The FAN

Foundation

The FAN Foundation is the 501(c)(3) arm of FAN, founded in 2006 to support the long-term fiscal sustainability of the Family Access Network program. The FAN Foundation exists to raise funds, increase community awareness, and support the operations of our FAN advocates’ work in Central Oregon’s schools.

A board of local professionals oversees the FAN Foundation.

Board of Directors

The FAN Foundation Board of Directors is charged with governing the Foundation, cultivating relationships, developing resources and implementing initiatives to increase the sustainability of FAN.

Tasha McFarland

Chair

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Like most small business owners, Tasha McFarland has done a little bit of everything for her family’s enterprises, from scrubbing ovens to asset analysis. With a background in property management, she’s particularly concerned about affordable housing in Central Oregon, and the housing crisis in Oregon as a whole, and feels the services Family Access Network provides help raise happy, healthy learners in Central Oregon schools.

Tasha and her husband Matthew moved to Central Oregon in 2000 to work at Hoodoo Ski Area. All 4 of their children have attended Bend-La Pine Schools, with one since graduating from Mountain View High School and heading off to college. Tasha grew up in the Eugene area and still has deep roots in the community, making Mountain View-Sheldon football games a family feud. A graduate of the University of Oregon and an avid Ducks fan, Tasha’s proud of, and grateful for, her Oregon public school education. She finished her MBA in 2006 with the Concordia University program in Bend.

Aside from raising her children, her experience as a community volunteer has been her most rewarding. She has been a classroom volunteer, served on her elementary school’s site council, attendance area review committee, and the District’s Budget Committee, which she chaired for6 years. Tasha has also volunteered with her schools’ PTSOs and booster club, Scouts BSA, Girl Scouts, Oregon Battle of the Books, The Bethlehem Inn, her church, and is a new Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer. These volunteer experiences have cemented her strong conviction in the importance of the services and support provided by the Family Access Network and FAN advocates. In her free time, she likes to ski with her family.

Galen Blyth

Vice Chair

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Galen is an Account Executive with Cascade Insurance Center serving business clients in Central Oregon and throughout the State. He grew up in the Seattle area and graduated from the University of Montana in Missoula. He began working in the insurance industry in 2003 and eventually moved to Bend in 2005. His love of working with children has led him to volunteer in his kids’ schools and coach baseball for many years. With his kids now older, he was drawn to serving his community through FAN in addition to being the board treasurer of Central Oregon Builders Association.Galen enjoys spending time with his wife Meghan and watching his two teenage children compete in their favorite sports along with golfing, snowboarding, or anything else outside.

Travis Browning

Secretary/Treasurer

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Travis Browning is the Commercia Market President with First Interstate Bank for Central Oregon and Gorge Market, which includes the cities of Redmond, Sisters, Prineville, Madras, The Dalles, Hood River, and Bingen. Travis earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Western Oregon State College and has been serving the Central Oregon region since 1999. He has over 3 decades of combined banking experience as a Loan Officer, Branch Manager, and District Manager. In addition to his professional responsibilities, Travis served on the board for Redmond Economic Development for over 10 years and currently is on the Redmond School District budget committee. Since 2017, he has been on the FAN Redmond Development Committee. In his spare time, he enjoys fishing, hunting, and spending time at sporting events with his family.

Jenny Werner

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Jennifer Werner was born and raised in Central Oregon and is a partner and CPA at Alliance Professionals, LLP in Redmond, Oregon. She graduated from Lindfield College with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and has over 20 years of experience in the accounting industry. In her spare time, she volunteers for various nonprofits in Central Oregon and enjoys traveling with her husband and children. She believes education is vital for a strong community and economic growth. She is proud to be a part of the FAN organization who works to connect families to resources they need, so their circumstances do not become barriers to learning.

Mike Richards

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Mike Richards is a native Oregonian, born and raised in a small town in Northeast Oregon. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Oregon State University and a Master’s degree in Health Policy and Administration from Washington State University. Mike began his career in healthcare finance before transitioning into medical-group operations leadership. He currently serves as Vice President of Business Development for St. Charles Health System, which operates hospitals and clinics across Central Oregon. Since relocating to the region in 2010, Mike and his family have made Central Oregon their home. Outside of his professional life, he enjoys backpacking, fishing, hunting, and spending time outdoors with his wife and two sons.

Van Perry

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Van Perry has over 30 years of global senior leadership experience transforming teams, brand building and scaling organizations. He has held senior leadership roles including CEO, CMO and CFO in a range of industry sectors spanning travel/hospitality, outdoor, financial services, sports marketing, real estate, technology as well as nonprofit and government. The last five years he has led a national team serving as a vendor to one of the world’s largest technology companies and doubled that business while navigating the pandemic. He has served as President of two adventure travel companies that provided experiential journeys ranging from the ice of Antarctica to the sands of the Sahara. He has led global rebranding and positioning programs for Fortune 50 companies and a multi-year Olympic marketing program for a global sponsor. He served as CFO for a real estate development corporation focused on urban revitalization and housing and also worked in City Government early in his career as a budget analyst.

Van Perry is passionate about building teams and creating value for customers. As a servant leader his conviction is that personal and corporate transformation can have positive global effects. As an avid follower of Simon Sinek, he believes we must always start with our unique WHY? He has a lifelong connection to the outdoors starting in high school with the writings of Henry David Thoreau and believes in the curative power of nature.

He holds an MBA in Strategic Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an MPA from the University of Georgia in Urban Affairs, where he was a Public Service Fellow and a BS with Distinction in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. Van has spoken on branding at national conferences with organizations such as The Conference Board, The Canadian Institute and The Design Management Institute. Van is an all-around outdoorsman—aside from being an avid cyclist, he enjoys running, hiking, skiing and sailing. While it is hard to pick a favorite experience, he counts the following at the top of his list: trekking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, observing the Great Migration in Africa, and working/attending the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Lillehammer and Atlanta. Van lives in Bend with his wife Kristin and is the proud dad of two STEM daughters. One who lives in Bend and works as a microbiology specialist in quality assurance for a local brewery.

Megan Geiss

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Megan Geiss is a long-time community advocate with a deep commitment to supporting children and families in Central Oregon. A Bend resident for the past 20 years, she has previously served on the Board of Directors for the Boys & Girls Club of Bend and has been actively involved in youth-focused community initiatives. In addition to her service work, Megan has built a successful career in digital marketing and strategy, where she enjoys helping organizations grow and connect with the audiences they serve. She holds a degree in Communication from San Jose State University and is also a proud parent – her son Cooper is currently a senior at Mountain View High School. Megan is honored to serve on the Family Access Network Foundation Board and support FAN’s mission of ensuring every child has access to the resources they need to thrive.

Wendy Graunitz

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For more than 30 years, Wendy has built a successful career in the financial industry, serving in a variety of roles that have strengthened her commitment to helping individuals and families achieve their financial goals. For the past 16 years, she has been a valued member of OnPoint Community Credit Union, where she currently serves as a Mortgage Loan Officer, guiding members through one of life’s most important financial decisions.

A native Oregonian, Wendy has called Central Oregon home for the past 22 years. She is passionate about investing in her community through volunteerism and financial education, believing that knowledge and access to resources empower people to build stronger financial futures. She regularly supports youth and community members by sharing practical financial guidance and encouraging financial confidence.

Outside of her professional life, Wendy enjoys spending time outdoors and taking advantage of Oregon’s sunshine. She loves traveling with her daughter, attending college football games with her husband, and making the most of every opportunity to connect with family and friends.