Staff

Lori supports the general operational and accounting functions at Southwest Initiative Foundation. Over the course of her career, she has done bookkeeping for just about every kind of organization — an automotive repair shop, construction, landscape, real estate and a church. She has had the most experience with smaller companies and enjoyed helping them grow and guiding them through the ins and outs of doing their books. Lori holds an accounting clerk diploma.

Lori's favorite thing about southwest Minnesota is the scenery. Outside of work, she enjoys crafting with her two daughters and volunteering at the local elementary school. Lori also likes to go on walks with her dog, explore new parks with the girls and go swimming with them.

Tiff believes in giving back to the communities that raised her and is excited to be a part of a team that works hard to bring opportunity to all. She appreciates southwest Minnesota for the strong roots of its communities and the humble work ethic. Tiff was fortunate to have a best friend in her neighbor growing up in Hutchinson. They organized reading and exercise challenges and neighborhood-wide street games. The pair directed and wrote scripts for homemade videos, practiced their entrepreneurial skills selling everything from lemonade to leaves and participated in sports.

Tiff holds a degree in psychology from the College of Saint Benedict. She learned even more outside the classroom during her experiences studying and working abroad, including spending two years in Guatemala after college. She is a former small business owner and has experience in sales.

Tiff serves on the Hutchinson School Board and the City of Hutchinson’s Charter Commission. As an elected official, she represents schools on the Mid Minnesota Development Commission Board. Tiff is an alum of the Blandin Community Leadership Program and has been part of the Downtown Hutchinson Vision Team and the Hutchinson Farmer's Market, as well as anything related to her kids' activities.

An enthusiast of many things, Tiff likes to travel, read, cook and eat, take walks and hikes and spend time outdoors with her husband, three kids and rescue dog.

Learn more about our development work.

What Amy loves best about southwest Minnesota is that everywhere she goes, it feels like home; and in one way another, that has always been the case for her. As our youth and community program officer, Amy is a resource to build and strengthen southwest Minnesota by creating community connections and directing resources to opportunities that impact critical needs for the education and wellbeing of youth and their communities across the region. Her focus is on families, childhood well-being and community mental health. Amy has a newsletter for parents of youth that includes updates on youth-related matters around the region. She can often be found attending mental health coalition meetings around the area and is not afraid of rolling up her sleeves to work hard for our most marginalized residents. Learn more about our community impact work.

Amy comes to SWIF with several decades of work in the human services sector, with an emphasis on individuals diagnosed with both mental illness and chemical dependency but also including child safety and well-being, and broader community safety issues. She’s inspired by the opportunity to bring the level of community well-being up a notch through addressing systemic issues and shoring up the areas that are already assets in our region. Amy believes strongly in community and that people have the desire and the power to help each other when the right tools are put in their hands.

When it comes to hobbies, Amy enjoys anything creative and exploratory — stained glass, pottery, photography, household renovations, cooking, painting, getting lost in the woods, even raising chickens. Amy is also an ally for LGBTQ+ kids and families and on her own time occasionally facilitates a group for allies. She also administers a Facebook group to connect people to volunteer opportunities in Meeker County and serves on the board of her lake association.

As the grants administrative assistant, Laura provides day-to-day administrative support and coordination for Southwest Initiative Foundation’s grant program – the behind-the-scenes work to distribute grant dollars to communities. She joined the staff in 2020.

Laura was drawn to the impact our mission has on communities in the region. Her favorite thing about southwest Minnesota is the people who make it their home, people who are hardworking, goal oriented and guided by strong values. A close second is the natural landscapes of the region, from the cool spring mornings when everything is covered in new life to the colors of fall (even the ground covered in snow is beautiful!).

When she’s not at work, Laura is studying for an associate degree at Ridgewater College. She also enjoys time with her kids, taking bike rides down the Luce Line Trail, walking through a mall, listening to music or having a conversation. Friends and family always keep her smiling. Laura likes to volunteer for local churches, including a project translating letters from missionaries in South America from Spanish to English. Laura has also given of her time in the church kitchen, preparing massive meals, ensuring things run smoothly and cleaning up afterward.

Nancy Fasching is the vice president for community impact at the Southwest Initiative Foundation, serving rural, southwest Minnesota. For 23 years, Nancy has worked with the grantmaking program, currently leading the foundation’s community impact and grant programs, along with research and learning for strategic initiatives, and providing leadership for funding procurement for programmatic opportunities. She serves on SWIF's leadership team, managing strategic direction of the organization's mission and developing partnerships that strengthen rural community development.

Nancy has a passion for communities and people coming together, especially to create systems and opportunities where all residents thrive, to meet their full potential for current and future generations. She is of and for rural places.

