Introducing a new board trustee and three new staff members
The Northland Foundation is thrilled to have welcomed a new board member and three new staff members in the past few months.
“It’s been several years since we’ve had a member from Koochiching County. Ashley’s experience in both nonprofit and small business leadership is a great match for our mission,” stated Northland Foundation’s President, Tony Sertich. “And, it’s been great to see small business activity steadily increasing across the region. Amanda, Christopher, and Katherine add much-needed financing and technical assistance capacity.”
Ashley Hall joined the Board of Trustees in September. She is the Executive Director of the Falls Hunger Coalition, a nonprofit food shelf addressing food insecurity in Koochiching County. She is also an entrepreneur and fitness instructor who has owned Evolve U Fitness and Wellness since 2013. In addition to the Northland Foundation, Hall sits on the board of Second Harvest North Central Food Bank and is a past president of the International Falls Rotary Club as well as served at the Rotary Club district level.
Katherine Lahti began as a Business Consultant with the Northland Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in July and primarily serves small business clients in northern St. Louis County within the Quad Cities and East Range area. Katherine graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth with a BA in History. She previously worked at Barr Engineering Co. providing support on regional-to-international engineering and design projects. She and her husband also operate his family’s fourth-generation farm.
Christopher Henagin came on board as a Business Consultant with the Northland SBDC in October. He will be serving the Northeast region of the state. Christopher graduated from the College of St. Scholastica with a BA in Marketing. He has previous experience as a financial advisor, digital marketing specialist, and is a small business owner.
Amanda Vuicich recently joined the Northland Foundation’s Business Services Program as an Economic Development Specialist/Small Business Lender. She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from the University of Minnesota Duluth. She spent the past four years managing internal operations for Northspan while also consulting with clients on a range of projects. A large concentration of her work has focused on supporting non-profit lending requests, administering grant programs, and assisting local lenders with packaging SBA 7a small business loans.
