Staff

Lara grew up in Hoquiam, WA and moved from Seattle to Bainbridge Island in 2017. She spent 15 years at an investment management firm where she led a team responsible for investment reporting. Lara served as a board member for HRB before joining the staff in 2020. On staff, she leads the fundraising and development program at HRB.  Lara faced housing insecurity as a child and strongly believes that providing affordable housing to our community is vital. She is passionate about giving people opportunities to attend our amazing schools, live where they work, and to age in the community they call home. Lara has three young sons and loves reading whenever she can find a quiet moment.

Jeanette runs the day-to-day operations of HRB’s maintenance department and oversees the preventative maintenance program. She has over twenty years of experience in building and facilities maintenance. She worked for a large, top-rated housing authority prior to joining HRB. She is committed to maintaining HRB’s inventory of apartments in a manner that assures their existence for generations to come. Jeanette recently completed a three year course of study in affordable housing asset management. She is passionate about affordable housing and finds the work both challenging and rewarding.

Ruben is committed to customer service and helping build community through his work in maintaining HRB properties. He spent 7 years as Building Maintenance Supervisor in Clovis Ca. He then started residential maintenance in 2005 with the largest property management company in the Central Valley, where he was nominated Maintenance Technician of the Year. He continued his residential maintenance career after moving to Washington in 2009 and now serves as the Lead Maintenance Tech. for HRB. Ruben hopes to continue his positive impact on Bainbridge Island for many years to come.

Tamar Kupiec comes to HRB from IslandWood where she managed the volunteer program. She has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing, taught creative writing in New York City public high schools, and worked for many years as a freelance writer and editor, most recently at Forterra. Tamar moved to Bainbridge in 2016 from the East Coast, where she lived in various Massachusetts cities and towns and in Brooklyn, NY, and was immediately taken by the island’s natural beauty and engaged community. She believes that through thoughtful, equitable, and innovative housing development, we can create a more economically diverse and interconnected community. She finds great satisfaction in sharing the stories of challenge and opportunity, generosity and commitment that define HRB and involving others in its work.

Michael was born in Allentown, PA, and has moved around the Northeast. He and his wife ventured to Washington first on their honeymoon in 2015 and permanently in 2019. They welcomed their first daughter into the world in July 2020. Michael has a bachelor’s in business management and a master’s in business administration. His passion for community involvement started in college and has become a large part of his life. “Housing is a right, not a privilege. It is our responsibility as human beings to ensure that every person, regardless of economic station, has the opportunity to exercise this right.”