Nancy earned a degree in organizational management and geography from Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minn. She currently serves as the Past President of United Community Action Agency board of directors and Winsted Economic Development Commission, helped found the Winsted Arts Council and is an alumna of the Blandin Community Leadership Program.

From chaos, Nancy creates order. Her talent for organizing and implementing most anything has guided her through a career of 30+ years in various administrative positions, more than half of that time at SWIF. She’s proud to be part of the foundation making great things happen in southwest Minnesota. She graduated from Hutchinson Area Vocational Institute (now Ridgewater College) and is an alum of the Hutchinson Leadership Institute.

Farm born and raised, Nancy appreciates the beauty and calm of rural. Some of her favorite memories from childhood were Sunday afternoons "road farming" with her Dad. Nancy finds mowing lawn therapeutic and loves reading a good “who done it” while vacationing, since putting the book down is hard to do. She loves to bake and cook, sometimes sharing her “experiments” with staff. Nancy resides in the rural Hutchinson/Litchfield area with her husband.

Than Than sees Southwest Initiative Foundation as a great partner for communities across the region, and he was drawn to its mission and vision for the people of southwest Minnesota. His role as community engagement specialist allows him to build and strengthen southwest Minnesota toward a more inclusive region where all people belong and thrive. That work includes identifying communities’ strengths and challenges, building community-based skills and being a resource to the region through community-led partnerships, especially with Black, Indigenous, People of Color and marginalized communities. He is also responsible for nurturing community opportunities that impact critical needs in our region by connecting to and working with southwest Minnesota residents, teams and organizations that span sectors.

Thanks to mentorship from his community’s leaders, Than Than is passionate about working with people and believing in their success stories. He has experience in community organizing, corporate community engagement, student services and community education. Than Than moved to Minnesota from a Thai refugee camp at age 11 and graduated from Worthington Senior High School. He is a two-time recipient of the  Equity and Inclusion Award from Minnesota West Community and Technical College. Than Than serves on the Meeker-McLeod-Sibley Community Health Services advocacy team and is a long-time committee member for Worthington International Festival. During his free time, Than Than enjoys creative arts, quality time outdoors in nature, traveling and sports activities with friends and family.

Meghan drives the foundation's communications, marketing and external engagement work. Working for an organization that is making a positive impact in southwest Minnesota, a place she’s proud to call home, is a dream come true for Meghan. She believes people in the region value their families, friends and community members. Living here offers endless possibilities to slow down and enjoy life, whether that's walking on the Luce Line or volunteering at a local event. Meghan and her husband have three young children and make their home in Hutchinson; they are major University of Minnesota Gopher fans. 

Meghan earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota and has focused her career on working in philanthropy. She enjoys volunteering with local organizations in the Hutchinson area and helping out at her kids' school and with their various activities. 

While Karen didn’t know much about SWIF before she started working here, she liked the idea of working at a nonprofit, and the friendly atmosphere. More than 10 years later, she’s still here. During that time, Karen has been a part of the accounting team. She also works with the Microenterprise Loan Program. Karen has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and worked in the insurance and manufacturing industries before starting at the foundation.

As a kid and as a grown-up, Karen has always liked to be outside. When she was young, she loved time on the lake water skiing, swimming, and fishing; snowmobiling; and weekend bonfires. Now it’s time on the lake, gardening, shopping at flea markets and antique shops, small projects around the house, trips to Montana and time with her kids. Karen has volunteered with Sunday School, Youth Committee, school events and the Red Rooster Days festival in Dassel.

Khou enjoys the relationships and the people of Southwest Minnesota and is determined to do what it takes to invite, share and create space for voices in the region. As a first-generation immigrant, many of Khou’s younger years were spent navigating systems and being the voice for her immigrant parents. Through these lived experiences, she realized her love for creating space for people to speak on behalf themselves, in their truest form.

Khou appreciates how Southwest Initiative Foundation values community. In her role as rural equity specialist, Khou is a resource for communities across the region, while helping build and strengthen local Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) leaders and organizations in southwest Minnesota. She has a background in community engagement work and a passion for sharing resources and knowledge.

A photographer in her free time, Khou appreciates visual art. She also likes spending time with family. Khou is involved with the Hmong community in southwest Minnesota as a leader and organizer and is part of various community groups in the Tracy community. She makes her home in North Branch with her husband and daughter.

Learn more about our community impact work.

Missy has always enjoyed helping people. She loves making them laugh and seeing them thrive. Talent management is her passion. When she joined SWIF, the mission and vision of the Foundation drew her in, and she’s proud to be part of helping our communities.

