Board Members

Our dedicated board drives forward our Center for Rural Affairs mission and values. Members meet quarterly and regularly provide support to staff.

About the Boards

Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors consists of between 12 and 24 members that govern the Center. Members of the board serve staggered three-year terms. The board determines policy and overall direction of the organization at quarterly meetings.

An executive committee consisting of the president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and two members elected by the board meets in conjunction with regular board meetings. In addition, the board establishes oversight committees to counsel staff on the implementation of the Center’s various programs.

About one-half of the board is farmers or ranchers. Others are small town business and working people including a small number of urban members with a strong interest in rural improvement. The board is self-selecting, and has made it a policy to provide the organization with a broad leadership base. Accordingly, it has recruited men and women from all regions of the state and people with diverse occupational backgrounds and personal perspectives.

The board has been conscious of the need to provide both continuity and new insight, and thus the bylaws require at least one new director be added annually. Director Emeritus status was established in 1990. We have three Emeritus directors at present.

The board plays an active role in the development of Center programs. Each board member serves on one of three program advisory committees that provide quarterly oversight of program activities and guide the annual planning process. Directors also serve on at least one of the institutional committees that discuss finance, nominations, media and communications, development, engagement, and constituency building.

Advisory Committee

Center for Rural Affairs Advisory Committee members are recruited for their special backgrounds and insight into our program areas. They meet quarterly with the Board of Directors and Center staff.

Center for Rural Affairs Community Capital

Center for Rural Affairs Community Capital is a subsidiary of the Center for Rural Affairs. Center for Rural Affairs Community Capital is a certified Community Development Financial Institution, or CDFI, dedicated to serving low-income individuals and communities that lack access to financial services from mainstream financial institutions. CDFIs offer loans for small and micro-sized businesses and provide services such as business planning and one-on-one counseling.

Center for Rural Affairs Community Capital Board of Directors, all volunteers, are chosen by the Center for Rural Affairs Board of Directors. Thus, the Center has full authority over Center for Rural Affairs Community Capital.

Granary Foundation Board

The Granary Foundation was created by the Center for Rural Affairs to serve the financial needs of the Center. It is a "support corporation," with the sole purpose of benefiting the Center for Rural Affairs.

The Granary Board of Directors has fiduciary responsibility for the Granary Endowment Fund. The Board of Directors, all volunteers, are chosen by the Center for Rural Affairs' Board of Directors. Thus, the Center has full authority over the Granary Foundation.

Dennis Demmel

Ogallala, Nebraska

Being with everyone on the Board and discussing the various issues is invigorating. My wife always says I come home from meetings with enthusiasm. The Board is like family.

Jane Yule

Bloomfield, Nebraska

Over the years, I have worked in different areas of the medical field as nurse practitioner, including positions in home health care, care centers, hospitals, as a traveling nurse, EMT, and more. I planned to retire when my husband retired from farming, but ended up working for the local health department during the pandemic.

Barbara Dilly

Shell Rock, Iowa

The time I have lived and worked in rural communities convinces me that these people are well worth the effort and talent the Center devotes to their lives.

Chuck Karpf

Omaha, Nebraska

As a small-town bank manager early in my career, I found the Center’s rural community development programs to be impressive and spent time learning about the organization and getting to know the staff.

Krista Dittman

Valparaiso, Nebraska

My first service was on the Advisory Committee. I remember leaving those meetings excited about how the Center was making an impact in so many areas. I have also helped with the process of reorganizing and updating many of the Center practices to best position the organization for further growth and sustained impact in all of its focus areas.

Leverne Barrett

Ceresco, Nebraska

All my life, I have been engaged in rural community development, and to be part of an organization whose sole mission is to lift up and enable citizens and communities to thrive is dear to my heart.

Melissa Florell

Kearney, Nebraska

The Center is helping small family farms be competitive and rural communities be a viable part of the conversation. Their work has always maintained focus on rural economic development and small business entrepreneurship.

Greg Fripp

Papillion, Nebraska

Greg is founder and executive director of Whispering Roots, a nonprofit that provides fresh, locally grown, healthy food for socially and economically disadvantaged communities.

Jay Hall

Red Cloud, Nebraska

After retiring from a career in education that took me all around the world, then settling in Red Cloud, Nebraska, I found the Center for Rural Affairs through a good friend.

Ross Larson

Wahoo, Nebraska

I have a particular fondness for the impact of the Center’s ability to offer business and residential loans to underserved rural, immigrant, and Native American people. Our target market is different from a typical bank, but our goal is the same.

Nancy Meyer

Cedar Bluffs, Nebraska

Since learning about the Center’s mission, I’ve been a full supporter, and I am grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to serve on the Board of a nonprofit that truly cares for the future of rural America since March 2020.

Karina Perez

Columbus, Nebraska

To me, the mission of the Center means that our rural communities are moving forward—taking the lead, with guidance from the Center, on the values that mean most to them.

Amy Sandeen

Hastings, Nebraska

Amy Sandeen is a member of the Board of Directors.

Paul Swanson

Hastings, Nebraska

My relationship with the Center started when I attended a Center-sponsored event in Hastings, Nebraska, where I live. That chance meeting led to joining the Board in 1995, and proudly serving since.

Steele Valenzuela

Decatur, Nebraska

When I was a teenager, my school’s guidance counselor referred me to the Center for Rural Affairs...

Gary Peterson

Pacific Grove, California

Gary Peterson is president of the Granary Board.

Mark Gustafson

Mead, Nebraska

Mark Gustafson is secretary/treasurer of the Granary Board.

Becky Gould

Lincoln, Nebraska

Becky Gould is a member of the Granary Board.

Audrey Lutz Musilek

Grand Island

Audrey is a member of the Granary Board, joining in 2024.

Don Reeves

Oberlin, Ohio

Don Reeves is a director emeritus of the Board of Directors and is a member of the Granary Board.

Rachel Liester

Stanton, Nebraska

Rachel is the owner/operator of Red Road Herbs Retreat & Learning Center in rural Stanton County...

Tessa Avery

Niobrara, Nebraska

Tessa is a member of the Center for Rural Affairs Advisory Committee.

Tina Biteghe Bi Ndong

West Point, Nebraska

Tina is a member of the Center for Rural Affairs Advisory Committee.

Sara Gomez

Grand Island, Nebraska

Sarah is a member of the Center for Rural Affairs Advisory Committee. She was named to the Advisory...

Amanda McKinney

Beatrice, Nebraska

I hope more young people will develop an interest in the work and help the Center continue to grow, expanding its visibility and providing more opportunities to more people.

Charles Shapiro

Omaha, Nebraska

I consider myself an “agricultural scientist,” so, in 1975, I came to Nebraska from New York because this was where there was a lot of agriculture.

Lee Tesdell

Slater, Iowa

My background in education spans over four decades, mostly teaching English language. I started out teaching in Amman, Jordan, in 1977, taught later at a university in Saudi Arabia, and at Grand View College, in Des Moines, Iowa. In 1999, I completed my Ph.D. at Iowa State University.

Amy Thelander

Grant, Nebraska

Amy is the executive director of Southwest Nebraska Community Betterment Corporation, providing...