IDAHO FALLS – Former Ammon Mayor Dana Kirkham has been selected to become a Director for Bank of Idaho and the Bank of Idaho Holding Company.
Kirkham is currently Director of Strategic Initiatives for Idaho Environmental Coalition, the prime contractor for the Idaho Cleanup Project at the INL site. Previously she served as the CEO of Regional Economic Development for Eastern Idaho (REDI). Currently she participates on several other boards, including the Idaho Falls Arts Council, the Bonneville County Fire District, and the Idaho Falls City Club.
“We're excited to have Dana join us on the board." said Bank of Idaho President and CEO Jeff Newgard. "As a former mayor and a current strategic director, she brings a breadth of expertise that's rare, and that will certainly benefit our board of directors."
Kirkham attended Marion Military Institute in Alabama before graduating with a B.S. in Political Science from Utah State University. She worked for the State Department in Frankfurt, Germany and the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Virginia. She loves spending time outdoors with
her family – camping, hiking, backpacking, and mountain biking. She is married to Ryan Kirkham and has two daughters.
She said she hopes the new post will be enlightening for all parties involved. "I care a lot about this community and the people in it, So it's a way to hopefully serve as well as learn. But I hope to bring maybe a fresh perspective. I'm a professional, I'm a mother, I am involved in the community – I wear a lot of different hats, work with a lot of different organizations, some in a board capacity, some in a volunteer capacity," she said. "I hope that I can bring a perspective that maybe isn't there right now, and one that maybe helps other people on the board think from a different perspective too."
Kirkham will begin her tenure on the board immediately.
Bank of Idaho has been a cornerstone in eastern Idaho since 1985, when their headquarter location opened in Idaho Falls. Their first Boise branch opened in early 2019, and in March 2020, stock for the Bank of Idaho Holding Company opened to public trading on the OTC QX market under the symbol BOID. Bank of Idaho focuses on small businesses and is a regional leader in SBA lending.