Team

Christa Stiner joined Mountain Association in May 2022 as Accounting Manager. In her role she supervises and performs day-to-day accounting functions and tracks team and organizational performance against budget goals. After graduating from Pennsylvania State University, Christa worked in and around San Jose, California in nonprofit accounting and governance at a variety of public benefit organizations. While not at work, she enjoys playing bassoon and making, decorating, and playing bamboo pipes. Christa’s favorite thing to do in Eastern Kentucky is inner tube bobbing in Herrington Lake.

Corey Sparkman joined Mountain Association in 2023 as our Technology Associate. In this role, he supports Mountain Association and our two affiliate organizations, Kentucky Natural Lands Trust and Kentucky Policy, with our technology infrastructure by providing front line response to computer systems, staff workstations and other related systems and equipment, and other technology ralted needs. He was born and raised in Letcher County, Kentucky. Corey is a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Computer Information Systems. He is CompTIA Security + Certified.

Donna joined Mountain Association in 2025 to provide leadership to the organization’s programs for lending, business support, energy, and strategic initiatives. For more than 30 years, Donna has served in a variety of roles to support leadership and community development in both rural and urban settings. She most recently served as Executive Director of the Brushy Fork Leadership Institute at Berea College, building upon a 30-year history with that program. She also has served as Principal Planner for Department of Housing and Urban Development programs focusing on affordable housing, community infrastructure, and homelessness in Clark County/Las Vegas, Nevada. In a previous role with Mountain Association, Donna was the Director of Learning Resources at Communities by Choice, an affiliate program. She brings skills in program management, workshop and curriculum design, meeting facilitation, strategic planning, communications, fundraising and proposal writing, and grant management. Donna is a first-generation college graduate with a BA in English from Berea College. In the summer of 2025, she will earn her Master of Public Administration from Eastern Kentucky University. She was born and raised in Kingsport, Tennessee, where her father’s family has lived since the late 1700s. She raised her children on a farm in Estill County, Kentucky, before sojourning to the Desert Southwest for a couple of years. She now lives in Berea with her husband Gene, two spoiled pups, Jack and Joplin, and a frisky feline named Dobby. Donna’s favorite activity in Eastern Kentucky is photographing landscapes, birds, and wildlife to serve as subjects for paintings that celebrate the natural beauty of these mountains.

Elizabeth Almanza joined the Mountain Association in 2021. She grew up in Richmond, Kentucky, and graduated from Berea College in 2018. She holds a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting. While at Berea College, she participated in the IRS's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs which offer free basic tax return preparation to qualified individuals. Elizabeth has worked as Financial Advisor for White House Clinics, and most recently worked for Eastern Kentucky University as a Student Accounting Services Supervisor. Elizabeth enjoys spending time with her partner and daughter.

With the Mountain Association since 2013, Jason assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer in 2020, leading operations in support of Mountain Association’s mission and programs. In his previous roles, he served as the Energy Programs Manager and the Director of Performance Culture. Prior to joining the Mountain Association, he taught at the Rural Studio, an internationally acclaimed design-build program in the School of Architecture at Auburn University, and was the Compton Chair in Ecological Design at Berea College. Jason holds a Masters of Architecture degree from the University of Kentucky, and is a licensed REALTOR® in Kentucky. Originally from Henderson County, Kentucky, he currently resides in Lexington with his wife and two sons. Jason's favorite spot in Eastern Kentucky is the Wrigley Taproom in Corbin where Chef Kristin Smith makes life-changing brussel sprouts and other locally-sourced culinary delights.

Joe joined the Mountain Association staff in 2008. He has spent his career providing technology support to nonprofits, and in his current role as the Mountain Association, he works with staff to use technology to accomplish our mission in an effective and efficient manner. He has lived most of his life in Kentucky, graduating from Morehead State University before settling in Berea. Joe was instrumental in helping start the Berea Makerspace which launched in 2019. While not at work he enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, making things, and working in his garden. Joe's favorite activity in Eastern Kentucky is hiking to Lockegee Rock, which has a view of Cave Run Lake and the surrounding mountains.

