Board of Directors
Shaelynn Haning
Shae started her own business, The Tallgrass Tailor, and is passionate about sewing, entrepreneurship, and helping women learn what it takes to run a small business. She has a degree in apparel design and development from Marist College in New York and is a clothing engineer, pattern drafter, and product designer. She and her husband, Garrison, live in Tulsa with their dog, Bright.
Jeff Tracy
Jeff is passionate about sharing resources with families in crisis He joined the Rising Village board to help raise awareness about the needs in the village, and encourage others to share resources to meet those needs. Jeff is a senior director at Stan Johnson Company. He and his wife, Stacey live in Bainbridge Island, Washington with their three children.
Vung Lun
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Lun is deeply invested in Burmese community and was instrumental in starting the RiSE Program. She is an insurance agent with the Freedom Equity Group, and is active in the Myanmar Baptist Church. She and her husband live in Tulsa with their three children.
Chris Shasteen
Chris has a heart for women around the globe as well as orphaned children. She joined the Rising Village board to raise awareness and funds in the U.S. to help families in lower-income countries stay together. She is the marketing manager at Hub International CFR. She and her husband live in Mannford, Oklahoma with their seven children.
Kent Gooch, Jr.
Kent loves the challenge of resourcing and equipping small business owners. He gained a love for travel and a curiosity about the world during his senior year of college when he participated in Semester at Sea. He is the co-founder of Dyfference Makers. He and his wife, Laken, live in Tulsa with their two children.
Yana Sherdis
Yana believes that equipping women to learn a skill or enter a profession is key to helping them integrate and be successful in their community. She works as a special education paraprofessional at Jenks Public Schools. Yana has a bachelor’s degree in education. She previously worked at Open Doors Christian Camp in Chernigiv, Ukraine, and was project manager for LeptaTV in Kyiv, Ukraine. She and her husband live in Bixby, Oklahoma with their two sons.
Hau Suan Khai
Hau believes it is vital to communicate a message of welcome and safety to refugees and immigrants, in addition to resourcing job opportunities and meeting their physical needs. He was chairman of the Zomi Community of Oklahoma from 2018-2022 and now works as on-site manager for Key Personnel in Tulsa. He previously volunteered with the Zomi Association of Malaysia. In 2016, Hau received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Hau and his wife live in Jenks, Oklahoma with their three children.