Michelle Ziel-Dingman | Board Chair & Secretary 
Idaho Falls City Council President 

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Michelle was elected to serve on the Idaho Falls City Council in November 2015 and was appointed to this Board in January 2019 by Mayor Rebecca Casper. Her professional background is in nonprofit management and marketing. She currently serves as President of the Idaho Falls City Council and has grown to specialize in transportation as not only the current longest serving Board Member of Greater Idaho Falls Transit but also the longest serving liaison to the Idaho Falls Regional Airport (IDA). 

 

She is a proud University of Idaho Vandal and first generation college graduate. Michelle has served as the Marketing Manager for organizations including Ball Ventures, General Growth Properties, and Fin Fun Mermaid. Michelle has also spent a large part of her career in nonprofit management as the Executive Director of the Eastern Idaho Technical College Foundation (now College of Eastern Idaho), Development Director of Community Food Basket Idaho Falls, and now serves as the Executive Director of Snake River Animal Shelter.

 

After the former transit system known as TRPTA shut down, Michelle led the sale of assets, bankruptcy restructure, reformation of a new board, transition to a new assumed business name, and most importantly, ensured that former TRPTA employees were fairly and completely paid for their work by utilizing FTA grant dollars and local match Michelle secured. 

Michelle has been called to leadership positions on numerous boards including serving as the Chair of the Bonneville Metropolitan Planning Organization (BMPO) Policy Board, The Art Museum of Idaho Executive Board, the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce Board, and as President of the Civitan Club of Idaho Falls. A well-known public speaker, Michelle has spoken on numerous topics including social media, personal motivation, and women in business and has been a keynote speaker at many events including TedXIdahoFalls.

 

Michelle and her husband share four children between the ages of 11 and 18 and spend their spare time watching basketball, volunteering, and biking. She has a passion for animal rescue and is the proud "dog mom" to two rescue pups Chewie and Maybe.

 

Lisa Farris | Vice-Chair & Treasurer 

Grant Administrator for the City of Idaho Falls 

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As the Grant Administrator for the City of Idaho Falls, Lisa Farris has administered and managed the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the last 11 years. Lisa has been successful in applying for and receiving over $7 million in CDBG/HUD funds to assist low- and moderate-income individuals with a variety of housing, economic, community, and public service needs. During the COVID 19 Pandemic, Lisa was able to secure $507,657 of CARES Act funds allocated to Entitlement Cities through the CDBG Program.
 

In addition, Lisa manages a Revolving Loan Program to promote and assist with economic improvement and also serves as the ADA Coordinator for the City of Idaho Falls. Lisa has served on the TRPTA Board since May 2, 2019 and has been extensively involved with the administrative and operational tasks involving the closing of TRPTA and the development of future transit services in Idaho Falls.

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Prior to her current position, Lisa was a Transportation Planner and Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator with Bonneville Metropolitan Planning Organization (BMPO) where she helped improve the existing bicycle and pedestrian network.

Prior to working for the City, Lisa worked for Eastern Idaho Community Action Partners (EICAP) in the Aging Division where she had the opportunity to educate herself on the unmet needs of the community and the challenges faced by service providers.
 

Prior to working at EICAP, Lisa worked for the Idaho National Laboratory as a Benefit Representative, an Environmental Safely and Health Specialist, and an Aviation Safety Specialist.

Lisa’s education includes:

Aviation Safety Certificate (University of Southern California).

BA of Science in Industrial Technology (University of Idaho).

Lisa is also proud to have served in the U.S Navy as a Hospital Corpsman.
 

Lisa believes her background in HR, environmental health and safety, community action, and local government and community planning brings all the elements to the table when administering and managing a variety of grants or serving on a Board or a Commission.

 

Hailey Mack | Board Director 

Dean of Students for College of Eastern Idaho (CEI)

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Hailey Mack is an active community member who is passionate about giving back. Prior to accepting a position at College of Eastern Idaho, Mack worked for College of Western Idaho, Idaho State University, and has now spent over seven years at College of Eastern Idaho.

She has experience in Human Resources, Student Life, Advising, One Stop, Recruitment, and Student Affairs. Mack attended College of Southern Idaho and transferred to Boise State University where she completed a Bachelor of Business Administration in 2009. In 2018, Mack earned a Master of Science degree from Western Governors University in Management and Leadership. Mack is a recruitment, marketing, implementation, and logistics guru, having led numerous initiatives, projects, and departments at every college she's served.

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Rick Cloutier | Board Director 

Idaho Falls Regional Airport Director 

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Since 2018, Rick Cloutier has served as the Airport Director of the Idaho Falls Regional Airport. Hired as a leader in airport service development, the Idaho Falls Regional Airport (IDA) has nearly tripled its emplanements under Rick's direction. He is currently overseeing a massive airport expansion utilizing federal grant dollars. 

 

Prior to coming to Idaho Falls, Rick was the Director of the Myrtle Beach International Airport and the Concord Regional Airport where he was responsible for all airport operations, tenant relations, and airport expansions including managing millions of dollars in grants from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

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Rick also served as the Business Development Manager for a Community Action Program (CAP) that provided public transportation on seven fixed routes and on-demand services that provided over 30,000 trips and over five million miles per year. Contracts included both Federal and State contracts to include SSI, Medicaid, Medicare, and Veteran Services. He was also responsible for the development of private business contracts that included private insurance companies, work services and courier services and managed both employed drivers and over 200 volunteer drivers.

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Rick gave 20 years of service to the United States Marine Corps serving numerous roles worldwide in aircraft operations and maintenance. 

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He holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration from the University of Maine and is a certified member of the American Association of Airport Executives. 

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Arnold Cantu | Board Director 

Clinic Administrator at Community Council of Idaho 

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Arnold Cantu has been working for the Community Council of Idaho for 5 years. He is now the Clinic Administrator, and prior to that he worked for the State of Idaho for 23 years as a counselor at the Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.

 

Arnold attended the University of Alabama for three years and completed his degree in Human Resources and Training Development at Idaho State University. He went on to complete his Masters in Counseling at Western Washington University. He recently completed the Executive Training program in Health Care Administration at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).

 

Little known fact: He collects antique sports books.

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