The Rippel Foundation

Lindsey Alexander

Lindsey Alexander brings Citizens League experience, having worked on the League’s Common Cents and health reform initiatives. She currently directs a first-of-its-kind national initiative catalyzing 17 philanthropic organizations and over 8,000 community voices in a process to equitably envision and bring about a bold new future for health and well-being. In her role at the foundation, Lindsey has convened individuals from across the country to create future scenarios; recruited a diverse advisory board of Fortune 500 executives, non-profit leaders, and health advocates; and designed an engagement plan to hear from thousands of Americans through an innovative storytelling platform. Previously, she served as a an independent research consultant, a senior financial analyst for the City of Minneapolis, and a project manager for Springsted Incorporated. Lindsey received her Master of Public Policy in 2001 from the Humphrey Institute and her BA in journalism from Iowa State.

Anderson Group

Paul Anderson

Paul Anderson is currently the president and CEO of The Anderson Group. He has been successfully navigating the intersection of government, politics, business, and non-profits for over 25 years. 

Paul was elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2016 and represented Senate District 44 and the communities of Plymouth, Minnetonka, and Woodland, from 2017 to 2021. As a first term Senator, he served as the chairman of the Higher Education Committee, Vice-Chair of the Jobs and Economic Growth Committee, and as a member of the E-12 (Education) Finance and Policy and Taxes Committees. In just four years, he authored over fifty bipartisan bills that became law, prioritizing legislation involving reforms to workforce development, training and business expansion, education, and taxes.

Paul’s prior work includes serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, director of business development for a Silicon Valley startup, CEO for a national veteran’s charity, senior staff for U.S. Congressman Jim Ramstad, and co-owner of his family business.

A graduate of Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, Paul went on to become a policy fellow at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute. He and his wife live in the Twin Cities suburbs with their two daughters.

Global Language & Staffing

Khadija Ali

Khadija is a successful entrepreneur in the language services, staffing and cultural competence industries, and she has become a leader in creating opportunities for immigrant communities.

Born in Somalia, Khadija immigrated with her family to the United States in 1996, via the refugee camp in Kenya. After learning English in school, she began serving as an interpreter for her family. An experience within her family where language became a life-threatening barrier to health led her to pursue a career in health care.

During college she worked as a medical assistant, then as a medical interpreter, before founding her own interpreter agency, which grew to one of the largest in the state with more than 900 interpreters speaking more than 100 languages. In 2014, Khadija sold that business. In 2015, she founded a new business with focus beyond language services to include staffing and recruiting, and teaching cultural competence to corporations and other organizations.

She serves on the board of AEON, Affordable Housing, Minneapolis Regina Chamber of commerce, and the Final Four Impact Advisory Council. Khadija attended St. Paul Community College, University of Minnesota, and Harvard. In 2017, Khadija was as a member of Harvard Business School’s 2017 Young American Leaders Program.

General Mills

Tamara Asamoah

Tamara Asamoah holds the position of VP Corporate Strategy & Strategic Planning for General Mills. She leads the development and implementation of enterprise strategy for General Mills with Jeff Harmening, our Senior Leadership Team, and our Board of Directors. She sits on the new Strategy and Growth team reporting to Dana McNabb, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer. She also sits on the Finance Leadership Team.

Tamara joined General Mills in 2019 and during her time with General Mills has played a critical role in launching the company’s Accelerate strategy, including leading a number of strategy sprints and building the enterprise’s portfolio roadmap that will guide our portfolio shaping activity. She is also actively involved in the Black Champions Network, the POC Finance Network and the Women Across Finance network.

