Our Staff
Miles Nowlin - Executive Director
Miles has been engaged in affordable housing work for over a decade, focusing on participatory development and collective land tenure practices. His drive for this work stems from his housing advocacy and community development work in Shelton, Washington, where he coordinated social services for homeless families and children and helped develop increased services for immigrant families and homeless teens. Miles co-founded the Mason County HOST Program, a housing/education program for homeless teens based in the schools that supported them, which assisted teens to secure housing, diplomas, and work. He went on to work as a Housing Cooperative Developer with the Northwest Cooperative Development Center (NWCDC) in Olympia, Washington, where he led resident homeowners through the purchase and conversion of five resident-owned manufactured housing co-operatives. Miles recently did state policy work at NWCDC, advocating for legislation and state funding to bolster co-operative development. He arrives to our region from Albuquerque, where he recently completed his Masters degree in Latin American Studies, with a concentration in Environmental Governance. Miles’ Masters’ research centered on community control in Caño Martín Peña Community Land Trust in Puerto Rico.
Rachel Elfenbein - Senior Land Trust Consultant
Rachel coordinates Common Roots Housing Trust's development as part of her work as a consultant for Community Council’s affordable housing advocacy. She has coordinated the volunteer efforts to establish Common Roots, while securing grants and donations to fund Common Roots’ development. Rachel holds a PhD in Sociology and a MA in Intercultural Management. She was a Fulbright scholar to Venezuela, where she conducted published research on women’s rights and unpaid labor, and a US Peace Corps Volunteer in South Africa, where she co-founded Childline Mpumalanga. Prior to working on affordable housing, Rachel led participatory research and education programs with workers, unions, and community organizations in southern Africa and provided domestic violence counseling and education in the United States. Having studied and worked on the intersections between gender inequality, gender violence, labor, and public health, she has seen how essential safe affordable homes are to women’s and children’s freedom. Rachel is excited to be taking part and learning in this collective effort to establish the region’s first community land trust for permanently affordable homes.
Our Board of Directors
Nancy Riggle - Board Co-Chair
Nancy is the Executive Director of Valley Residential Services (VRS), a large nonprofit organization operating in Walla Walla and Columbia Counties. She has worked in housing services in this region since 1978. Nancy’s favorite part of her job at VRS is working with Washington’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Her clientele at VRS earns very low incomes and VRS staff earns low incomes. Through her work, Nancy has seen the difference safe secure homes make in people’s lives. She became a Common Roots founding board member after participating in Community Council’s Affordable Housing Study. From the study, Nancy saw that we have an affordable housing crisis, so she wanted to put her money where her mouth was. She has served on several of Community Council’s Affordable Housing Implementation Task Force’s sub-committees in addition to Common Roots’ board of directors. A foster mom for 14 years, Nancy now has 13 adult children who call her “Mom,” and 27 grandchildren.
Wyatt Rolfe - Board Co-Chair
Wyatt was proudly raised in the Walla Walla Valley and has witnessed its dynamic changes over the last several decades. His support of Common Roots is driven by a belief that vibrant and successful communities must have affordable homes. Our housing crisis was recently exemplified in Wyatt’s neighborhood where a 1950 ranch-style home sold for $850,000. Through Common Roots, Wyatt hopes our community can provide affordable homes to the families and individuals that make our region special. In his professional life, Wyatt is a practicing attorney who focuses on estate planning, business law, elder law, and natural resources law.
Riley Clubb - Board Treasurer
Riley is the owner of Harvust, a developer of software for farms and farm workers. He is a former Walla Walla City Council member, and he has spent the last several years working on affordable housing policies and the creation of our region’s first community land trust.
Patricia Divine Wilder - Board Secretary
Trish is a semi-retired technical and grant writer/editor. She has lived in Walla Walla most of her life and calls it home. In the past few years, however, Trish’s rent has increased to the point that she isn’t sure she can afford to stay here. When she heard about the plan to start a community land trust (CLT) in our region, she learned that this model could be an exciting solution for herself and others worried about their fast-rising rents. Trish and other board members have participated in multiple training sessions and have been guided through many tough decisions by seasoned CLT consultants. She appreciates that Common Roots Housing Trust will create permanently affordable homes in this region for those with low to moderate incomes and that Common Roots’ homeowners will be members of the organization and have a voice in its governance. Trish notes that there is so much to recommend about community land trusts that she is grateful to have the opportunity to help get our region’s first CLT started.
Sundown Hazen
Sundown met his wife in San Jose when they were both arrested at a housing takeover to raise awareness of the homelessness problem in California. He and his family came to Walla Walla in 2018. Sundown came across Community Council’s Affordable Housing Study and then got involved in Community Council’s Affordable Housing Implementation Task Force and later Common Roots to help produce homes that aren’t just affordable to buy but affordable to own by advocating for well-built, energy-efficient homes. He is also interested in ecology, local food, food-forestry landscaping, and year-round food production. Sundown and his friend, Jonathan Garrett, started Chesed Farms growing mushrooms. Now with a greenhouse, they have started growing herbs and other fresh produce as well as incorporating animals and working with balsamroot and permaculture designs. He is excited about Common Roots and hoping to grow and learn, while incorporating some of these ideas into Common Roots' permanently affordable housing developments.
