Boise

Dr. Barton Hill focuses on performance improvement, patient safety and quality, medical staff operations and standardization of care processes at St. Luke’s Health System.

He has been associated with St. Luke’s since 1993, and in in 1996, he co-founded Emergency Medicine of Idaho to provide emergency services to St. Luke’s. He was a practicing emergency physician until 2006.

Dr. Hill received a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Oregon, a doctorate of medicine from the University of Wisconsin and a master of public administration from Western Michigan University. He completed his residency and a fellowship at Butterworth Hospital, now Spectrum Health, in Michigan. He is a member of the Idaho Medical Association, and the American Association for Physician Leadership.

Lewiston

Pat Waller provides IT-focused consulting to Cambia Health Solutions for HIPAA, EDI, state and federal legislation including ACA, BCBSA mandates and general health insurance support with a focus on claims administration.

Pat holds a business administration degree from Lewis and Clark College and has been a member of the Red Cross disaster action team.

Boise

Nicholas Harris has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. He spent most of his career in the investment banking industry in New York, working as an analyst and institutional trader focused on Latin America. 

Nick earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.  He is an Idaho native and recently returned to his home state with his family. 

Nick was previously a volunteer and board member with Minds Matter of New York City, helping to mentor accomplished students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and preparing them for college success.

Meridian

Michael Mikitish is the clinical assistant professor and chair of the Emergency Services Department and director for the Institute of Emergency Management at Idaho State University. The department develops and administers degrees that support first-responder professions focusing on emergency management, fire services and emergency medical services. The institute trains community health workers across Idaho and conducts research in community disaster resiliency.

Mikitish holds a Master of Science in business administration from Boston University, a master’s in public administration from Boise State University, and a bachelor’s degree in public administration from the University of Arizona.

From 1982-2005, he served in the U.S. Army in a variety of positions, including Pershing missiles platoon commander and operations officer, field artillery battery commander, Combat Maneuver Training Center observer controller, field artillery instructor, battalion executive officer, division fire support coordinator, training support battalion commander and professor of military science.

Mikitish also owns an IT Cloud Service business with his son and provides Cloud and network services to businesses across the U.S. He currently serves as board member for the Idaho Simulation Network and is a member of the Ada County Community Paramedic Advisory Board.

Lewiston

A Lewiston native, Nathan Alford has led the daily news business and news operations for 12 years and assumed the editor and publisher responsibilities for the Lewiston Tribune in October 2008, succeeding his father.

 Nathan graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in communications and a minor in business. He also graduated from Gonzaga University School of Law in 2001 with cum laude and is an active member of the Idaho State Bar. 

As the community relations director at North Canyon Medical Center, Shellie Amundson is seasoned to the changing dynamics of health care and the impact those changes have on patients. She started her health care career as a nurse and quickly discovered that while her passion is people, being on the front lines was not her place. She returned to school and earned her BA in public relations and marketing. 

 Over the past 28 years at North Canyon, Shellie has been involved in creating successful marketing strategies to open a hospital, a medical center, various clinics, the dissolution of a taxing district and campaigns to grow awareness of the North Canyon brand.

 For Shellie, her greatest achievements are the relationships she has created with community members and patients. She has an exceptional ability to recognize and understand the needs of others, and a passion to follow that path.  She proudly serves on a variety of civic organizations across the Magic Valley, and in her spare time she enjoys meditation, drumming circles and kayaking the Snake River.

With decades of experience in communications, public and government relations and crisis management, Emily leads a Boise-based strategic communications and public relations firm. Prior to founding Portman Square Group, she was managing partner and a shareholder at Gallatin Public Affairs. Baker also spent 15 years between Washington, D.C., and New York.

She served in the Bush Administration as the regional administrator of the General Services Administration Northeast and Caribbean region and prior to that as deputy director of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs with the U.S. Department of Commerce, focusing extensively on intellectual property and international trade.

Emily began her career with Gov. Haley Barbour at BGR Group and in Idaho as a policy aide to Gov. Phil Batt.

She is a Presidential Leadership Scholar and a distinguished practitioner and adjunct professor at Boise State University. Emily serves as an honorary commander for the 366th Squadron at Mountain Home Air Force Base. She also serves on the board of directors for CSHQA, the executive board for the Boise State University Foundation, the executive board of the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Advisory Board for Idaho Women in Leadership.