Prior to General Mills, Tamara spent 4 years at Fresenius Medical Care North America in Corporate Strategy and 10 years at Boston Consulting Group where she led various client engagements focused on Corporate Strategy, Operations and Social Impact. Tamara holds a BA in Engineering Sciences, BE in Environmental Engineering and Master of Engineering Management from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

McKnight Foundation

Cedrick Baker

Cedrick Baker joined McKnight Foundation in May 2022 as chief of staff. He serves as a key strategic advisor to president Tonya Allen and aligns enterprise-level work across the organization. Cedrick is a warm, inspiring, motivational leader and systems thinker who thrives on building high-performing, engaging cultures. He is especially skilled in navigating change and removing barriers within large, complex organizations and jurisdictions. Applying a lens of equitable outcomes and justice, he strives to help organizations recognize and remedy systemic inequity so that all people can thrive.

Cedrick spent the past five years serving the Saint Paul Public Schools, most recently as chief of staff. In that role he supported the superintendent in district-wide operations, strategic planning, and partnerships. Previously, Cedrick served as administrator for and a member of the Saint Paul school board. Earlier in his career, Cedrick was an equity manager and audit team leader for the Metropolitan Council, a regional agency that fosters economic growth for the Twin Cities metro area.

Cedrick is currently pursuing a PhD in organizational leadership, policy, and development at the University of Minnesota. He holds a master’s in public administration from Georgia State University, and a bachelor of arts in sociology from the University of Florida.

Active in the community, Cedrick serves on the board of Citizens League and the advisory council for GreenLight Fund Twin Cities, and has been a longtime volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Ryan Companies

Elizabeth Campbell

As the Director of Emerging Business Inclusion for Ryan Companies, Elizabeth works to increase the number of minority and women-owned subcontractors and suppliers working on Ryan projects. She works closely with project managers to increase access to bid opportunities, provide cash flow mechanisms, and train, develop and mentor women and people of color interested in working in construction. Elizabeth excels at creating an environment where all parties can share different points-of-view with respect, resulting in clear expectations and successful results. She was named Advocate of the Year by the National Association of Minority Contractors in 2005, 2006 and 2008, and was recently recognized by the Saint Paul Foundation with a “Facing Race Award” for her life-long commitment to reducing racial disparities.

Independent Consultant, Previously VP and Co-Owner, Integrity Medicolegal Enterprises

Mark Engdahl

Born and raised in Minnesota, Mark Engdahl graduated from Wayzata High School and the University of Wisconsin River Falls. He began his career with State Farm Insurance handling a wide variety of property damage and personal injury claims. He was eventually able to leverage his claims background into an opportunity with a small Minneapolis, physician owned, medical legal consulting firm. Sensing a market opportunity, in 2002 along with three partners, Mark formed Integrity Medicolegal Enterprises. Over the subsequent 17 years, the start-up grew to a multimillion dollar operation with 50 employees, a national presence, and became the preferred provider for insurance companies, third party administrators, employers and law firms. After the company was sold in July 2018 to a strategic buyer, Mark retired in December of 2018, though he continues as an equity owner and consultant.

Lockridge Grindal Nauen, P.L.L.P.

Peter Glessing

Peter H. Glessing is a member of Lockridge Grindal Nauen’s state government relations team and is an associate of the firm. He leads communication and grassroots advocacy efforts for firm clients to raise their profile and legislative agenda with legislators, decision-makers, and media outlets across the state. His communications and grassroots advocacy work involves a variety of issue areas including business regulation, public safety, healthcare, workforce development, transportation, and environmental regulation.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Glessing served in a variety of key roles at the Minnesota House of Representatives. During his time at the legislature, Mr. Glessing served as Deputy Director of Public Affairs at the Minnesota House Republican Caucus. He oversaw the communication department’s implementation of caucus media strategy on a diverse legislative agenda, served as a communications consultant to over 70 state representatives, and was the communications advisor for the House majority leader.

Having worked in and around state government for nine years, Mr. Glessing has developed a deep understanding of the state’s political landscape, the policy issues facing the legislature, and public relations efforts required to succeed in the state’s political environment. His knowledge of the legislative process, key players, and media landscape is a tremendous asset to firm clients.

Outside of the firm, Mr. Glessing serves as a member of the Citizens League Board of Directors and sings in the Cathedral Choir at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis.

