Jody Opheim

Executive Director

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.  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.

Staci Nelson​

Director of Grant Services

Staci Nelson is a principal at Nelson Stevenson Consulting and has devoted her career to serving the non-profit community. With more than 25 years of experience, she is skilled in all facets of grants work from prospect research to proposal writing, budget development, program management, and follow-up reporting. She has worked successfully with small grassroots nonprofits, well-established community action agencies, educational institutions, and health care entities to secure funding that enables organizations to better fulfill their missions. Staci grew up on a farm and ranch in Montana, married into a farm family and has a long-held passion for maintaining the vitality of rural America.​