Rural Partners Board of Directors

Robert Baren
Senior Advisor to the Lt. Governor
Office of Illinois Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton

Alex Benishek
Community Development & Planning Director
City of Mattoon

Dick Breckenridge, Asst. Treasurer

Monica Bristow
Deputy Director, Local Government Programs
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

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
Deputy State Director
USDA Rural Development

Ryan Held
County Manager
Mason & Menard County Farm Bureaus

Kristin Iverson
County Manager
Coles County Farm Bureau

Matt Johnson, Treasurer
Vice President
Government Policy Shawnee Communications

Laura Hepp Kessel
Executive Director
Telehealth Services SIU School of Medicine

Willette LeGrant
District Director
Illinois District Office U.S. Small Business Administration

Blanche Shoup
President
LBS Workforce Services