2023 Board of Director Candidate Bios
Callie Fink: I am honored and excited about the prospect of serving my community along with the respected MHT board members and staff!
Three generations of my family continue to call the Methow Valley home, and I have a deep sense of responsibility and commitment to contribute to its well-being. When my grown sons moved back to their own community, they struggled to find stable, affordable housing. The importance of affordable, inclusive, and sustainable housing is critical for a vibrant, healthy community that supports community members of all income levels.
My personal connection to the Methow Housing Trust began as an employee, where I had the privilege of actively contributing to the mission of providing secure, affordable housing for our community members. In my work for Methow Housing Trust and as a practicing real estate broker, I have witnessed firsthand the transformative impact that stable housing can have on individuals and communities.
Over the years, I’ve had the gift of watching my parents contribute to this community and I see this as a chance for me to give back. I look forward to using my skills and connections to contribute to the mission of MHT.
John Bliss: I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve a second term on the board of the Methow Housing Trust. MHT’s Community Land Trust model that assures each of its homes are permanently affordable resonates with me; the homes truly create a community asset benefitting everyone.
My wife and I are Eastern Washington natives and have enjoyed family trips to ski in the Methow Valley since visiting for the first time in 1990. Upon retirement in 2020, I was looking for a way to get more involved in the community. Having been a long-time board member of a Seattle-based affordable housing developer and operator, I have a strong appreciation for the importance of affordable housing in ensuring all communities thrive in an equitable and inclusive manner. In my second term on the board, I will serve as treasurer and chair the finance committee.
Rocklynn Culp: I’ve served on the MHT board since the organization was formed. In my “day job” I’m the land use planner for Winthrop. In my professional life, I’ve been involved in countless conversations about the need for affordable housing in the Methow Valley. Until MHT launched and started building homes, progress seemed impossible. Now we’re onto building our fifth neighborhood! Every step of the way - from the early days of deciding on eligibility criteria, where to build and how we wanted MHT homes and neighborhoods to look - I’ve loved being a part of this team.
A bit about me: I grew up mostly on ranches in the Okanogan Valley, in a family with multigenerational roots. My Dad grew up in Twisp - his class of ‘63 photo hangs on the Community Center wall. After college, I worked seasonal jobs for the Forest Service in the Methow and fell in love with this place. In 2000, I bought a little house in Twisp when that was still possible for someone in my income bracket. I’ve raised two kids here. I love the mountains where I ski, hike and walk my dog. While I’m not an MHT homeowner, I would be eligible, which keeps me sensitive to the equity questions at the heart of our work. Of all the community things I take part in, working with MHT is particularly meaningful to me. I’m eager to continue with a third (and final) term on the board.
Chris Moore: My wife and I stumbled upon the valley in the fall of 2016, and I quickly realized this was going to be the place we were to call “home.” At the time we found rent quickly and affordably, a story we didn’t realize few could tell, but it billowed our dreams of truly being able to settle here. For the next three years, we told ourselves if we worked enough jobs and hours, a house would be possible. Time moved on, as did the financial bar of affordability. In 2019, after a summer spent brainstorming and replaying numbers repeatedly, and seeing the chasm of what we could afford widen, we were lucky to have the opportunity to purchase a housing trust home, in McKinney Ridge, where we currently reside.
The positive impact of our new found housing situation - affordable, stable, quality - cannot be understated. It allowed us both to settle into our career paths, focusing on growth in our chosen field rather than pushing the envelope of how many hours we can work in a day. That growth allowed for more career stability which then allowed for more community participation and more time enjoying our lives here in the Methow.
I have since come to see stable, affordable and quality housing as the very foundation of a healthy community in which the people in it can express their lives at their highest potential and thus the community itself reflects the culmination of those individual expressions.
Serving on the board and an array of committees (Policy, Sunny M Visioning, Capital Campaign, Exec) of this organization has been an incredible honor and I’m thrilled to continue working alongside our staff and fellow board members as we continue our work of ensuring that all individuals in this place have an avenue to housing security and belonging.
Jeanne White: The Methow Valley was love at first sight for me and my husband, so we had no hesitation in making the move from Colorado in 2001. We love the community, its spirit and the natural world here. We were fortunate to buy a piece of land and place two yurts on it, which served as our refuge until we could build a home in 2009. In the early days, I owned a small business in the Valley and then transitioned to work for the Methow Conservancy, a lucky place to land so I could deploy my legal skills and passion for this place in my day job. We were so blessed to raise our children in a place where all kinds of folks could thrive --some of our closest friends are artists, farmers, teachers, coaches, nonprofit leaders and overall community builders. As a Methow Housing Trust Board member since 2020, it is my goal that a diverse group of folks can continue to thrive here and that if my children choose to return, this beautiful Valley will welcome them with open arms.