The Humboldt Area Foundation and Wild Rivers Community Foundation Board of Directors is excited to
announce important changes in the organization’s leadership serving our beloved region:
Our Chief Executive Officer, Bryna Lipper, has been accepted to a distinguished PhD program at Carnegie
Mellon University with a focus on climate change and social jus ce in rural and Indigenous communities.
Her research will involve this region’s environmental and political history and pose future scenarios for
climate justice. As such, Bryna will be stepping out of day-to-day management and assume the role of
Chief Innovation Officer where she will collaborate at national and state levels to further partnerships,
research, and public policy related to philanthropy supporting our Pacific Redwood Region.
Sara Dronkers will begin acting in the role of Chief Operating Officer immediately. Sara, with over 20
years of work experience at HAF+WRCF, has been involved in all functions of the Foundation’s
remarkable growth and performance, from grantmaking, to finance, to donor development. Sara begins
to oversee executive management in a me of the foundation’s history where grantmaking to the
community is at record high levels, including a projected $12 million in the upcoming 2024/25 fiscal year.
Sara has served as Chief of Staff of the foundation since 2020.
Tripp-Allen.
This growth is further grounded in the official appointment of Paula (Pimm) Tripp-Allen as Vice President
of Programs, Community Partnerships, and Tribal Relations at the Foundation. Pimm will lead the
organization’s grantmaking efforts, program and affiliates, and regional initiatives. Pimm, of Yurok and
Karuk ancestry, will also continue leading Native American and Tribal Naion relations, and the
Foundation’s activities furthering justice in Native communities. Long affiliated with the foundation,
Pimm began more than two decades ago on staff for the Native Cultures Fund, then served on the Board
of Directors for many years. Immediately prior to serving as Vice President, she served as Senior Advisor
to the CEO for the past 2 years.
In addition to its strong vote of support for this leadership structure for the Foundation’s evolution, the
Board of Directors voted unanimously to extend the terms of its Board Officers—including Chair Charlie
Jordan, Vice Chair David Finigan, and Secretary Raquel Ortega—and its Committee Chair positions for up
to a year for continuity to the staff and clarity to our community. Board Chair Jordan and Vice Chair
Finigan shared the sentiment that:
“The board is excited that Bryna will continue to provide invaluable leadership and creativity to the
foundation while she undertakes her doctorate program. Our foundation is in an excellent place as a
result of the strategic work she accomplished during the past five years that has elevated our region
statewide and nationally. The board is likewise extremely confident in and fortunate to have Sara
Dronkers step into the top management role at the Foundation, given her many years of experience,
community knowledge, and operational acumen. With our former board colleague Pimm Tripp-Allen as
Vice President directing our program and grantmaking activities, we are certain that our highest values
of service, equity, and responsibility within our region will prosper. The board also has the deepest
gratitude and admiration for Sarah Millsap, Vice President of Finance and Administration, who steadfastly directs our fiduciary, investment, and budgetary duties with unparalleled ability and
oversight; and Vice President of Advancement, Gina Zottola who provides the Foundation’s inspiration
for charitable giving, legacy, and philanthropic partnerships that support our region’s goals and dreams.
The Humboldt Area and Wild Rivers Foundation could not be be er poised for the future with this
leadership team. The Board is confident that these leadership changes will fortify the Foundation’s
commitment to growing a thriving, just, healthy and equitable region. We are poised for a future filled
with opportunity and growth, guided by a team of inspiring leaders.”
Signed,
Charlie Jordan – Chair
David Finigan – Vice Chair
Raquel Ortega – Secretary And the entire Board of Directors of Humboldt Area Foundation and Wild Rivers Community Foundation
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