About the Foundation

Family and close friends established the Dustin and Kristen Yoder Memorial Foundation soon after the tragic death of Dustin and Kristen in June 2006. The original Foundation Board of Directors and officers were the children's father, Ken Yoder (President and Treasurer), their mother, Kathy Yoder (Vice-President), and longtime family friends David K. Gray, Esq. (Vice-President and Secretary) and T.K. Warfield (Vice-President). Other members of the Board are their cousin, Stephen Williamson, Dustin's lifetime friends and college roommates, Tyler Warfield and Ryan Egan, Kristen's lifetime friend, Stephanie Kopplin, and Kristen's boyfriend, Aaron LeGendre. Sadly, in 2022, we lost two of the original board members, T.K. Warfield and David Gray to terminal illnesses.

Donations to the Foundation were originally placed in an endowment fund to generate income on an ongoing basis through conservative investments. The Foundation used the investment income to provide scholarships and financial assistance to children and young adults for outdoor leadership education courses through various programs, including the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and the Parks and Recreation Management Program at Northern Arizona University.

In 2023 the Foundation transferred the entire endowment account to the Yoder Outdoor Leader Scholarship Fund at Northern Arizona University Foundation. The income generated by the fund there continues to provide scholarships for deserving students in the Parks and Recreation Management Program at NAU and for students enrolled in the Wilderness First Responder Course through the Wilderness Medicine Institute. The fund is now administered by the NAU Foundation and any questions regarding donations and scholarships should be directed there.

The remaining Foundation Board of Directors continues to maintain the website and monitor the scholarships given through NAU, but no longer accepts donations or directly administers scholarships.

Dustin's Portait Link to Biography
Dustin James Yoder
9/28/82 - 6/27/06
ABOUT DUSTIN


Kristen's Portait Link to Biography
Kristen Elise Yoder
11/6/84 - 6/27/06
ABOUT KRISTEN