NDANO Board of Directors
Interested in serving on the NDANO board? Complete the board member candidate form by Feb. 17.
Current Board of Directors
Our board represents a cross-section of missions and communities from across our state and has a deep commitment to advancing the North Dakota nonprofit sector.
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Kara Geiger, CFRE, President
Kara is the development director at the North Dakota Community Foundation where she has been employed since 2008. Geiger previously served on the boards of the North Dakota Humanities Council and the Coalition of Nonprofit Organizations.
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Dayna Del Val, Vice President
Dayna is the president and CEO of The Arts Partnership, having served there since 2010. She writes a monthly column on the arts for The Forum, as well as maintains an active social media presence.
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Cynthia Shabb, Secretary
Cynthia has been with Global Friends Coalition since January 2011. She has served as an administrator at the University of North Dakota in several roles. Cynthia is also a member of the Grand Forks Public School Board.
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Brent Ekstrom, MBA, CED, EDFP, Treasurer
Brent is the executive director of the Lewis & Clark Development Group. He began his career with the organization as director of commercial lending in 2001.
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Sister Renee Branigan, OSB
Sister Renee has been director of the Sacred Heart Benedictine Foundation since 2011 and works with the Southwest Collaborative for Giving Hearts Day.
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Scott Burlingame
Scott is the executive director of Independence Inc., a resource center for independent living in Minot. He has worked in the disability rights movement for 18 years and has worked serving people with disabilities in various roles for more than 24 years. Scott has been appointed by the governor to serve on the State Independent Living Council and the State Rehabilitation Council. He has served on many local and statewide councils and boards.
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Tim Eissinger
Tim is employed by the Anne Carlsen Center as their chief executive officer. He has worked in social services in the state for more than 30 years and believes in the power of the nonprofit sector to improve the lives of the people of North Dakota.
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Myrna Hanson
Myrna is the executive director of Community of Care in rural Cass County, having served there since 2011. She previously was a public school band director and a youth and Christian education director.
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Deb Nelson
Deb is the owner and president of DLN Consulting, Inc., a small business in Dickinson that specializes in working with public and private nonprofit organizations. With the exception of a 5-year recess, she has worked in the nonprofit world since 1976.
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Gayla Sherman
Gayla is co-executive director of Charles Hall Youth & Family Services/Charles Hall Foundation in Bismarck. Since the 1980s, she has served in leadership for not-for-profit organizations throughout the Midwest, as well as in Texas and Kentucky. Her career and volunteer board service have included broadcast journalism, congressional staffing, theological education, mental health and social services, performing arts, and philanthropy.
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Tim Chapman
Tim is the executive director of the International Peace Garden, having served there since May 2018 and assisted in successful 2019 lobbying efforts to secure historic capital improvement funds from North Dakota and Manitoba. He was a journalist in his first career, covering news and sports in North Dakota, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Wyoming.