SpokaneFāVS
Tracy Simmons, Executive Director
Tracy Simmons is an award-winning journalist specializing in religion reporting and digital entrepreneurship. In her approximate 20 years on the religion beat, Simmons has tucked a notepad in her pocket and found some of her favorite stories aboard cargo ships in New Jersey, on a police chase in Albuquerque, in dusty Texas church bell towers, on the streets of New York and in tent cities in Haiti. Simmons has worked as a multimedia journalist for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas, Connecticut and Washington. She is the executive director of SpokaneFāVS.com, a digital journalism start-up covering religion news and commentary in Spokane, Washington. She also writes for The Spokesman-Review and national publications. She is a Scholarly Assistant Professor of Journalism at Washington State University.
You can reach Simmons at tracysimmons@spokanefavs.com.
Cassy Benefield, Managing Editor
Cassy (pronounced like Cassie but spelled with a ‘y’) Benefield is a wife and mother, a writer and photographer and a huge fan of non-fiction. She has traveled all her life, first as an Army brat. She is a returned Peace Corps volunteer (2004-2006) to Romania where she mainly taught Conversational English. She received her bachelor’s in journalism from Cal Poly Technical University in San Luis Obispo, California. She finds much comfort in her Savior, Jesus Christ, and considers herself a religion nerd who is prone to buy more books, on nearly any topic, than she is ever able to read. She is the managing editor of SpokaneFāVS.com.
You can reach Benefield at spokanefavs.cassy@gmail.com.
Mikayla Finnerty, Social Media Manager
Mikayla Finnerty is a multimedia journalism major at Washington State University. She was the social media editor for the Daily Evergreen spring 2022 and will be Managing Editor for the paper this Fall. During her time at the Evergreen, she has written for Roots, Opinion, and Culture. She has also created illustrations as well as taken pictures. Mikayla enjoys reading and baking in her free time.
Mari Haworth, Accounting
Board Treasurer Mari Haworth: Mari Haworth is a retired researcher whose love of research began at age 3, with a brand new set of the Encyclopedia Britannica. She was raised Lutheran and is currently studying Jodo Shinshu Buddhism at the Spokane Buddhist Temple, an all-volunteer temple. Mari is the past treasurer of the Temple, and currently serves on their Religious Education Committee, is the publicity and social media volunteer, newsletter editor, and fundraising committee co-chair. She volunteers on the Board of the Spokane Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) and publishes their newsletter. She is grateful for being a mother and grandmother, playing taiko drums with Spokane Taiko, and for the laughs and tunes with her karaoke family.
To meet our Board of Trustees, click here.
SpokaneFāVS is always looking for enthusiastic supporters to lend a hand in keeping FāVS running!
Contact Cassy Benefield at spokanefavs.cassy@gmail.com to talk about available volunteer opportunities including Marketing Director, Calendar Coordinator, Volunteer Coordinator, Fundraising Coordinator, Advertising and Promotional Executive, and more!
Contact Tracy Simmons at tracysimmons@spokanefavs.com if you’re interested in internship opportunities, from copy editing to graphic design, social media to event planning, photojournalism to public relations.