Board of Directors

Noah Hobbs, Chair
Director of Strategy & Policy, One Roof Community Housing - Duluth, MN

Noah has worked in the community development field for 10 years. He served as Lending Director for five years at One Roof Community Housing, growing the organization’s CDFI from $400,000 to $4 million in five years. Noah now serves as Director of Strategy and Policy leading vertical integration efforts within One Roof and directing local, state, and federal policy to improve the CDFI environment and increase the production of affordable housing. Noah was elected to Duluth City Council in 2015 and appointed to serve in the same capacity in 2022. He has served as Council President and Vice President.

Bobbie Grubb, Vice Chair
Festival Foods

Bobbie has worked in the retail food industry for several years. She is a resident of and secretary of the board of directors for Pammel Creek Estates, a resident-owned manufactured home community in La Crosse, WI. Bobbie also serves as the Co-Chair of the ROC USA Outreach and Education Committee. She is a regular volunteer at a local LGBTQ resource center, La Crosse Annual Turkey Trot, Mississippi River clean ups, Rotary Lights, and the Shelby Fire Department.

Trisha Presley, Secretary
Vice President, Alliance Bank - St. Paul, MN

Trisha’s background includes strong lending and loan servicing experience in both the Affordable Housing and Commercial Real Estate spaces. As a Vice President at Alliance, Trisha manages commercial client banking relationships and manages an existing portfolio of business and private banking clients in the Twin Cities. Trisha previously worked at Greater Minnesota Housing Fund (GMHF), a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in St. Paul, as a loan closing manager and as loan capital asset manager. Before GMHF, she worked at Alliance Bank as a loan supervisor and senior personal banker.

Brian Dahlk, Treasurer
Accountant/Senior Manager, Wegner CPAs - Madison, WI

Brian is an Accountant/Senior Manager at Wegner Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) based in Madison, WI. Brian has been a member of three different housing cooperatives and served as board chair for one of those co-ops. For the past 14 years he’s provided audits, financial reviews, tax returns and consulting services for co-op organizations across the country. Prior to joining Wegner CPAs, he served as the financial manager of a housing co-op, owned a small business, and provided accounting and managerial services for several nonprofits and co-ops in California and Wisconsin.

Benjy Nicholie, Director
CFO, First Children’s Finance - Minneapolis, MN

Benjy has worked in nonprofit accounting since 1999. He has worked for a variety of small nonprofits and 10 years with the YMCA of the North. He has held a variety of roles including Business Manager, Accountant, Internal Auditor, Finance Director, and CFO. Benjy holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Metropolitan State University and a Master of Arts in Nonprofit Management from Hamline University.

Juan Luis Rivera Reyes, Director
Coalition Organizer, The Alliance for Metropolitan Stability - Minneapolis, MN

Juan Luis is a community organizer and housing advocate living in St. Paul. He is currently a Coalition Organizer for The Alliance for Metropolitan Stability. He has held organizing roles at HomeLine and All Parks Alliance for Change (APAC). Juan Luis grew up in many neighborhoods throughout St. Paul, and has had the opportunity to call Los Angeles and Phoenix home. He has had the opportunity to live and learn in many diverse neighborhoods, including living for several years in a manufactured home community in the Twin Cities greater metropolitan area. The diversity of his living experience has taught him the importance of having a community and being committed to your community.

Mar Valdecantos, Director
Translator, activist - Northfield, MN

Mar is a translator based in Northfield, MN. She is a Director of Rice County Neighbors United. Mar is a native of Madrid, Spain, and moved to the United States with her husband. As a writer and community organizer and activist, her first experience was working with MnDOT, the City of Northfield, Rice County and the Northfield School District to create a crosswalk in front of the Northfield Middle School. Next, she joined the Northfield Human Rights Commission. Working with the team at the radio show El Super Barrio Latino, she helped created Rice County Neighbors United/Vecinxs Unidxz, an action group which fights for the rights and dignity of all, especially immigrants, refugees and low-income persons.

Cooperative Loan Fund Board of Governors

Sarah Berke, Chair
Senior Manager, Livable Communities & Housing Policy | Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities - Minneapolis, MN

Sarah is a Program Officer at Family Housing Fund. Sarah has more than a decade of leadership experience in affordable housing and community development finance at national and regional nonprofit social enterprises, in strategy, innovation, development, and management roles. Sarah’s experience and interests include affordable housing preservation and development, access to financial capital, networked social enterprise models, and international exchange.