Marty Durand, President, was born and raised in Casper, Wyoming. After dropping out of high school, she attended Mesa State College, the University of Kansas and the University of Wyoming, where she earned a B.A. in Political Science and a J.D. Following law school, Marty worked in California as an academic research assistant and a law clerk.  She returned to the Mountain West in 1992, landing with her husband, Mark Holeman, in Idaho Falls. Marty entered private practice, focusing on employment law. In 1997, Marty headed north and became a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Valley County, and later a Public Defender.  

Soon tiring of deep snow and lengthy winters, Marty moved to Boise and joined the ACLU of Idaho in 2000 as legislative counsel, where she promoted civil liberties in the State Legislature. Marty served as Executive Director of the Idaho Women's Network in 2006-2007.  Marty is now an associate attorney with the law firm Herzfeld & Piotrowski, where she focuses on labor and employment law.

In her spare time, Marty enjoys political intrigue, shameless agitation and gardening. She shares her Boise home with her husband Mark, and their three dogs. Marty believes that social change can be accomplished through community organizing, political engagement, and last but not least, litigation.

María González Mabbutt, Treasurer, was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.  In 1970, María migrated with her family to the Mini-Cassia area of Idaho and settled out of the migrant farmworker stream. María worked in Idaho’s fields through the summer of 1974 before going to college.

María’s work has focused on farm worker issues (worker’s compensation, minimum wage, farm labor contractor licensing & bonding, and pesticide education) and Latino political empowerment (voter registration, education, and mobilization).  María was a 2003 finalist for the Ford Foundation’s Leadership for a Changing World award and was a 2005 Alston/Bannerman Fellow.

Maria has conducted outreach and community education services on women’s leadership and other environmental health campaigns (medical waste incinerator at the VAMC, Boise, and mercury in seafood campaign against Albertsons Food Centers) targeting women and children coordinated by Women’s Voices for the Earth, Missoula, MT. 

Currently, María serves on the board of the Idaho Hispanic Caucus, Caldwell, Idaho and the Fund for Idaho. She has four daughters; Andrea (35), Annette (33), Marisol (30), and Marisa (13).  María graduated from Minidoka County High School in Rupert, Idaho and has a Bachelor’s degree from Boise State University.

Ritchie Eppink, Secretary grew up in Shadwell, Virginia, a short walk through the woods from Shadwell Estate, birthplace of Thomas Jefferson.  Though now as much an Idahoan as a Virginian, Ritchie, like Jefferson, still knows "no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves."

Once a printer, then a transient, Ritchie is now an antipoverty lawyer at Idaho Legal Aid Services. Across ten counties, Ritchie zealously represents the poor, oppressed, and abused. He specializes in preserving affordable housing and helping survivors of domestic violence find independence. A vigorous proponent of holistic, community lawyering, Ritchie has served Judge Sergio Gutierrez of the Idaho Court of Appeals and as Public Interest Law Initiative intern at the Citizen Advocacy Center, a Chicagoland civic empowerment law firm.

After finishing law school at the members living in Idaho. He can often be found on a bike around Boise's Near North End or in a car on the way to rural courthouses throughout southwestern Idaho.

From the University of Idaho, Ritchie went to Canada as a Fulbright Fellow, where he investigated legal services delivery methods by visiting legal aid and community legal education organizations throughout that country. He is a member of the National Lawyers Guild and one of only a handful of present-day IWW.

 Lucy Artis - bio coming soon

Taryn's passion continues to be social justice organizing and advocacy. She has facilitated trainings on Reproductive Justice and worked on anti-discrimination campaigns in Idaho. Taryn joined the board of Fund for Idaho as an opportunity to engage her community in positive change. She believes that the true power of the world lies in collective action and education. In her spare time, Taryn can be found watching scary movies or curled up with a good book.

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Gail Heylmun, Executive Director, began her work with Fund for Idaho in July 2006. She brings a broad knowledge of nonprofit organizations and expertise in organizational startup to the Fund for Idaho. Gail is working to expand our donor base and maximize our impact in Idaho by creating a solid foundation of support for the groups we assist.

Gail's previous experience includes serving as initial staff person and Executive Director of The Sounding Board, which provided community based mediation to Boise, and the Colorado Association of Nonprofit Organizations (CANPO), which provides a broad range of services and benefits to its member organizations in Colorado. For 10 years, Gail ran her own consulting firm that provided fundraising and technology assistance to nonprofits in Boise and the Northwest. As a trained mediator, for many years Gail expressed her long-standing interest in conflict resolution by serving on the board of Common Ground Conciliation Services, a nonprofit organization providing mediation, facilitation, and conciliation education services to groups in the Treasure Valley. 

Gail and her husband, Gary Sandusky, have three adult sons. (How did that happen?) They share their home with two dogs and two horses on their 1½ acre property in Boise’s north end. When they have the opportunity, they also enjoy playing music together.

Whether your financial situation allows you to give $25, $250, or $25,000, you can be an important partner in Fund for Idaho's work to create social transformation. If you'd like to join with those committed to the transforming work of Fund for Idaho, click Donate Now or visit our "Donor/Activist" page to see the many ways you can be part of this exciting movement, including joining our mailing list.