UNIVERSITY DISTRICT APPOINTS NEW 2025 BOARD MEMBERS

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Contact: Juliet Sinisterra, CEO, University District; Tel: (509) 255-8093, info@spokaneudistrict.org

UNIVERSITY DISTRICT APPOINTS NEW 2025 BOARD MEMBERS

SPOKANE, Wash., January 27, 2025—The University District Development Association (UDDA) is pleased to announce four new board members for 2025. See this link for additional information about the UDDA board, including existing directors and officers. Pictured from left to right are:

Neil Christopher Apeles, Chief Nursing Officer, Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children’s Hospital

Neil Christopher joined Providence Health and Services in 2010, serving at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center and Providence Tarzana Medical Center (both in CA). He held several leadership positions in Providence’s CA ministries, including Director of Education, Research and Clinical Practice, Assistant Chief Nursing Officer, and Chief Nursing Officer. While at Providence Sacred Heart in Spokane, Neil Christopher has served as Director of Acute Care Services and, most recently, Executive Director of Nursing before assuming the CNO role. He has led important initiatives such as the creation of the student Certified Nursing Assistant Training Program and the General Care Unit at the main hospital, and he has overseen large-scale deployments of clinical resources. Neil Christopher earned his BS in Nursing from the University of Southern California and a Master of Science in Nursing from Mount Saint Mary’s University. He is currently a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing student at WSU, and his research focuses on factors that increase workload intensity and acuity. He holds multiple board certifications, including Nurse Executive Advanced, Nursing Professional Development, and Public Health. Neil Christopher remains active in several professional organizations and serves as the governance chair for Sigma Theta Tau, Delta Chi Chapter. He has served two terms as the vice-chair and chair of the Content Expert Panel for the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Nurse Executive Advanced Board certification exam.

 

Megan Hulsey, Business Lender, VP, Craft3

Megan joined Craft3, a regional Community Development Financial Institution, in 2019 as a Business Lender in the Eastern Washington market and works with established businesses and startup companies to help them access capital to grow. Founded in 1994, Craft3 is a regional nonprofit that makes loans in Oregon and Washington that strengthen the resilience of businesses, families, and nonprofits, including those without access to traditional financing. Before joining Craft3, Megan was deeply involved in the region’s startup ecosystem, directing the programs and entrepreneur development at StartUp Spokane, a program of Greater Spokane Incorporated. Megan provided coaching and development assistance to entrepreneurs, existing business owners, and start-up companies. She was instrumental in developing an innovative pre-seed investment fund called Mind to Market and ran her own consulting company for early-stage businesses seeking venture capital. As a lender, Megan continues to build bridges between various financial institutions, government entities, non-profits, business owners, and large companies to create a support network to help the region become a medical innovation and high-tech manufacturing hub.

 

Marvo Reguindin, Executive Director, AHANA

Marvo Reguindin is the executive director of the Multi-Ethnic Business Association, better known as AHANA, an acronym for Asian, Hispanic, African, and Native American. In this role, he keeps AHANA’s mission alive by securing service contract grants, overseeing staff and building operations, and representing AHANA on state and local committees that work towards equity and equality for BIPOC and other underrepresented and underserved businesses. He serves as an advisory council co-chair for the Department of Commerce Small Business Resiliency Network and sits on the executive committee of the Spokane Inclusive Diversity Council. He also owns a small business that provides association management and marketing services primarily for non-profit organizations. His company has worked with the Alaska Psychological Association, Human Rights Spokane, Washington State Psychological Association, East Spokane Business Association, Inland Northwest Business Alliance (an LGBTQ+ business chamber), and AHANA. His business is certified by the Office of Minority and Woman Business Enterprises. He also has been an adjunct graphic design instructor at Gonzaga University’s School of Business.

 

Thomas Tellefson, Sr VP of Data Center Innovations and INW Construction, McKinstry Co., LLC

Tom has been with McKinstry for almost 20 years and has a wealth of experience in the construction industry. He leads a team of professionals dedicated to advancing solutions in integrated design, manufacturing, building, operations, maintenance, and construction technologies. His leadership and strategic vision have been instrumental in driving innovation and efficiency within the company. Tom has a degree in business economics from Seattle University. He served on the University District’s Development Committee for several years. Tom is passionate about giving back and lifting the Spokane community.

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The University District is where business and education grow together to create a collaborative, healthy, prosperous region. The University District uses its unique connectivity to create shared community wellness and vibrancy by developing the infrastructure and programming that enable a globally recognized hub of education, innovation, research, and health care. www.spokaneudistrict.org.