Kacie joined the Mountain Association in 2019, having recently moved to Kentucky from Pennsylvania. She is a Certified Public Accountant with 10 years of experience in governmental and nonprofit accounting. Kacie is responsible for the Mountain Association’s financial planning, risk management and financial accountability, while also overseeing the administrative and collection sides of our lending program. At home Kacie enjoys spending time with her husband, two sons and growing their goat ranch. Kacie's favorite thing to do in Eastern Kentucky is grabbing a bite at the Back Porch Smokehouse while overlooking or boating on Lake Linville.

Peter Hille is Chief Executive Officer for the Mountain Association. After nine years as President, he became CEO in June 2024 to support the leadership transition prior to his retirement in April 2025. He joined Mountain Association's board in 2003 and served as board treasurer and board chair before joining Mountain Association's staff in 2012 as Executive Vice President, overseeing our programs in energy, forestry, lending and business support, as well as finance and operations. During his tenure, Peter has helped expand Mountain Association’s work in many ways, including in the clean energy sector through our New Energy Intern program and our solar financing that makes solar more accessible to businesses and organizations serving low-income communities. Previously, Peter was Director of the Brushy Fork Institute of Berea College, working in leadership and community development throughout Central Appalachia for 22 years. He also served as a consultant to regional and national organizations and implemented community development projects internationally in Russia and Slovakia. Peter currently chairs the board of the East Kentucky Leadership Foundation and previously served on the Berea Human Rights Commission. He was founding Board Chair of the Kentucky Environmental Foundation and served in that capacity for more than two decades, during which time he helped to lead a successful international effort to ensure safe disposal of chemical weapons in Kentucky and beyond. A graduate of Swarthmore College, his background includes experience in grassroots organizing, consulting, woodworking, construction and small business management. He lives with his wife in a solar home they designed and built in the midst of fifty acres of forest near Berea, Kentucky. He enjoys fishing, hiking, music, ongoing home improvement projects and family gatherings, particularly in his role as a grandfather. Peter's favorite activity in Eastern Kentucky is floating the Cumberland River.

Rhonda joined the Mountain Association in 2023 as the Executive Assistant, providing support to the President, the Executive and Leadership Councils, and the Board of Directors. She grew up in Eastern Kentucky and graduated with a degree in Business Administration from Berea College. She worked in the Thoroughbred industry prior to obtaining a Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary. Rhonda recently moved back home to Kentucky after 20 years in Florida, where she lived and worked in Orlando’s most marginalized zip code for a decade before founding Samaritan Village, Inc., a nonprofit providing housing and holistic support to victims of sex trafficking. She is now excited to discover a new sense of place back home in Kentucky.

Robin Gabbard became Mountain Association President in 2024. Robin has spent her entire career serving Appalachia. Prior to becoming President, she served as Chief Operating Officer for LKLP Community Action, an agency of more than 300 employees that serves Leslie, Knott, Letcher, and Perry counties. With more than 30 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, Robin was also previously the Associate Executive Director of the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky and the Director for Teach for America Appalachia. Additionally, she served as Board Chair of the Mountain Association for five years and continues to serve as Board Chair for Buckhorn Children & Family Services. Robin and her family are rooted in Gays Creek, a beautiful Perry County community. Robin’s favorite spot in Eastern Kentucky is being on the water of Buckhorn Lake. 

Toni has served the Mountain Association and its affiliate organizations as HR Manager since 2022. She has extensive experience particularly in the areas of employee relations, training and development, compensation, compliance, employee supervision, organizational design, recruitment and retention, performance management, and conflict resolution. Toni has a bachelor’s degree in Human Geography from Eastern Kentucky University; she also holds certificates in Civil Mediation and Online Course Development & Instruction. Toni lives in Berea with her husband, son and two dogs. Together they enjoy traveling, camping, live music, farmers markets and the local, natural splendor that makes Kentucky special!

Zuojay joined the staff in 2015 and serves as the Organizational Development Manager for the Mountain Association. Bringing empathy and a touch of humor to her work, she creates and executes initiatives that facilitate change and support a healthy work culture. Zuojay coordinates internal opportunities for staff development and training. She is a graduate of Berea College, where she studied Philosophy and English. Zuojay loves a good walk and recently took a muddy slog down Whittleton Trail enjoying its massive sandstone arch and small waterfall along the way.