As a kid, Missy loved anything to do with sports and the outdoors. Her social, energetic personality hasn’t changed. Now she channels it into keeping up with her husband and their three young boys. They live a busy life on a farm and love every minute of it.

Missy has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Metropolitan State University and is certified in Korn Ferry Leadership Architect Competencies as well as the Wellness Councils of America’s “Seven Benchmarks.” She is the lead preschool teacher at her church, a Hutchinson Leadership Institute alum, leadership team member for Wellbeing at Work Consortium and past chair of business development for Hutchinson PULSE steering committee.

Missy also serves as co-leader of Twin Cities Society for Human Resource Management (TCSHRM) “HR Department of 1” special interest group and is a member of TCSHRM's “High Potential Volunteer” special interest group.

Johanna is proud to be part of a team whose mission is to improve the lives of people and their communities in rural Minnesota. In her role, Johanna fuels that mission by supporting resource development and regional fundraising initiatives. This includes managing donor data, ensuring a seamless giving experience and collaborating with teams for administrative excellence.

Southwest Minnesota’s small-town communities and the relationships that are built through generations are part of what Johanna loves about our region, and how welcoming these communities can be to new people moving into them.

In Johanna’s eyes, there's always something new to learn, understand, explore, people to meet and help, and she loves being a continuous learner. She has 15 years of experience in finance, working with all levels of people from those first opening a checking account to investing their 40+ years of retirement savings. Johanna previously held her series 7 and 66 securities licenses and is a notary public.

Johanna makes her home in Buffalo Lake. As a mom of three girls and a bonus mom to two boys, she is on-the-go with sports, school activities and church activities. In her free time, Johanna enjoys reading almost anything she can get her hands on!

Scott’s professional career has been focused on rural community vitality and economic mobility.  Since joining Southwest Initiative Foundation in 2007, he has managed the business finance, entrepreneurship, child care, career pathways and other economic development programs and initiatives, in addition to having roles with farmland management and as staff liaison to the Investment Committee. Scott stepped into the role of president at the foundation in February 2023. 

Scott is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) through the International Economic Development Council and a certified Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) through Grow America.  He currently serves as board chair for Propel Nonprofits (a Community Development Financial Institution) and is president of the Greater Minnesota Partnership. He is a board member for the International Economic Development Council, Child Care Aware of Minnesota, Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission, Southwest Minnesota Workforce Development and the Minnesota Economic Development Foundation. Scott is a past president of the Economic Development Association of Minnesota (EDAM) and currently serves as chair of its Government Relations Committee.   

Scott and his wife, Amber, are residents of Montevideo and are proud parents of two adult daughters. 

A shared love for rural Minnesota and the spirit of entrepreneurship drew Claire to working at Southwest Initiative Foundation. Starting and co-owning a small business for 14 years has given her firsthand knowledge of how hard and rewarding owning a small business is.

As Entrepreneurship Program Manager, Claire works directly with prospective and current loan clients and other entrepreneurs and business leaders, in addition to project partners, economic development organizations, program funders, and technical assistance partners. She provides leadership in technical assistance and business coaching, relationship management, coordination of resource providers and partners, professional communication and outreach and marketing.

One of Claire’s favorite things about southwest Minnesota is that it's full of unexpected surprises. The region and its residents have so much to offer and are a welcoming and inspiring home for a growing and diverse population.

A wife and mom of four, Claire makes her home on a farm near Sleepy Eye with her family. Together, they enjoy riding dirt bikes and 4-wheelers and camping. Claire loves to travel internationally, hunt pheasants and garden.

Kim has a passion for helping others and enjoys connecting with our SWIF family and friends through her daily work. She graduated from St. Cloud Area Vocational-Technical Institute and first heard about us from her dear neighbor, Diana Anderson.

As a kid, Kim spent a lot of time with her nose in a book; she considered Nancy Drew her best friend. She fondly recalls hours of cane pole fishing at her grandparents’, playing 500 rummy and canning and baking enough to feed the county. A mother of two, Kim continues to support her adult daughters in their adventures, wherever life takes them. She enjoys reading, looking for new healthy ways to cook and bake, supporting her brother in his Special Olympic events and going for walks and bike rides. Outside work, Kim is involved with the Aveyron Homes, Inc. Board and Special Olympics. She is a graduate of the Hutchinson Area Chamber of Commerce Leadership Institute.

Briana’s love and passion for rural southwest Minnesota runs deep, even though she grew up in a large suburban community. She draws inspiration from the incredible people in our region whose dedication, resilience and hard work fuel the growth and vitality of the region. Briana’s journey into economic development began in 2017, driven by her commitment to community service. The field offers a meaningful path to connect with diverse people, build lasting relationships, and contribute to initiatives that strengthen communities.

