid Institute, and founded and managed a STEM-based nonprofit tinkering center in Moscow, ID. She has developed grants funded by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, the National Science Foundation, WA Department of Commerce, and WA Public Works Board, as well as numerous successful corporate and foundation proposals. Jody has held several volunteer board positions with Palouse area nonprofits and enjoys volunteering her time to help raise funds for the Whitman County Libraries and food pantries throughout the county. She earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Missouri-Columbia and enjoys reading, gardening, traveling, and serving as crew chief for Opheim Motorsports Group.