"There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common good is the highest creed."

~Woodrow Wilson

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Board of Directors

Kim Anderson was born in Yakima, Washington and raised in Utah. Kim has been the owner of Provo Art and Frame since 1993 where he has been able to pursue one of his lifelong loves — painting. Kim currently serves as the Chairman of the Central Business District and is heavily involved as both a partner and committee member of the Downtown Alliance where his ideas for revitalization have come to fruition. He and his wife LueAnna have 3 sons.

Brent Crane, a graduate of Brigham Young University, has served on many civic and community boards and committees, including the Provo/Orem Chamber of Commerce, Springville City Volunteer Commission and the Provo Downtown Alliance. Brent has served as the Executive Director of the Friends of the Coalition since 1993. His leadership and vision has directly led to the overall growth and success of the organization. His greatest satisfaction is knowing that individually and collectively, we can greatly improve the lives of those less fortunate. He and his wife Shellie reside in Mapleton with their 4 children.

Jim Kearl is a graduate of Utah State University and holds a PhD from MIT. He pursued postgraduate work at Harvard and joined the BYU Economics Department in 1975. Following an appointment as a White House Fellow and special assistant to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, he returned to full-time economics teaching. Dr. Kearl currently serves as a BYU A.O. Smoot Professor of Economics and Assistant to the President — BYU Jerusalem Center. His interests are in the interface between economics, law, and public policy. He and his wife Linda Durrant, reside in Provo. Together, with their 5 children, they have served several community organizations including over 10 years of service at the Friends of the Coalition.

Brady Mather is a Graduate of Utah State University with degrees in Finance and Marketing. After graduation he began working for Wells Fargo Bank, where he has served in several different positions over the past 10 years, the most recent as a Business Banking Relationship Manager in Provo and the Uintah Basin. He enjoys fishing, camping and gardening. Brady and his wife Lora reside in Highland with their 4 children.

Christie Norris, a local CPA has served as both our Board Chair and Treasurer since joining the board in 2001. She specializes in individual and business taxes and in helping nonprofit organizations address their accounting issues. She loves people and is hopeful to be able to use her skills to help both the Friends of the Coalition and patrons who are in need of assistance and desire to succeed and find personal happiness.

James Pangburn was raised in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. He attended North Dakota State University until joining the Army in 1941. After discharge, James was first employed by Kaiser Steel Corporation and then by U.S. Steel Corporation in the San Francisco Bay Area where he spent 15 years as the Project Director for U.S. Steel Engineers and Consultants in Taiwan, Eqypt, Venezuela, Argentina and Mexico. Upon retirement, he accepted an assignment with the International Executive Service Corps in Bombay, India. James has been a tremendous asset and advocate for the Friends of the Coalition for the past 15 years.

Tammy Runia has served on the Friends of the Coalition board for nearly 10 years. She helped develop such benefit projects as our "Food for Thought" campaign, an "Evening with Kurt Bestor", and "Christmas Street". Her genuine nature and compassionate heart has been a guiding compass during the growth and expansion of services made available to our patrons. Tammy and her husband Scott reside in Provo with their 7 children.

Reverend Richard Weissert is a veteran of World War II. While stationed on a ship near Okinaawa, Japan, he survived a Kamikaze attack that destroyed and sunk the ship. After his service in the Naval Academy, Richard returned to Utah State University where he obtained a B.S. degree in Forestry. He was ordained to the Episcopal Deaconate in 1976 and was later ordained a Priest in 1990. After retirement in 1982, Richard pursued one of his life's dreams to serve as a clergy member. He currently is an assigned associate at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Provo where he actively recruits volunteers for service at the Friends of the Coalition.

Tammy Leifson received her masters degree from Brigham Young University and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. After serving an internship at Wasatch Mental Health, she became more aware of the homeless in Utah County and started campaigning for greater awareness and assistance to those in need. She serves as Alumni President for the BYU School of Social Work and also serves on the Advisory Board for the school. Tammy is the clinical director at the House of Hope, a residential treatment program for chemically dependent women and their children. Her interests include hiking, reading, gardening and exploring the cuisine of foreign countries. She is the mother of four and resides with her husband in Spanish Fork.

Janet Peterson received a bachelor’s degree in English from Brigham Young University and a JD from the Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School. She served as a law clerk for the Office of the Guardian ad Litem, and as a child advocate for the Children’s Justice Center. She has also worked as a law clerk in the Fourth District Court and as a family law attorney in the Provo area. Currently, she is a legal writing instructor at the J. Reuben Clark Law School in Provo. She and her husband David reside in Provo with the last two of their eleven children.

During the past 25 years Grant Flygare has been professionally engaged in teaching, building and directing programs at the collegiate level and was most recently engaged in building and directing a new charter school, Renaissance Academy in Lehi, Utah. Grant is presently the founding Director of the Office of Student Involvement, a new department at Utah Valley University charged with the responsibility of building a new sense of student community and service learning as the institution transitions from a State college to a new state university. Grant is married to the beautiful and talented Melody Flygare and boasts four fun and frolicking children. Grant and his family reside in Highland, Utah.