Next Gen Members Directory

Brett Richesin

Brett is an Assistant Vice President on Alliant Insurance Services’ Central California based Agribusiness Team. He focuses on the production and servicing of a wide spectrum of Agriculture and Food Industry accounts. Prior to joining Alliant in February 2014, Brett spent 3 years with Aon in their Early Career Development Program working with clients in the following industries: Fertilizer, Ag Chemical, Seed, Fresh Fruit, Vegetable, Nut Growers, Shippers, and Packers. Before working at Aon, Brett was a Producer of Health & Benefits Insurance for DLR Insurance Solutions. Brett graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara, with a Business Economics degree.

Brett is a founding member & current President of the NextGen Philanthropy Group here in Fresno. In addition to NextGen, he is also a part of the leadership team for Young Farmers & Ranchers for the Fresno/Madera County Farm Bureaus and is a member of the local advisory board for Junior Achievement Northern California. His passion areas definitely revolve around the support and encouragement of our local youth.

In his personal life, Brett enjoys spending time with his wife, Breanne, and their two children, Reef & Saylor. They are avid beachgoers and love spending time in their community. His favorite hobbies include surfing, golfing and anything to do with the great outdoors.

Email: brichesin@alliant.com
Phone: (559) 392-4806

Laura Facciani

Laura Facciani works as the Human Resources Generalist for Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group and assists her husband in the operations of his business BMD – a technology company serving the international arts community. Before working in HR, Laura was the community relations manager for a local non-profit and participated in the fundraising and community education efforts of the agency. She graduated from Fresno State with degrees in Art and Business in 2013.

Laura is in her third year of Next Gen and serves as the Vice President for the Executive Committee. She is a graduate of the Next Gen Board Training Program currently sits on the Community Service Committee at Provost & Pritchard. She is passionate about arts in the community, Fresno’s downtown revitalization, and helping young adults pick and advance in a career.

She and her husband live in their Tower District home with their two boxer dogs Penelope and Harvey. They are excited to be expecting their first child in November 2018. Laura’s hobbies include traveling, tending to her vegetable garden, and cooking.

Email: laura.facciani@gmail.com
Phone: (559) 281-4204

Tyler Soria

Tyler is a CPA working for Kings River Packing, a grower, packer, shipper of citrus fruit. He and his wife both attended Biola University in Southern California and couldn’t wait to come back to the valley after graduation to plant their roots in the area. Tyler is entering his third year in the NextGen program and serves as Treasurer.

Besides serving Next Gen and his local church, Tyler enjoys hunting, fishing, and spending time outdoors. He and his wife are expecting their first child in December of 2018, but already have their hands full raising their 8-month-old Lab puppy.

Email: tysoria@gmail.com
Phone: (559) 679-2710

Lance Christensen

Lance Christensen works as Associate Marketing Manager at Duncan Enterprises, makers of various art and craft products including Puffy Paint, Aleene’s Tacky Glue and Tulip. While born and raised in Fresno, Lance, along with his wife, Ryann, lived in Los Angeles for seven years. During that time, Lance worked in marketing at Red Bull and at the advertising agency, Idea Farmer.

Lance and his wife, just finished up their first year at NextGen and Lance are now serving as Secretary. He loves giving back to the community, especially in the areas of youth development and athletics.

Outside of work and Next Gen, Lance enjoys spending time with his wife and his dog, running, and wakesurfing. He’s also involved in various roles at his church, The Well.

Email: lancelfc@gmail.com
Phone: (559) 341-8237

Katie Kellett

Katie Kellett is a research collaborator with Anchoring Success. She is formally trained through Regis University with her Master’s in Nonprofit Management (to be completed Dec 2018) and completed her undergraduate work at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Leadership Communications, Business and Spanish. She has over 5 years of experience working in various community organizations from startup think tanks to global medical nonprofits. Katie has a passion for creating more equal opportunities for at-risk and marginalized populations. With a keen eye for process improvements, she seeks creative solutions to help CBOs advance their social impact. In her free time she can be found outdoors hiking, kayaking, and skiing with her husband, Jordan.

Email: katiezkellett@gmail.com

Krisanne Houghtlin

Krisanne is a graduate of Fresno State, where she earned a B.A. in Liberal Studies. She has over 18 years of financial institution experience and is currently the Compliance Manager for Noble Credit Union. She helps to promote a culture that encourages integrity, ethical conduct and compliance with regulatory requirements.

Krisanne is committed to the credit union philosophy and principle of “people helping people” in her work life, and also carries it over into her personal life. She believes that her purpose on earth is to help others and that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. In her spare time, Krisanne enjoys spending time with her friends, family and her furry kids. She also enjoys volunteering at Wings Advocacy Fresno, which is an organization that serves Fresno’s homeless families.

Email: KrisanneH@NobleCU.com

Desiree Heckman

Desiree is an Arizona native who has lived in California for the last 15 years. She attended Fresno State where she met her husband, Andy, and earned her BS in Psychology and Master’s in Counseling. Shortly after graduating college Desiree joined Rotary as a result of her passion to serve others. Her level involvement has varied over the last 7 years but continues especially with Camp Royal. This year she served as the girl’s camp director and is scheduled to return next year.

After working for a few years in educational counseling, Desiree started a family and shifted her focus to raising her two children. It was during this time that she fell in love with yoga and decided to pursue becoming a yoga teacher. As her passion built she realized the need for a yoga studio in Clovis as there had not been one in over 12 years. Taking a huge leap of faith with her husband, Andy and Desiree opened Old Town Yoga in 2016. It was well received by the community almost immediately and has been thriving ever since. In the last 21 months, Old Town Yoga has grown to a team of 11 instructors serving 750+ students per week. She is deeply passionate about the practice of yoga and is looking forward to spending her life sharing it with as many people as possible.