About Us
Our mission at Riverview Asset Management Corp. is to help you define and achieve success in life by evaluating your desires and goals and providing creative, dream-fulfilling solutions. However, before we can offer any solutions, we must understand you, your family, and the nature of your personal and financial issues. One of the experienced trust officers at Riverview will develop a personal relationship, whereby they get to know you, your personal history, your business pursuits and your outside interests. They will discuss your values, your likes and dislikes, your hopes and aspirations. Then, and only then, can they begin to offer solutions to your unique objectives.
From this point, our portfolio manager will work with you to define your specific objectives, liquidity needs, tax considerations, risk tolerances, income needs, and time horizon. Then, an asset allocated investment plan will be developed and implemented. The process doesn't end there - it has only begun. We continue to communicate with you regularly, keeping you informed as to your personal situation and responding accordingly .
Click on a link below to read a specific biography. Read on to learn more about our experienced staff, on-call for your financial needs:
John A. Karas, President and CEO
Christopher A. Butler, Vice President & Trust Officer
Lori M. Hawkins, Vice President & Trust Officer
Susan K. Barham, Vice President & Trust Operations Officer
Colleen M. Sisson, Assistant Trust Officer
Maggie Burns, Trust Administrator
Jennifer Beck, Trust Administrator
Patrick Sheaffer, Trust Management Committee
Ronald A. Wysaske, Trust Management Committee
Robert K. Leick, Board of Directors
Gary R. Douglass, Board of Directors
John A. Karas, Esquire
President and CEO
John Karas is President and CEO of Riverview Asset Management & Trust Company. He is also a Executive Vice President with Riverview Community Bank and serves on its Executive Management Committee.
John came to Riverview in January 1999 with over 20 years of trust experience. He previously worked with Northwest National Bank where he managed a de novo trust department, overseeing more than $150,000,000 in assets. Previously he was with U.S. National Bank of Oregon as manager of the Southwestern Washington Trust Office. John is familiar with all phases of the trust business and his experience includes trust administration, trust legal council, investments and real estate.
John received his Bachelor of Arts from Willamette University and his Juris Doctor degree from Lewis & Clark Law School’s Northwestern School of Law. He is a member of the Oregon, Multnomah County and American Bar Associations, he is a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor, and is a member and past president of the Southwest Washington Estate Planning Council. He is also a member and past President of the Vancouver School District Foundation Board of Directors, a member of the American Red Cross Foundation’s Investment Committee and a member of the local Citizen’s Committee for Better Schools.
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Christopher A. Butler
Vice President & Trust Officer
Chris Butler, a Certified Financial Planner®, is the chief investment officer and portfolio manager for Riverview Asset Management & Trust Company.
Prior to joining Riverview Asset Management & Trust Company in 1998, Chris was part of a management team that established a de novo trust department for Northwest National Bank. He was responsible for trust operations, investments and fiduciary income taxes. Previously he was responsible for $75,000,000 in trust assets for the trust department of First Independent Bank. He has over 15 years of professional investment experience, which includes analysis and portfolio management of mutual funds, individual securities and institutional pension funds.
Chris obtained his Bachelor of Science with honors from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He received the President’s Award for Academics, Bank of America Award in Math and the D.A.R. Society of the War of 1812 Award for Academic Excellence. He is a member and past president of the Southwest Washington Estate Planning Council.
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Lori M. Hawkins
Vice President & Trust Officer
Lori Hawkins is the senior administrative officer at Riverview Asset Management & Trust Company.
Lori has more than 26 years of trust experience. Prior to joining Riverview, she worked in U.S. Bank’s trust division for 21 years where she gained extensive experience dealing with large and complex trusts. Lori was also instrumental in developing the Special Needs Team at U.S. Bank, which specialized in providing trust services to fiduciary relationships involving elder law issues, conservatorships and guardianships.
In 1997, Lori moved to Northwest National Bank in Vancouver as their senior trust administrative officer. While at Northwest, Lori was responsible for all trust administration. Lori joined Riverview in April of 1999.
Lori received her General Banking Diploma from the American Institute of Banking and attended Portland Community College. She recently completed the CFP® Professional Education Program through the College for Financial Planning in Denver. Lori is a member of the Southwest Washington Estate Planning Council and volunteers for the Clark County YWCA Funds Development Committee.
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Susan K. Barham
Vice President & Trust Operations Officer
Sue Barham is manager of Trust Operations at Riverview Asset Management & Trust Company.