Amy Holly possesses a deep understanding of health care policy and expertise in health care delivery systems. Amy spent 10 years managing public-private partnership contracting for the northwest’s leading mental health and substance abuse treatment organization. Amy spent 12 years lobbying extensively on health care policy issues in Idaho and has also lobbied on behalf of clients in the energy, transportation and retail sectors.

Amy brings skilled research, writing and policy analysis grounded in private and public sector contract management, public affairs and project management to client engagements. She is adept at managing complex multi-million-dollar contracts and relationships; managing IT and process improvement projects; creating professional and profitable relationships with line employees and C-suite executives; and leveraging research, data and insight to strategic advantage.

Amy is a graduate of Boise State University with a Bachelor of Science in biology and recently earned a second bachelor of science in political science.

Boise

Wayne Ipsen serves as chief legal officer and corporate secretary at Live Ventures Inc., a publicly traded holding company with a focus on value-oriented acquisitions of domestic middle-market companies.

Before joining Live Ventures, he was an attorney at US Ecology Inc., most recently serving as its vice president, general counsel and secretary.

Prior to his 18-year tenure at US Ecology, Wayne was an attorney at Elam & Burke P.A., a law firm in Boise, and a tax consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers in its Seattle office.

He previously served on the boards of the Mountain West Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel and Special Needs Adoptive Parent Services Inc.

Wayne earned his bachelor of science in accounting and master of accountancy, both from Brigham Young University, and his juris doctor from the University of Idaho.

Former Ammon Mayor Dana Kirkham is the director for Bank of Idaho and the Bank of Idaho Holding Company and currently serves as the director of Strategic Initiatives for the Idaho Environmental Coalition.

Previously she served as the CEO of Regional Economic Development for Eastern Idaho. She participates on several boards, including the Idaho Falls Arts Council, the Bonneville County Fire District and the Idaho Falls City Club. 

Kirkham attended Marion Military Institute in Alabama before graduating with a B.S. in political science from Utah State University. She worked for the State Department in Frankfurt, Germany, and the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Va.

She loves spending time outdoors with her family. She and her husband Ryan have two daughters.

Boise

Sayoko Kuwara was born in Osaka, Japan, and earned a BA in psychology at Boston University. In 2010, she became an American citizen.

Professionally, she guides medical device manufacturers around the world through Japanese regulatory processes, helps them build regulatory strategies and assists them in their marketing approval applications.

She has previously lived in Boston, Mountain View, Calif., and Bellevue, Wash. She was a member of the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club for more than 12 years and served as chair of the Social Activities Committee. She served on the board of Eastside District YMCA for five years and was involved in board member recruitment and capital fundraising effort for a new Coal Creek YMCA facility. In 2009, she co-founded the Children’s Music Foundation to ensure fundamental music education is delivered to young children of all different backgrounds.

She has a family legacy in the Red Cross. Her grandfather, mother and father were all involved in serving and contributing to the Japanese Red Cross Society for decades.

Idaho Falls

Since Dec. 2011, Tony Lima has directed Melaleuca’s work involving traditional and online media, community outreach and philanthropy, while supporting its public affairs activities. He spearheads the Melaleuca Foundation’s efforts to respond quickly when natural disasters strike.

Previously, Tony led marketing and PR campaigns for a variety of clients at The Summit Group in Salt Lake City, The Dalton Agency in Florida, and Ogilvy PR Worldwide in New York City. Previous clients include Walmart, ADP, the Jacksonville Jaguars, Subway, Deloitte & Touche and others.

He serves on the board of directors for the Idaho Technology Council, the Regional Economic Development Corporation for Eastern Idaho, the Idaho and East Oregon Falls Chamber of Commerce, the Idaho Falls Symphony and White Pine Charter School. He was a founding member of American Heritage Charter School.

Tony graduated from Brigham Young University in 1999.

Caldwell

A professional engineer with more than 30 years of experience in the environmental industry, Andy Marshall is responsible for regulatory and governmental affairs at U.S. Ecology Inc. His previous employment included providing environmental consulting services and a 13-year career at Boise Cascade Corporation.

