Mission

Our mission is to provide financial opportunities for Southeast Alaska communities and to Tlingit and Haida tribal citizens wherever they reside.

Vision

We envision thriving, self-sufficient tribal citizens and communities in Southeast Alaska.

Values

HYFC is grounded in our Tlingit and Haida values:

Committed: We are committed to investing in individuals, families, and communities.

Innovative: We bring creativity to our collaborations and partnerships.

People-oriented: We customize our products and services to meet the needs of our people and their communities.

Trustworthy: We respect and treat our people with professionalism and integrity in all that we do. HYFC will fulfill its mission through educational training and technical assistance classes, providing quality loan products, and building strong character relationships with its clientele and overall community. 

Board of Directors

Jacqueline Pata – Executive Director

Jacqueline Pata was appointed President & CEO of the Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority in April 2019. Previously from 1989 to 1998, Ms. Pata was the Executive Director of THRHA and continued serve THRHA in the role of Ex-Officio on the Board of Commissioners prior to her appointment as CEO.

Before returning to THRHA, Ms. Pata led for nearly 18 years, the National Congress of American Indians in Washington, DC as Executive Director. Prior to that, she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Native American Programs for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development where she was responsible for the implementation of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act (NAHASDA).  Additionally, she served as Chairwoman of the Native American Indian Housing Council where she led the charge to reform the Indian housing program and was a Board Member at Sealaska Corporation from 1999-2019.

Currently, Ms. Pata is the 2nd Vice President for the Central Council of the Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska and serves on a variety of national executive boards, Board Member for the George Gustave Heye Center of the National Museum of the American Indian, the Caroline and Ora Smith Foundation focused on STEM for girls and the US Lacrosse Native American Advisory Council.

Sage Logan – Chairman

Sage currently serves as a Wealth Management Client Associate for Merrill Lynch in Juneau, Ak. A local Tlingit & Haida citizen, and a Senecca on his father’s side, he truly represents our effort to “grow our own”.

Sage is a Junior attending the University of Alaska SE in the accounting degree program. He

became interested in finance early in his career as a Finance Intern for Sealaska Corporation, a regional for-profit Native Corporation. He then worked as a personal banker for Key Bank in Juneau and then Gugenheim Partners in Santa Monica, CA as a Project Finance Intern. He has prior board experience as a member of the Tidelines Institute Board.

Sage is a Low-Income Resident within the organization’s service area.

Karen Taug – Vice Chairman

Ms. Taug brings her financial expertise. She served a total of 9 years as the Controller/Finance Director of Southeast Alaska Regional Health Corporation and for Bartlet Regional Hospital. Ms. Taug is very interested in serving the people of her region, and community. She currently lives in Haines, a community at the northern end of the region. Ms. Taug also serves on the Board for Sealaska Corporation, the regional for-profit Alaska Native Corporation for southeast Alaska and has served on the HYFC and THRHA boards for one year. Karen is a THRHA Board member and will continue to serve on HYFC Board. She is a resident of a low- income community. She is also an elected official of Tlingit & Haida Tribe of Alaska serving as the Community Council President representing a low-income community.

Kevin O’Neal-Smith – Secretary/Treasurer

As a lifelong Alaskan, Kevin (he/him/his) pursues projects and conversations that support and celebrate community, business, and the environment. Through a dynamic mix of professional and academic experience, Kevin has developed skills in investment analysis, data science and visualization, stakeholder engagement, project management, and a passion for community and inclusion. Kevin works with tribal entities, social enterprises, and values-aligned researchers that champion historically impacted communities. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics from Fort Lewis College and is an active member in his community. Outside of work, Kevin loves to cook, play basketball, DJ for his local radio station, and explore his traditional homelands of Southeast Alaska. He embraces Alaska Native values in his everyday life, like wooch.een (working together) and haa shuká (respect for the past and future). Kevin is Tlingit, Yéil (Raven), Gaanaxteidi’ (Frog clan), Kutis’ Hít (Looking Out to Sea House). His Tlingit name is Yaa sh kanda. éts’.

Kevin is a Private Representative on our board. He is a tribal citizen which is covered in our service area, but he also has expertise and experience in corporate internal function in finance.

Roald Helgesen – Board Director

Roald Gúud Xángii Helgesen has served as the Chief Operating Officer for Tlingit & Haida since 2020. In this capacity, he manages the Tribe’s administrative and program operations to ensure all activities are carried out consistent with the established goals and objectives of the Tribe’s strategic plan and within the framework of adopted budgets, applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures. He also acts as a liaison with various government and private organizations, represents Tlingit & Haida in business negotiations and serves on the Tribe’s Investment Committee for the Tribal Trust Fund, board for the Tlingit & Haida/Hope Condominium Association and tribally- owned enterprises, and as a trustee for the Tribe’s Employee Retirement Plans. Roald graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Minor in Public Administration from the University of Alaska Anchorage in 1994 and a Master of Science degree in Health Care Administration from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

Roald previously served as the Chief Executive Officer and Hospital Administrator for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) and President and CEO of the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC). Early in his career, he served as a volunteer EMT and firefighter in Sitka where he worked his way up to fire captain and worked for SEARHC’s medevac team.

Roald grew up in Sitka, Alaska. He is Eagle/Frog of the Sgajuuga.ahl clan, an enrolled tribal citizen of Sitka Tribe of Alaska and Tlingit & Haida, and a shareholder of Sealaska Corporation. He is married to Carly Helgesen and together they have two adult children, Kaare and Karin.

Road is an appointed representative of a low-income community within the NeighborWorks organization service area.

