Conference Planning Committee
Donna Batchelor – RT Oakland
Donna Batchelor is the President of the Board of Directors for Rebuilding Together Oakland. After joining the Board in late 1999 Donna shortly thereafter became the President of the Board for a two year period at which time she was instrumental in restructuring and rebuilding the organization from financial distress to a growing and thriving non-profit organization. During 2006, she worked to re-establish the local RT affiliate in Harrison County, MS to provide the necessary base for RT to work in disaster relief. She received the Carolyn Morgan Volunteer of the Year award for her work in Mississippi.
Donna worked in the commercial estate industry for 23 years, most recently as a principal in charge of business operations for a San Francisco based company. She is currently on the Board of Directors for a youth in performing arts organization.
Bonnie Bessor – RT Baltimore
Bonnie Bessor joined Rebuilding Together Baltimore as Executive Director in January 2004. Immediately prior, she worked at Associated Catholic Charities as a development officer for homeless service programs in Baltimore. She has also worked in housing and poverty advocacy organizations as a legislative advocate, community organizer, and volunteer manager. Bonnie began her career by serving chronically mentally ill individuals. She holds a Master's Degree in Social Work from the University of Maryland. She is active in her community association and is a member of the advisory board for the Waverly Main Street Initiative, a program promoting the development of local business in her community. Bonnie is originally from Fairfax, Virginia and has lived in the Baltimore region since 1994. She currently lives in Baltimore City with her husband Les Maynard and their dog Samantha.
Kristine Dunn – RT National, Director of Organizational Development
Kristine Dunn joined the Rebuilding Together National Office in April 2007 as the Director of Organizational Development. In her role, Ms. Dunn develops training and educational programs for the Affiliate Network. Among other responsibilities, Ms. Dunn runs the Rebuilding Together University and oversees the National Conference. Prior to joining RT, Ms. Dunn spent six years working for Envision, EMI, a marketing and management firm in Northern Virginia. There she was the director of a non-profit educational conference for students from around the world. Her responsibilities included designing curriculum and creating and executing training for her team of 50. Originally from Essex, Vermont, Kristine is a graduate of Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Nikki Durham – RT National, Associate Director of Affiliate Relations
Nikki Durham has been with the National Office of Rebuilding Together since January 2000. As Associate Director of Affiliate Relations, she is responsible for providing assistance to the affiliate network in the areas of board building, board transitions and strategic planning. Prior to coming to Rebuilding Together, Ms. Durham worked in the fashion industry in New York City. Ms. Durham currently resides in Waldorf, MD, with her husband, son and twins.
Melissa Flynn – RT National, Vice President, Affiliate Relations
Melissa Flynn has been with the National Office of Rebuilding Together since January 2007, after working in the affiliate network for more than 13 years. Her career with Rebuilding Together began as the Director of Volunteer Services of the Arlington/Fairfax, Virginia Chapter, and continued when she became the founding Executive Director of the Montgomery County, Maryland Chapter. During her 10 years with RT Montgomery County, Ms. Flynn developed and implemented five additional service programs that, cumulatively, quadrupled the number of clients served: Community Revitalization, Handyman Program, Link Program, Hearts & Hands, and the Home Modification program. As a nonprofit management consultant, Ms. Flynn has created and conducted workshops on board building, strategic planning, and fundraising for many Washington, DC nonprofit organizations. She served as a board member and chairperson of the government relations committee for GROWS (Grass Roots Organization for the Well-being of Seniors). Additionally, she was appointed by the Montgomery County Executive’s Office to serve as a member of the board of directors for the Community Action Agency, which focuses on poverty related issues.
Kathy Greiner – RT Twin Cities, Local Host Affiliate
Starting as a volunteer and making her way up through the ranks, Kathy served several years on the board of directors prior to being employed as executive director. She possesses first-hand knowledge of residential construction and repair, and has coordinated the services of skilled trade professionals, contractors and volunteers. She is familiar with nonprofits, having worked for several years in the public relations/marketing departments at the Minnesota Historical Society and the College of St. Benedict. While at the College of St. Benedict, she chaperoned spring-break service trips, leading college students to the Appalachian Mountains to perform home repair services. She is a graduate of Leadership Twin Cities; St. Cloud Area Leadership and the College of Saint Benedict. She currently serves on the board of directors for the Eastside Neighborhood Development Co. in St. Paul and is a mentor for the Wilder Foundation’s Neighborhood Leadership Program.