Suzanne Morrissey
Suzanne has lived in Walla Walla for almost 20 years. She was born and raised in Syracuse, New York. She is a medical anthropologist and studies chronic illness, barriers to care, and harm reduction. When Suzanne first moved to Walla Walla, she ran prevention services for Blue Mountain Heart to Heart, later becoming executive director there. Recently, she retired from Whitman College to return to what she loves: applied public health research. She is a qualitative researcher for OCHIN Inc., a national non-profit, community health center network. Suzanne’s current research in the areas of health disparities and social determinants of health includes studies of the serious negative impacts of housing insecurity on people’s lives. Without stable and safe housing, health is hard (if not impossible) to maintain.
Mike Rizzitiello
Mike has served as the College Place City Administrator for six years, following two and a half years as the City Administrator in Colfax. He currently chairs the Walla Walla County Council on Housing. Mike’s main concern is the lack of affordable housing here, and what that is going to mean for the community in the long term. He finds it telling that as College Place's top city executive, he couldn’t afford to buy a home in the city until recently. Currently, it is hard to find staff for the city of College Place’s administrative jobs. His fear is that due to the lack of affordable homes here, our region’s main employers may move to the Tri-Cities to find workers there.
Terri Silvis
Dr. Silvis joined Horizon Project Inc. in May 2017 as CEO and brings over 30 years of experience in business and nonprofit administration, organizational management, executive leadership, finance and real estate. Prior to joining Horizon Project, Dr. Silvis worked as an affordable housing consultant for service agencies and housing authorities across Oregon and Washington and served as the Director of Housing for Catholic Charities of Oregon for over a decade. Horizon Project provides 24 Hour Residential Services, Supported Living, Employment Supports, and Community Living/Day Services for adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in Umatilla County. With over 30 years working in the affordable housing arena, Dr. Silvis has overseen the capitalization, refinance or restructure of over 1,200 units of housing representing almost $230,000,000 in private and public funds. Horizon Project’s mission is to ensure that all projects developed provide integrated housing for individuals living with IDD and incorporate universal design to the maximum level feasible.
Amber Lynn Cope
Amber is an Outreach Worker at Blue Mountain Heart to Heart in Walla Walla. Amber loves being of service and advocating for those populations who are traditionally stigmatized and underserved. She has served on the Greater Columbia Behavioral Health Advisory Board for 2 years and on Washington State’s Substance Use and Recovery Services Advisory Committee for 3 years as the representation for Peer Support Specialists. In both cases she has been the only person serving from the Walla Walla area. Amber believes it's important to give a voice to our community at the regional and state levels. She is excited to help represent at Common Roots folks like herself, who work hard in this community, yet struggle to afford to live in it! She believes everyone deserves a safe, affordable place to call home.
Joy Marie Smith
Joy is the past president of the Waitsburg Commercial Club Chamber of Commerce. She was one of the early advocates for Community Council’s Affordable Housing Study. In her Commercial Club role, Joy receives many inquiries about housing availability, particularly in relationship to employment or business recruitment. She sees how the lack of affordable homes can negatively impact Waitsburg’s economic growth. In February 2020, Waitsburg had a flood that displaced many of the city’s low-income residents. Working with the Waitsburg Flood Recovery Group, Joy realized that the reason so many people with low incomes were living in flood zones was because the only homes they could afford were there. She is committed to the process of creating permanently affordable homes in her community and throughout our region.
Rosendo Guizar
Rosendo is the Chief Credit Officer at Baker Boyer, where he is responsible for the Bank’s entire commercial and consumer lending portfolio. Guizar began his career with Baker Boyer Bank in 1996. During his 22 years at the Bank, he has worked in all facets of lending, ranging from operational to direct lending responsibilities in both the consumer and commercial areas. He has held positions as a Commercial Loan Assistant and Loan Officer, Business Advisor, culminating in his most recent role as a Credit Administrator. He is proud to call Walla Walla home and feels fortunate to have been able to raise his two daughters in Walla Walla’s great community. Rosendo enjoys giving back to the community through his involvement in various organizations. He has served as President of the Sunrise Rotary Club, Walla Walla Community Hospice Board President, member of the Workforce Development Council, and a member of the Walla Walla Community College Accounting Advisory Committee.
Roger Esparza
Esparza, born in Walla Walla, spent part of his childhood in Milton-Freewater, though he graduated from Walla Walla High School. He named his brokerage firm after what his grandfather, Angel Romero, called the Pacific Northwest. His grandfather traveled to the Pacific Northwest from the state of Zacatecas, Mexico for work. Grandpa Angel called this area “bella tierra” or beautiful land. Esparza’s commitment to the Walla Walla community is evident from his history of service. He is a former chairman of the Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He has also served on the boards of the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation and Friends of Children of Walla Walla, where he was also a mentor to a child. Esparza was board chair of the Community Council for three years, and currently serves as the treasurer of the Walla Walla Association of Realtors. Volunteerism is a deep value in Esparza's life. He has been a youth baseball coach, a Junior Achievement instructor, a Walla Walla Fair & Frontier Days Rotary volunteer. He also volunteers for Habitat for Humanity building homes for families.