Hines, OR, October 28, 2026. High Desert Partnership (HDP) is pleased to announce that Kellie Frank has stepped into the role of Director of the High Desert Partnership Collaboration Center, effective immediately.
Many in Harney County know Kellie from her work as the Harney County Food Systems coordinator. In that role, she created and expanded opportunities for local businesses to test the market and sell their products across the state. She brought people together for collaborative projects such as CSA boxes, a community garden, and Harney Nights (weekly evening market event providing producers and makers with a downtown Burns venue to sell their products), and led educational and experimental work including the Crane Field Test Plot and NRCS variety trials of 28 grass and forb species to test water-efficient alternative crops as Harney County agriculture adapts to new groundwater regulations. Kellie also provided workshops on season extension and growing in Harney County's challenging environment while breaking down barriers to make fresh, local food more available to community members, from schools to markets, while expanding access for SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks users. Her work showed the patient, community-rooted approach to collaboration that HDP is built on, and she’ll bring that experience to the Collaboration Center.
As Director, Kellie will lead the effort behind developing the Collaboration Center as a place and a practice where people can learn how collaboration works and carry it back to their own communities.
“I am excited about the opportunities the Collaboration Center will deliver to Harney County and beyond. I look forward to helping bring the Collaboration Center to life and give others the opportunity to experience how High Desert Partnership’s collaboration model can help communities near and far work together to solve complex challenges.” said Kellie.
Harney County Food Systems is also evolving, with many community members actively moving this important work forward. In the short term, indoor market days featuring locally made goods are planned for this fall and winter. Looking further ahead, a small group is developing the Made in Harney Co-op, a community-managed co-op that will support local producers and give people a place to buy food grown and made in Harney County.
Going forward, Anna Gahley, Coordinator of the Biz Harney Opportunity Collaborative, is the point of contact for Harney County Food Systems. You can reach Anna at anna@highdesertpartnership.org.
To connect with Kellie about the Collaboration Center, contact her at kellie@highdesertpartnership.org.
About High Desert Partnership Collaboration Center
Opening Summer of 2028 the High Desert Partnership Collaboration Center will be a regional hub for learning, connecting, and practicing collaboration — where people experience how collaboration works firsthand and return to their communities equipped to lead their own collective efforts.
