New Executive Director Appointed!               

David Picatti, President and the Board of Yakima Valley Partners are pleased to announce the appointment of Steve Luten as the incoming Executive Director for the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate effective June 1, 2009.

With over 15 years of experience in the non-profit sector, Steve brings a strong foundation of leadership to Yakima Valley Partners. He most recently was with Mending Wings Ministries, a Native American youth organization in the Valley. He was instrumental in developing the entire infrastructure of Mending Wings and managed the financial operations of the agency.  Prior to serving Mending Wings, Steve was with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship serving as an area director in three separate regions of InterVarsity’s programs in Oregon, Western Washington, and the Inland Northwest.  He successfully supervised direct reports at 5 universities.  

A graduate of the University of Washington in English Literature, Steve has just received his MBA from Washington State University. He, wife Karen, and their children live in rural Wapato.

Yakima Valley Partners Habitat for Humanity, founded in 1985 by Fred and Pam Bauman, was the first affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International in the State of Washington. The local affiliate builds half their homes in the upper valley area and the other half in the lower valley area. Partner families put in over 500 hours of “sweat equity” into their homes and purchase the homes from YVP. Since its founding, Yakima Valley Partners has partnered with 128 families and a strong core of community volunteers to provide simple, decent, quality housing. These homes have added nearly $11,000,000 to the tax base of Yakima County.

For additional information call:

David J Picatti, Board President, Yakima Valley Partners Habitat for Humanity at #(509) 248-2540