Mr. Glessing graduated with a Bachelors of Arts from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and earned his J.D. from the University of St. Thomas School of Law.

Mercer Investments

Greg Halagan

Greg Halagan is a Partner and Co-Head of U.S. Insurance at Mercer Investments, a global investment consulting firm that primarily advises institutional investors.  His team specializes in working with insurance companies on their general account assets, including setting investment strategy that aligns with each company’s operating objectives and regulatory constraints.  Prior to his current role, he was a senior member of the firm’s Global Fixed Income research team, where he was responsible for public and private debt strategies.  During this period, Mr. Halagan was a member of the Responsible Investment Strategy Group, working to source investment strategies with a social impact and develop research.  In this capacity, he served as a member of the Fixed Income Advisory Committee for the United Nations-backed Principles of Responsible Investment.

Mr. Halagan currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Citizen’s League.  He has previously served on the Board of Directors of the Center For New Democratic Processes and the Advisory Board of the Minnesota Committee on Foreign Relations.  He received his B.A. in Finance and Accounting from the University of St. Thomas and his MBA, with honors, from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.  Mr. Halagan is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst® designee and a CFA® charterholder, as well as a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of Minnesota.  

Computype

Scott Hietpas

Scott Hietpas is the CEO of Computype, a global organization that provides smart barcode and labeling service solutions to the diagnostics, research, tire, and rubber belt industries.

Prior to this position, Scott served as senior vice president and general manager of Healthcare North America for Ecolab Inc. Hietpas joined Ecolab in 1996 and has held several positions of increasing responsibility throughout his tenure with the company.He also served as senior vice president of Institutional Field Sales, overseeing the industry-leading U.S. Institutional Field Sales and Service Force. Previously, Hietpas held roles including vice president of Government Sales and vice president of Finance for Global Healthcare. Before joining Ecolab, Hietpas worked at Ernst & Young and Andersen Corporation.

Since 2012, Hietpas has served on the board of advisors for the Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance.

Hietpas received his master’s in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota and has a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire.

Winthrop & Weinstine

John Knapp

John Knapp is Of Counsel to the Minneapolis law firm of Winthrop & Weinstine, where he has chaired the firm’s Legislative and Regulatory Practice Group. John has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America© since 2007, and in 2014 the Minnesota State Bar Association recognized John as a “North Star Lawyer” for his pro bono service. John currently serves on the Boards of Directors of The Guthrie Theater and The Nature Conservancy of Minnesota and the Dakotas where he Chairs the Board.  From 2015 to 2016, John co-chaired the Citizens League Metropolitan Council Task Force which made recommendations to the Governor and Legislature on reform of the governance and structure of the Metropolitan Council.

Lead for Minnesota

Benya Kraus

Benya Kraus calls home a fusion of Waseca, MN and Bangkok, Thailand. Searching for a pathway back to serve in her rural hometown after graduating from Tufts University in 2018, she realized that little infrastructure and cultural narrative existed to bring young talent back to small towns, rural, and economically distressed urban communities – particularly to engage in public service. She went on to co-found Lead for America, a national nonprofit that supports young talent in returning to their hometowns through two-year paid fellowships with the mission of catalyzing community renewal and strengthening our public institutions. Supported by the Bush, Blandin, and McKnight Foundations and ServeMN, Benya has returned home to Minnesota to launch Lead for Minnesota – the next state affiliate headquartered in her hometown of Waseca, where she supports homecomers across 30 rural communities in Minnesota, and over 200 nationwide in 35 states.

In addition to Lead for America, Benya served as the youngest member elected to the Amnesty USA Board of Directors, was appointed by Governor Walz and Lt. Governor Flanagan to the Minnesota Young Women’s Cabinet and most recently the Governor’s Workforce Development Board, and is involved in her hometown community as a board member of the Waseca Area Foundation, where she is helping to develop a rural entrepreneurial ecosystem in Waseca.

