Rural Partners Board of Directors

Robert Baren
Senior Advisor to the Lt. Governor

Susan Wynn Bence

Dick Breckenridge, Asst. Treasurer

Monica Bristow
Deputy Director, Local Government Programs

Dan Fisher
Treasurer, City of Gillespie

Cindy Frisina
CEO, Heartland Development Partners, Inc. and Revitalizing Rural America

Janelle Gurnsey
Director of Public Relations
Teachers’ Retirement System

Molly Hammond
Acting State Director
USDA Rural Development

Liz Hunter, Assistant Secretary
Jackson County Treasurer

Matt Johnson, Treasurer
Vice President, Govt. Policy
Shawnee Communications

Laura Hepp Kessel, Past Chair
Executive Director, Telehealth Services
SIU School of Medicine

Levi Kinnard
Branch Manager, Springfield Illinois Branch
U.S. Small Business Administration

Cole McDaniel
Co-Founding Partner
Hometown Consulting

Callie Jo McFarland, Vice Chair
Community Development Director
City of Monticello

Chris Merrett
Director and Professor
Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs
Western Illinois University

Brian Moody, Chair
Director, Tuscola Chamber & Economic Development, Inc.