NCF is excited to announce the addition of four new directors to the NCF board. The new directors, three from Wisconsin and one from Greater MN, reflect NCF’s commitment to better reflecting the geographies served by the organization. The new board recruits come from diverse personal and professional backgrounds. Among the new directors include Brian Dahlk, a Madison, WI-based accountant specializing in cooperative accounting, Bobbie Grubb, a long-time resident leader from one of NCF’s client co-ops in La Crosse, WI, Diane Schobert, a retired community development finance professional from Birchwood, WI, and Mar Valdecantos, a writer, interpreter, and community activist from Northfield, MN.
Brian Dahlk is a CPA and senior manager at Wegner CPAs in Madison, Wisconsin. He has been a member of three different housing cooperatives and served as board president for one of those organizations. For the past fourteen years he has provided audits, financial reviews, tax returns, and consulting services for hundreds of cooperative organizations all across the country, including several dozen housing cooperatives. Brian received his master’s degree in business in 1992 and his Certified Public Accountant designation in 2006. Prior to joining Wegner CPAs, he served as the financial manager of a housing cooperative for nine years, owned a small business, and provided accounting and managerial services for several nonprofits and cooperatives in Wisconsin and California.
Bobbie Grubb has been a resident of Pammel Creek Estates, a resident-owned community in La Crosse, Wisconsin, since 2013 and has served as secretary of the board of directors since 2016. She also serves as co-chair of the ROC USA Outreach and Education Committee. She’s employed by Festival Foods in La Crosse. She’s a regular volunteer at The Center: LGBTQ Connection and at a variety of community events. Bobbie takes every opportunity to broaden her skills and capacity as a board member and co-op leader. She attends ROC USA’s annual ROC Leadership Institute every year and frequents NCF training and networking events. “I love learning and experiencing new things, and with the help of NCF and ROC USA, I appreciate all the opportunities that being a resident-owned community has offered me.”
Diane Schobert is a resident of Birchwood, Wisconsin and has a unique and diverse work history in affordable housing and economic development in Wisconsin. As a recent retiree, she serves on the Educational Foundation for Birchwood Schools, which raises funds for students and teachers. Previously, she served as Chair for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago’s (FHLBC) Affordable Housing Advisory Council, representing non-profits across Wisconsin and Illinois; she served on the Board for Impact 7, a statewide Community Development Financial Institution in Rice Lake, Wisconsin; she worked at the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) as Business Development Officer; she served as executive director of Movin’ Out, a statewide Wisconsin nonprofit housing agency; she worked as a residential lending manager, helping to create the expanded underwriting guidelines for WHEDA.
Mar Valdecantos is a native of Madrid and has lived in Minnesota since 1998. She is a writer, community organizer, artist and English-to-Spanish document translator for the Northfield (Minnesota) School District. She’s always been concerned with social injustices and has endeavored to understand the political process and the partnership between entities that usually don’t communicate with each other. As a member of the Northfield Human Rights Commission, she works to advance the rights of the underrepresented and voiceless in Northfield. She’s also co-founder of Rice County Neighbors United/Vecinxs Unidxs, an advocacy group that fights for the rights and dignity of all persons, especially immigrants, refugees and low-income groups. “Being an immigrant has given me an increased knowledge and empathy for all refugees and immigrants around the world,” she said.
