Community Heart & Soul Model for Engagement

Explore the Community Heart & Soul model, a resident-driven approach to meaningful and lasting community engagement. Built on three core principles, involve everyone, focus on what matters most, and play the long game, this four-phase process brings residents together to identify what makes their community unique and strengthen their connection to the place they call home.

Participants will learn how the model can help communities establish shared priorities, guide future decisions, and support long-term vitality.

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Sara Lightner, Vice President of Programs, Community Heart & Soul

Sara Lightner is passionate about connecting with people, hearing their stories, and sharing a story or two of her own. She grew up in a western Iowa town of about 350 people, where she experienced the strength of a close-knit, caring community and learned the importance of volunteerism.

Before joining Community Heart & Soul, Sara spent nearly a decade with the Peace Corps as director of programming and training, working in education and public health throughout the Eastern Caribbean and Vanuatu.

Sara lives in Shelburne, Vermont, with her family. She volunteers at the town library, attends sporting events across New England, and rarely goes anywhere without a book in her bag.

Josh Kaiel, Program Associate, Community Heart & Soul

Before joining Community Heart & Soul, Josh Kaiel served as director of community development at Innovia Foundation, where he helped expand the Community Heart & Soul program throughout Eastern Washington and North Idaho.

With a master’s degree in teaching, Josh brings more than 25 years of experience coaching and mentoring students, athletes, entrepreneurs, leadership teams, and community members. Whether working in a classroom, on a playing field, or alongside local leaders, he is passionate about listening, learning, and helping people discover what they can accomplish together.

Outside of work, Josh enjoys traveling, discovering local food, and exploring the Pacific Northwest. He especially enjoys visiting rural and urban destinations, learning about their people, traditions, and distinct character, and spending time with family and friends.

Dawnielle Tehama (Moderator), Education and Business Development Director, American Indigenous Tourism Association

Dawnielle Tehama is a Modoc tourism professional and an enrolled citizen of the Klamath Tribes with deep experience in stewardship, destination development, and Indigenous tourism. She serves as Education and Business Development Director for the American Indigenous Tourism Association, following her work as a senior associate principal at Coraggio Group, where she supported strategic planning and community engagement across the tourism sector. As a destination management organization (DMO) leader, she advanced regenerative travel efforts and diversity initiatives grounded in community priorities.

After law school, Tehama launched and operated multiple small businesses before discovering her passion for tourism. She helped establish a DMO in southern Oregon and served as a liaison to her tribe. Her career also includes overseeing global marketing for the Hualapai Tribe at Grand Canyon West, contributing to early economic development planning for the Hopi Tribe, and collaborating with the Grand Ronde, Siletz, and Klamath Tribes on a variety of tourism and economic growth initiatives.

She holds a Class III gaming license in three states and has presented on Indigenous tourism for global organizations, including The World Travel and Tourism Council. Her credentials include recognition as a Certified Diversity Tourism Professional, Certified Autism Specialist, graduate of the Oregon Tourism Leadership Academy, and Woman of the Year from the National Tour Association. She chairs the National Tour Association’s DEI Advisory Council, is a member of the Tourism Cares Program Committee, and has served as a Climate Champion within the Expedia Sustainable Destination DMO program.

In all her work, Tehama remains dedicated to unifying stakeholder voices while promoting stewardship that sustains communities for generations.