Andy served eight years on the Board of Trustees for Caldwell’s Vision Charter School. He is an Idaho native, and he and his family support communities through an endowed family charitable fund managed through the Idaho Community Foundation.

Andy earned his Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Seattle University, his master of science in environmental engineering from Oregon State University and MBA from Northwest Nazarene University.

Boise

Melinda Merrill provides clients with media, reputational and crisis communications counseling. She was previously director of public affairs for Fred Meyer Stores and also worked in the Portland office of the international public relations and public affairs firm Hill & Knowlton.

Melinda graduated from the School of Journalism at the University of Montana and earned an M.A. from Kent State University. She served on the board of the Oregon Food Bank as well as the board of the Oregon/SW Washington Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

She is also a member of the Boise Chamber of Commerce’s Food & Agri-Business Advisory Board and Government Affairs Committee, as  well as a member of the legislative committee of the Idaho Association of Commerce & Industry.

Boise

Col. J. Cole Packwood serves as the principal adviser to the adjutant general and/or assistant adjutant on a range of matters concerning the United States Army and Army National Guard. He is responsible for logistics, information systems, manpower and personnel, public affairs, recruiting and retention, medical and state emergency responses.

He coordinates with the Idaho Air National Guard senior leadership on joint programs and activities within the State of Idaho and coordinates special Army National Guard programs and initiatives.

Col. Packwood also oversees the development, execution and evaluation of Idaho Army National Guard programs and policies.

Rupert

Hana Pfeiffer, currently a student at the College of Idaho, began her work with the American Red Cross in high school when she began working with her rural hospital to coordinate blood drives at her school and within her community. She participated in the Red Cross national internship program, which includes the requirement to organize at least two blood drives.

She is majoring in accounting with minors in environmental science, political economy and communications.

She competes on the Howling Yotes Speech and Debate team and serves on her school’s student government.

In her free time, you can find her cheering her fellow Yotes on the sidelines of every sporting event.

Boise

Jim Reilly joined WinCo Foods in 2018 and leads its human resource and corporate communication functions with responsibility for talent acquisition, learning and development, total rewards, culture, field human resources and corporate communication.

Prior to joining WinCo, he spent 13 years with Walgreens Boots Alliance where he held a variety of human resource leadership roles including: talent management, recruiting and diversity services, leadership development and global HR operations. 

Additionally, he was president of Jennings Kelly Executive Search, a firm that offers consulting services for executive level search engagements across the United States.

Reilly received a B.A., with an emphasis in marketing, from Western Illinois University in Macomb, Ill.

He also has served as board chair of the American Brain Tumor Association; as a member of the executive committee as immediate past board chair and chair of the Governance & Nominating Committee; St. Luke’s Strategic Healthcare Initiatives Committee member; former president or River Park North Homeowners Association; and former president and board member of St. Benedict Preparatory School.

Boise

An associate at Holland & Heart, Jennifer Rupe focuses on corporate transactions primarily in the health care and insurance industries. Before joining Holland & Hart, she practiced corporate law at Sidley Austin LLP in Palo Alto, Calif., and served as a deputy attorney general in the Appeals, Writs and Trials section of the Criminal Division of the California Attorney General’s Office.

She has significant experience in the nonprofit sector in volunteer and employee capacities. She was recognized for her pro bono contributions in law school and was granted pro bono distinction upon graduation for her work with several organizations including the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project.

Prior to law school, Jennifer worked for a nonprofit and served as a case manager at a safehouse for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking, and also served as a sexual assault response team advocate for forensic examinations.

Jennifer earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations and history from the University of California, Davis, and graduated from Stanford Law School.

With more than 20 years of financing small businesses in the Treasure Valley and throughout the country as an SBA Lender, Craig Sherle has been engrained in the intricate details of small businesses, helping them through inception and growth. Craig currently leads the SBA department at Idaho Central Credit Union. 

 Craig holds a BS in Business Administration from California State University, Sacramento. In addition to managing a team at ICCU, Craig has owned and operated multiple small businesses over the past 10 years.

