As the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and Oregon-Idaho Conferences’ finance offices move into a shared service model of collaborative work, a new face is being added to the team.
Kristi Durham has been hired as the new Greater Northwest Area Director of Human Resources and Benefits. Durham will be based in Portland, but will work with all three conferences spread across four states and a small cluster in British Columbia.
Each conference in the GNW Area recently adopted ministry priorities that called for continued cross-boundary collaboration of services in the areas of finance, human relations and pensions.
Sara Goetze and Brant Henshaw, treasurers for the Oregon-Idaho and PNW Conferences, respectively, see this as a positive, cost-neutral step toward reaching that goal as existing staff head toward retirement.
“By collaborating across the area, we are able to diversify our experience and add to our team without increasing costs,” said Goetze. “We are excited to see how we can work together as an area while still holding the different contexts of the three conferences.”
She has more than 15 years experience in human resources and is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). Durham holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Portland State University, where she also completed her human resource management certificate.
When she’s not working, she’s reading, spending time with family and friends, watching kids’ soccer games and eating good food.
Durham said a friend mentioned the job to her and she applied after reading about the mission and leadership of United Methodists in this part of the country.
“I’m excited to be part of an organization where the mission truly impacts lives,” she said. “I love the idea of being able to support and serve those who support and serve!”
Over the years, Durham said she’s become an experienced collaborator, which she’s certain will be helpful working in this environment.
To add to her resume, Durham is a both a poet and tank turret repairer in the U.S. Army, which might also come in handy.
“I enjoy holding space in various environments,” she said.
