Get to Know our Board of Directors

We are proud to introduce you to the newest members of the Friends of Minidoka Board of Directors, who were elected to the board to serve a three-year term starting in March. 

Lauren Waudé

Friends of Minidoka’s work and mission are so important to me personally and play a critical role in preserving the history of Japanese American Incarceration. I never learned about JA incarceration in school, and my family didn’t always openly discuss their painful experience at “camp” and the emotional, social and financial toll it took on them. As a yonsei, fourth generation Japanese American, I feel it is vitally important to understand how the history and generational trauma of incarceration continues to impact me, my family, and the Japanese American community and how we can lift up this history to advocate for racial justice.

Lauren Mariko Waudé is a Program Specialist Senior working with housing stability programs for Multnomah County in Portland, Oregon. Before her journey into local government, she was a Philanthropy Northwest Momentum Fellow at the Meyer Memorial Trust, where she supported both their housing and strategic initiatives work. She has worked with housing and community focused programs in Seattle and Portland for over 13 years. She holds a Master’s in Public Administration with a specialization in Nonprofit Management from Portland State University. In addition to Friends of Minidoka board, Lauren also serves as the Board Secretary for the Independent Publishing Resource Center. 

Beth Markley

I am interested in Idaho history, civil rights education, and social justice advocacy. I feel that expanding public knowledge of the Japanese American incarceration experience is especially important in light of the perspective it can lend to current events. I am excited that the site has been developed and the opportunity it presents to ensure the stories of survivors are preserved and shared. My family history with Hunt Camp makes further connection especially compelling on a personal level. My feelings about my grandfather’s role as a security official on staff with Hunt Camp are complex, and part of why I find this project so compelling. Perhaps my work here will help me gain perspective on that role, but regardless I find a board position fulfilling and appreciate the opportunity to help raise the profile of the organization, helping others learn, and honoring the experience of the survivors. 

Beth Markley, CFRE, has been working with nonprofit organizations for more than 25 years. Her background includes managing annual and capital campaigns, developing donor outreach strategies, and communication and marketing plans, volunteer training and content development for small to medium-sized nonprofits. Currently, she works as an independent consultant on behalf of area nonprofits; managing campaigns, events, communications outreach and volunteer training. She is also serving as interim general manager of Radio Boise where she hosts the public affairs program “Vital Idaho.” Markley and her husband live in Boise where they have raised their two sons.