Hilary Sinnamon is a consultant to Environmental Defense Fund, a national nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that links science, economics and the law to create solutions to today’s most pressing environmental issues. Since starting with EDF in 2000, Hilary has provided technical and policy analyses and advocacy on climate and clean air matters. Her primary focus is on mitigating mobile source air emissions, including diesel and climate pollution. Her work is central to improving public health, especially in communities disproportionately impacted by transportation pollution.

 Hilary graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont and completed her Master in Public Policy degree at Johns Hopkins University. She also serves on the Board of the Blaine County Education Foundation. Hilary lives in Hailey with her husband and two children.

Born and raised in Nampa, Rudy Soto is a proud member of the Shoshone Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation and a veteran of the United States Army National Guard. He has extensive experience in economic development, public health, conservation and child welfare.

In January 2021, President Biden appointed Rudy to serve as the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development state director of Idaho.

He previously served as a legislative staffer in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he covered a broad range of issues, including energy, environment, agriculture, education, transportation and tribal affairs.

Rudy received his bachelor's degree from Portland State University and is passionate about serving rural communities, particularly those in Idaho.

Tony, who lives in Baker City, Ore., has 16 years of experience in the health care field, 13 years with Saint Alphonsus Health System.  He has served in a diverse set of roles during his tenure with Saint Alphonsus, working as a pharmacy technician, supply chain manager, financial analyst, finance director and now serving as vice president of Finance and Operations for Eastern Oregon.

Tony earned his undergraduate in Business Administration and MBA from Northwest Nazarene University.

He and his wife have two children. In his spare time, he enjoys fishing, skiing and travel.

Idaho Falls

An Idaho Falls attorney and owner of Carr Land and Title, Steve Carr has served the Red Cross in several capacities over the course of three decades both locally and abroad, most notably as the only American elected to the Standing Commission of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

He served on the Red Cross Board of Governors from 2002 to 2008 and chaired the International Services Committee. He also served on the board of Refugees International.

Steve serves on several other boards as well, including the Bank of Idaho and the Idaho Community Foundation.

He has a degree in political science from Utah State University and a law degree from Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.

Idaho Falls

Born and raised in Idaho Falls, Dane Watkins graduated from the University of Utah in economics and political science.  

He served on the board of directors for Blue Cross of Idaho, the Teton Boy Scouts Council, the Eastern Idaho Medical Center and the YMCA. Dane represented Eastern Idaho in the Idaho State Senate for 15 years and was the Republican Party nominee for Congress in 1988.

Dane is involved with farming in Jefferson County as well as commercial real estate in Idaho Falls and Pocatello.

Caldwell

Alex Erolin is an organization development practitioner with more than 30 years of diverse leadership background in corporate, not-for-profit and government organizations, with an expertise in business sustainability and global competitiveness. Prior to joining the Idaho Region board of directors, he was the regional director of Service to Armed Forces in the Red Cross Minnesota Region and has chaired the Idaho and Montana Diversity Committee since December 2017.

Alex and his siblings came to the U.S. from the Philippines more than 40 years ago to join his parents. He served in the U.S. Air Force for 23 years, then joined an international humanitarian agency leading and coordinating international relief operations in countries ravaged by civil wars and natural disasters.

Alex’s international experience working with people of different nationalities, ethnicities and cultural backgrounds, and his experiences as a young Asian immigrant in United States, galvanized into professional and scholarly interests in multicultural organizations. 

Pocatello

Bruce Olenick has worked for the Department of Environmental Quality for 10 years and is responsible for air quality, water quality engineering oversight for drinking and waste water systems, remediation and management of solid and hazardous waste, and emergency response in a seven-county region of eastern Idaho. Previously, Bruce worked at the Idaho National Laboratory for the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory (Naval Reactors Facility), where he managed environmental programs and environmental cleanup activities for the Nuclear Navy.

Bruce received B.S. degrees in Biology and Chemistry from Quincy University in Illinois, then relocated to Pocatello to attend Idaho State University where he graduated with a M.S. degree in Zoology.

Bruce was the chair of the Long-Term Recovery Organization to help those affected by the Charlotte Fire in Pocatello and served the Red Cross in Idaho Falls as a CPR instructor.  Bruce also sits on the advisory board for the Certified Public Managers Program for the State of Idaho.