Sue came to Riverview Asset Management & Trust Company in 2001 with over 22 years of trust experience. She previously worked for U.S. Bank as a trust officer in the Vancouver Private Financial Services Office and as a Vice President and Trust Relationship Manager for Key PrivateBank. Her extensive experience in the trust tax area and as a former manager of a large fiduciary tax unit allows her to apply her tax planning skills and accounting detail in daily operations.
Sue graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Oregon State University and is a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor. Sue’s professional training and over 27 years of experience in trust provides her with excellent qualifications to offer Riverview’s clients. Sue is a member of the Southwest Washington Estate Planning Council as well as the Estate Planning Council of Portland.
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Colleen M. Sisson
Trust Administrator
Colleen Sisson is Assistant Trust Officer for Riverview Asset Management & Trust Company.
Colleen came to work for Riverview Asset Management & Trust Company in 2000. Prior to her employment at Riverview, Colleen was a trust officer for US Bank’s trust division in Portland, and then worked for US Bank’s Preferred Investor Team in their Vancouver office. Overall, Colleen has had over 19 years of trust experience. Her main focus has been in trust administration, estate planning and investment management.
Colleen is a graduate of the Cannon Financial Institute Trust School and has also completed the Certified Financial Para-Planner course.
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Maggie Burns
Trust Administrator
Maggie Burns works as a Trust Administrator at Riverview Asset Management & Trust Company and specializes in Trust Investments and Portfolio Analysis. Maggie has been with Riverview since October 2001 and has completed the first phases of Cannon Financial Institute’s Trust Series and Fiduciary Investment Management Series. In May of 2001, Maggie graduated Magna Cum Laude from Willamette University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She is also a member of the national honor society Phi Beta Kappa.
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Jennifer Beck
Trust Administrator
Jennifer Beck works as a Trust Administrator at Riverview Asset Management & Trust Company. Jennifer joined Riverview Trust in 2006 and has over 12 years of trust and estates experience. She has a Bachelor of Science from Portland State University and has attended numerous legal seminars relating to pension, probate, estate planning and tax. Prior to working in Riverview’s Trust Department, Jennifer worked as a senior paralegal first with Zalutsky, Klarquist & Reinhart, P.C., and then with Holland & Knight LLP, providing client-focused customer service to affluent families and individuals.
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Patrick Sheaffer
Trust Management Committee
Pat Sheaffer is a member of Riverview Asset Management & Trust Company’s Board of Directors, Trust Investment Committee and Trust Management Committee. Pat is also Chairman of the Board of Riverview Bancorp, Inc., parent company of Riverview Community Bank, and CEO and Chairman of the Board of Riverview Community Bank. He has over thirty years of financial and investment experience.
Pat received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Oregon. He is also a graduate of the School of Executive Development, the Institute of Financial Education and the Financial Management Leadership School.
He is a Director and past President of the Clark County Fair Board, a Director and past President of the Washington Financial League, a Director of Identity Clark County and a member of numerous other civic organizations.
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Ronald A. Wysaske, CPA
Trust Management Committee
Ron Wysaske is President and Chief Operating Officer of Riverview Community Bank. Ron also serves on Riverview Asset Management & Trust Company’s Trust Investment and Trust Management Committees. He is responsible for the daily operations and the management of the Bank. Prior to joining Riverview Community Bank in 1976, Ron worked as an audit and tax accountant at Price Waterhouse & Co.
Ron received both his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and his M.B.A. from Washington State University. Ron is also a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Washington, but does not practice publicly. He is a member of Riverview Bancorp’s Board of Directors, a Director of the Columbia River Economic Council, the Financial Executive Institute and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
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Robert K. Leick
Board of Directors
Bob has been a Director of Riverview Asset Management & Trust Company since 1998. He is a member of the Washington State Bar and currently limits his practice to corporate and business law. Previously he served for 27 years as the Skamania County Prosecutor, retiring in June 1994. Prior to retirement he was active in numerous civic and professional organizations.
Bob has also served on the Board of Directors of Riverview Community Bank since 1972 and of Riverview Bancorp, Inc. since 1997. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Cascade Wood Components and was formerly the director of trust operations for Southwest Washington for Rainier Bancorp.
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Gary R. Douglass
Board of Directors
Gary joined the Board of Directors of Riverview Asset Management & Trust Company in July 2002. He is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in both Washington and Oregon. Gary was a sole proprietor of an accounting firm in Camas from 1978 to 1993, and then formed an accounting firm partnership, Douglass & Paulson, PC, in 1994. He retired from the current firm, Douglass, Paulson & Lessard, CPAs, PC, in April 2004.
Gary has also served on the Board of Directors of Riverview Community Bank since 1994 and of Riverview Bancorp, Inc. since 1997.
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