Robin Danner – Board Director

Robin Puanani Danner (native Hawaiian) is the CEO and Co-Founder of the Homestead Community Development Corporation (HCDC) operating the Homestead Loan Fund, and affordable housing and community facility projects, including a certified kitchen, marketplace, and enterprise center. As a 501c3 incorporated in 2009, the HCDC mission is to create affordable housing, jobs and capacity building on or near Hawaiian Homelands.

Ms. Danner is also the elected chairman of the oldest and largest coalition of self-governing homestead associations – the Sovereign Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations (SCHHA). She is a former bank executive, tribal housing authority executive, a county housing and economic development director and the founder of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA). She has been awarded numerous national leadership and housing awards, as well as small business awards including the SBA Minority Business Advocate of the year, twice – once for the State of Alaska and another for the State of Hawaii.

A nonpartisan, Ms. Danner advocates for good public policy regardless of party or identity of a policymaker, and instead focuses on the implementation of goals that achieve priorities of an agency or government leaders (state, federal, tribal and homestead associations).

She is from the island of Kauai, born and raised in Niumalu, and attended public schools on the Navajo and Hopi Indian reservations, as well as the north slope of Alaska. She is the product of life-long educator parents specializing in Native children and built a successful career in banking and Native solutions to housing and economic development. She is well versed in both private sector and public sector agencies, each of which play vital roles in the well-being of Native peoples. Ms. Danner resides on Kauai with her husband where they raised four children.

Robin Danner does not live in SE Alaska but has the expertise and experience in our key lines of business having served se the Chair of Native CDFI Network and is a Native Hawaiian. She is considered a Private Representative on our board.

HYFC Staff

Shaun Guthrie – Lending and Operations Manager

Shaun Guthrie serves as the Lending and Operations Manager for Haa Yakaawu Financial Corporation (HYFC), where he oversees daily operations and leads a multidisciplinary team including Loan Officers, an Educational Coordinator, and administrative staff. He is responsible for managing all lending activities, conducting loan origination and underwriting, ensuring regulatory compliance, and driving program development across HYFC’s core financial services.

Shaun brings over 20 years of experience in financial services and tribal housing organizations. His background includes roles as Financial Analyst at Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (2005–2014), Grant Accountant at Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority (2014–2017), and Administrator to the CEO at THRHA and HYFC (2017–2022).
He has extensive expertise in community-based lending, loan program design, operational systems management, and strategic execution of financial initiatives that support tribal citizens across Southeast Alaska.

Shaun is a licensed Mortgage Loan Originator in the State of Alaska and is certified as a HUD Housing Counselor. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting with a minor in Economics from the University of Alaska Southeast.

Caroline Allen – Loan Officer

Caroline Allen serves as a Loan Officer for Haa Yakaawu Financial Corporation (HYFC), where she is responsible for guiding clients through every stage of the lending process—from intake and financial advising to underwriting, closing, and post-loan servicing. Caroline manages loan documentation, coordinates with title companies, and plays a critical role in loan compliance and funder reporting. She also leads HYFC’s social media and marketing outreach and serves as a Site Coordinator and Reviewer for the organization’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

Since joining HYFC in 2023, Caroline has held several key roles including Administrative Assistant and Loan Servicing Specialist, providing support across all aspects of the loan portfolio. She brings over a decade of experience in client services, operations coordination, and emergency response from previous roles in North Carolina.

Caroline holds the following credentials:

• Licensed Mortgage Loan Originator (NMLS #2491037)
• Certified Homebuyer Education Trainer (Pathways)
• VITA Site Coordinator and IRS-Certified Volunteer
• Mental Health First Aid National Responder

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in American Sign Language/Deaf Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is currently pursuing her Master’s degree. Caroline is passionate about financial equity and is committed to empowering underserved communities across Southeast Alaska through homeownership and asset-building opportunities.

Louise Kadinger – Mortgage & Financial Education Coordinator

Louise Kadinger serves as the Mortgage & Financial Education Coordinator for Haa Yakaawu Financial Corporation (HYFC), where she oversees financial education services including budgeting, credit, savings, and homebuyer education workshops. She provides one-on-one financial coaching, facilitates pre- and post-purchase homebuyer classes, and supports clients throughout the loan application process. Louise also contributes to delinquency outreach and is a lead volunteer in HYFC’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

With over 30 years of experience serving tribal citizens in Southeast Alaska, Louise has worked across housing, education, and financial support roles. Her previous positions include GED Counselor for Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska and Energy Programs Coordinator for Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority, where she managed multimillion-dollar assistance programs.

Louise holds multiple certifications in financial education and coaching, including:

• Certified Financial Education Trainer through Oweesta’s Building Native Communities: Financial Skills for Families (BNC Train-the-Trainer)
• Certified Homebuyer Education “Train-the-Trainer”
• Certified VITA Processor
• CDFI Practitioner – Financial Management Specialization

Nicole Jesus – Administrative Clerk

Nicole Jesus serves as the Administrative Clerk for Haa Yakaawu Financial Corporation (HYFC), where she is the first point of contact for clients and visitors. In her role, Nicole manages front desk operations, processes loan and program payments, and ensures the timely intake and distribution of sensitive documents and communications. She plays a vital role in maintaining the day-to-day flow of HYFC’s office, supporting all departments with clerical coordination and customer service.

Nicole joined HYFC in January 2025, following a similar administrative role at Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority. She brings a strong background in customer-facing roles across retail, food service, and housing organizations, with a demonstrated commitment to dependable service and community engagement.

Nicole continues to build her skills in office administration and is a proud contributor to HYFC’s mission of supporting financial empowerment for Southeast Alaska communities.