Amy Hoyte – RT South Sound, Chair, ODI Committee
Amy has been with RT South Sound in Tacoma, WA, for nearly 3 years. She is the first Executive Director for the affiliate and is also the NAC representative for Region 11. Amy lives in Olympia with her husband and 3 year old daughter Clara. She grew up in MA and moved to WA 5 years ago and has previously worked with a historical developer, general contractor and a commercial framer.
Scott Lawson – RT Riverside
Scott was asked to be a carpenter for one of the homes in the first full year of RT-Riverside by a colleague at Shea Homes in Southern California. When he arrived on Rebuilding Day, he was given the responsibility of being a House Captain. The Day went very well working with 45 volunteers. At the end of the day he was asked to join the Board of Directors of Rebuilding Together Riverside.
In the seven years Scott has been a house captain each Rebuilding Day and has been involved with Rebuilding Together Southern California Council on several work projects. He was nominated for Tradesman of the Year in 2004 and was one of the six finalists. The notoriety was very beneficial for the affiliate.
He was voted in as President of RT-Riverside mid year of 2005 to 2008. In the last two years he promoted two HSBC events for RT-Riverside-each were the second largest events for HSBC in the nation for that year. He worked at the first Serving Those Who Served event in Southern California and was a part of the Motion Picture Television Fund collaboration with RT and AMPAS (Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science) with Jody Foster, Xibit and Thoro Burch. He and his wife worked on the HGTV event in Van Nuys California at the Boys and Girls Club. He currently serves as secretary for Region 12S for RT-SCC and was the Rebuilding Together Chairman for 2008 for Riverside. He also serves on the Organizational Development Committee for 2008.
Scott is married to Diane for 17 years, has a son Michael and daughter-in-law Gabriela. Lastly he lives 30 miles from Riverside and finds great pleasure in using his gifts and talents; giving to those who have great needs.
Lori McCombs – RT Greater Des Moines
Lori has spent most of her work years in the service of others.
She has a background in health care, home health services, with a Master’s degree from Drake University in Public Administration. Previous to her current position, she was manager of Meals on Wheels serving Polk County. That is where she first heard of Rebuilding Together and was asked to serve on the 2002/3 board of directors. The Greater Des Moines affiliate was running with only part time and volunteer assistance, she was asked to serve as their first full time ED. Since that time she has continued in that role with the affiliate.
On the home front, she is married with no children (but has 11 nieces and nephews). Her husband of six years, Mike, loves to spend time at their lake home on the weekends (just about an hour southeast of Des Moines). They have a small fishing boat and just across the lake is the golf course. Their goal this summer is to spend as much time as possible playing golf.
Craig Phillips - Board President, Rebuilding Together Valparaiso
Craig Phillips is currently the President of Rebuilding Together Valparaiso. He has been Planning Director for the City of Valparaiso, Indiana, since 2004. Previously, Mr. Phillips was Assistant Director for Planning in Elkhart, Indiana, and has worked for the State of Michigan’s Center for Geographic Information. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and the American Planning Association and serves as Northern Region Representative for the American Planning Association Indiana Chapter. Mr. Phillips has also served as President of the Elkhart (IN) Sister Cities Association and is currently leading an effort to form sister city relationships for the City of Valparaiso.
In 2003, he was part of a team of professionals that traveled to one of Elkhart’s sister cities, Kurdjali, Bulgaria, to participate in a local planning assistance project which involved the development of a riverfront park and community activity area. Mr. Phillips holds a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from Michigan State University and a Bachelor of Science in Geography with concentrations in Land Use Planning and GIS from Central Michigan University. He and his wife Andrea reside in Valparaiso, have two children and are members of First Presbyterian Church Valparaiso where he serves as a Deacon.