Vice President, Credit Administration Officer
Trained as an attorney, Dana Evans left the practice of law when she moved to Walla Walla, Washington, after getting married. She started at Baker Boyer Bank in 2016 as a commercial loan officer. Three years later, an opportunity opened up in credit administration, which dovetailed with her interest in regulation and legal issues.
As a community bank — the oldest in Washington State, dating to 1869 — Baker Boyer focuses much of its efforts on lending. “I’ve really enjoyed the problem solving component of growing our portfolio,” Evans said. She worked on Paycheck Protection Program pandemic-relief loans and is currently rewriting the bank’s lending policy, drawing on her expertise in legal writing.
“There were several small businesses that would not be eligible that we found financing for and they’re thriving,” she said. “We also partnered with the Small Business Administration on very unique loans to make sure we could get financing.”
Evans has two jobs: She’s also the coach of the local high school girls’ soccer team. She played soccer growing up in Yakima, Washington, and won an athletic scholarship to the University of Jamestown in North Dakota.
“The thing I like about soccer, it’s a real-life chess match,” said Evans, who has been coaching for 16 years in total, and often starts working early in the morning so she’ll be able to leave for afternoon games. “You really have to empower the kids to in-time problem-solve, because they’ll never see that situation again.” Also helpful to a banker: “They remind me not to take myself too seriously.”
When she started at the high school, the team had not won a game in two years, but Evans inspired the girls to “buy in” to the team. Now the team regularly makes the regional tournament. “I’ve been to their quinceaneras, written college recommendations,” said Evans, who calls herself “really lucky to have that opportunity.”
A backpacking enthusiast, Evans also serves as president of the local Exchange Club, a service group. “I like to push myself,” she said. “I don’t ever want to feel too comfortable. That would be a waste, not to keep learning and improving.”
The Baker Boyer executives who nominated her — Rosendo Guizar, chief credit officer, and Mark Hess, chief operating officer — cited her coaching skills. “She is the type of person who takes great pride in her work, but perhaps more importantly takes great pride in contributing to the improvement of our organization and development of others,” they wrote. “It is these latter attributes that give her the potential for a future C-suite position.”