In her role, Briana is leading the certification, launch and implementation of SWIF’s subsidiary, Southwest Minnesota Community Capital (SMCC), an emerging Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). In alignment with SWIF’s mission-driven small business lending practices, SMCC will provide affordable lending, financial services and development support to underserved communities across the region that lack access to traditional banking. This work is a natural extension of Briana’s experience in economic development and her passion for supporting entrepreneurs and community growth. While certification is still in progress, she is energized by the opportunity to help deliver financial tools and opportunities where they are needed most.

Briana currently serves on several state and regional boards focused on economic and community development, including the Governor’s Task Force on Broadband, the Minnesota Agriculture and Economic Development Board, the Center for Rural Policy and Development Board, and the Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership Board. She is a past president of the Minnesota Association of Professional County Economic Developers and currently serves as vice president of LINC Redwood County, a local nonprofit leadership program.

Briana makes her home in Franklin, where she and her husband are raising their two children. In her free time, she enjoys staying active attending bungee fitness classes, exploring new places and spending time with her family and friends.

A Hutchinson native, Margie received a bachelor’s degree from Mankato State University and is completing a master’s in accounting and financial management at Keller Graduate School of Management. She is also a farmer. Though they no longer have dairy cows, Margie and her husband still raise crops, which ties her in a unique way to the land of southwest Minnesota. She’s also drawn to its people, and has seen how communities band together to help themselves and people in need.

During her 20 years with SWIF, Margie has had the amazing opportunity to grow and contribute through many roles. She’s witnessed staff numbers nearly double, assets more than double and has helped moved office locations twice.

There’s not much to say about Margie as a kid; she was really low key. In the Hutchinson High School senior yearbook awards, she came in second for being the quietest. These days, she’s very active in the community. She likes spending time with family, is active in her church, has completed the Dale Carnegie Course in leadership training and is an alum of the Hutchinson Leadership Institute.

Ivan makes his home in Worthington. He loves southwest Minnesota for its ability to be a home to anyone. He feels the people, the food and its potential for growth are all great reasons to love the region.

Ivan is passionate about digging deep into what makes our region special. As a development specialist, he identifies strengths and challenges, builds capacity and strives to be a trusted partner to our various community foundations and relationships throughout southwest Minnesota.

Previously, Ivan worked in corporate community engagement. He’s also been involved in local and electoral politics as well as various nonprofits and projects including Be the Change and Voices for Racial Justice.

Outside work, Ivan enjoys listening to and practicing music, meeting up with friends and trying new foods.

Jenelle came to SWIF for the amazing work and stayed for the beautiful landscapes and changing seasons that offer outdoor fun throughout the region, all year long. Her favorite memory from growing up was camping with her aunt, uncle and cousin in a 1978 StarCraft pop-up. They took many trips together, and she later inherited the camper and took her kids camping in it. If you’re sensing an outdoors theme, you’re getting the right impression of the Stiras family.

Jenelle is a graduate of North Hennepin Community College, an alumna of the Hutchinson Leadership Institute and a part of the Blandin Community Leadership Program cohort in Hutchinson. She volunteers at her church on the Parish Education Committee and teaches Sunday School. Helping in her kids’ classrooms at school is important to her too.

Raised in the small town of St. Michael (not so small anymore), Jeff has always had a heart for rural Minnesota. Never one to sit still, he crisscrosses the region in his daily work, helping our communities build on their assets. He's also been hitting the road with his bike and is on track to pass the 3,500 mile mark this year.

While his day job is pretty great, the occupation of fatherhood is hard to beat. Jeff enjoys being a dad and spending time with family camping, making music and traveling. This summer, he and son Henry are building an outdoor pizza oven. Bon appétit!

Jeff has an associate degree in architectural drafting and construction estimating from Dunwoody College, a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from St. Cloud State University and a master’s in community development from Iowa State University. He is an alum of the Minnesota Agricultural and Rural Leadership (MARL) program. Jeff shares his time and talent with the New London-Spicer School Board, New London-Spicer Education Foundation and New London Economic Development Authority.

Learn more about Jeff's work with community foundations.

Marie is an award-winning writer who can find a story anywhere. Connecting people is an important part of her work at Southwest Initiative Foundation, and Marie believes those connections are the key to building a sense of belonging for all our neighbors in every southwest Minnesota community.

Marie has experience as a community journalist as well as a degree in communications from the College of Saint Benedict. She completed the Blandin Community Leadership Program with fellow community members from Glencoe. She volunteers with Together we are Glencoe, a community group focused on building belonging, and is a club leader for her kids' 4-H club. Marie is a former board member of McLeod For Tomorrow and an alum of its leadership program.