Minnesota Department of Transportation

Jake Loesch

Jake Loesch is the senior director of strategic communications for the Minnesota Department of Transportation. In that role, Jake applies over a decade of communications experience. On a wide range of topics from education issues and elections policy to public safety and economic development, Jake is a well-known strategist and advocate.

Jake’s career has included time with the Republican Party of Minnesota and the Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus, as well as serving as communications director for Minnesotans United, the historic grassroots campaign that defeated a constitutional amendment and won marriage for same-sex couples in Minnesota in 2013. Prior to joining MnDOT, Jake was an account manager with Goff Public, a Saint Paul-based public relations and government relations firm. 

Jake graduated from the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and was also a 2017-2018 Policy Fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. He lives in Arden Hills with his wife and children.

City of Minneapolis

Fatima Moore

Fatima works on the City of Minneapolis’ Government Relations team. Previously, she was the Government Relations Director at the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, the Director of Public Policy at the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless, and worked as the Local and Regional Policy Coordinator at Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD). Social and racial justice is a core value of hers and is embedded into how she navigates systems. She sees community building as an integral component of advocacy.

Fatima found her passion for connecting communities with policies that positively impact them while participating in the Capitol Pathways Internship program, a program that connects students of color with professionals and lawmakers at the Minnesota Legislature. As a first-generation immigrant, she has learned to navigate many systems, which has afforded her the aptitude and experience need to bridge people, systems and lives. Fatima is well in tuned to the collaboration, support, empowerment, and advocacy that needs to happen in order to achieve good policy. She brings a social work and policy background to MCH and has a clear grasp of the systems perspective.

Fatima lives with her partner and two daughters on the East Side of Saint Paul. During her down time, Fatima teaches fitness classes, enjoys spending time with her family, neighbors, and friends and sneaking away for a good read.

Securian

Eusebio Perez

Eusebio Perez currently serves as Securian’s Life and Annuity Business Intelligence Consultant since December 2018.  He is responsible for providing in-depth marketplace intelligence to the organization. Mr. Perez currently sits as Education Chair on Securian’s diversity network board.

Prior, Mr. Perez was with Prudential Financial for 13 years, and most recently served as a Sales Operations Manager. He was responsible for key annuity accounts with sales over $2 billion annually. While at Prudential, Mr. Perez also worked with the Customer Experience organization and developed process improvement strategies. He was nominated for the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility’s “Young Hispanic Corporate Achiever” award for his efforts leading Prudential’s Hispanic Employee Resource Group as President. In his spare time, Mr. Perez is an active member of LatinoLEAD and Prospanica, mentors young business professionals, and started a Video Production company to expand his marketing prowess. He earned his MBA in Marketing from Hamline University and holds dual BA degrees in Business from the University of St. Thomas.   

US Bank

Andrew Ryall

Andy Ryall currently serves as the Chief Risk Officer for strategy, HR and corporate affairs, as well as the Chief Reputation Risk Officer for the overall company. He has spent 17 years in risk leadership roles since relocating to Minneapolis in 2003. Andy previously served on the Hennepin County Mental Health Advisory Council and was the treasurer for the Small Business Financial Exchange, a non-profit organization operating a credit data exchange where member institutions partnered to support access of credit to small businesses independently from major credit reporting agencies.  Andy also serves as management advisor for the U.S. Bank Twin Cities Development Network and is an active mentor within the firm’s MentorConnect program. Andy holds a BA from Syracuse University and an MBA from Indiana University. He currently resides in the western suburbs of the Twin Cities.

Target

Breanna Schafer

Breanna Schafer is Senior Director, Government Affairs at Target where she oversees the state and local government relations function responsible for advancing public policy initiatives at state and city governments across the country. Breanna also serves on a cross-functional team that manages risk and reputation for Target.

Prior to joining Target in 2012, Breanna was the senior manager of the Public Affairs Council’s political involvement practice in Washington, DC. Previously, Breanna was the national finance manager for Rudy Giuliani’s 2008 presidential primary campaign and served on Congressman Mark Kennedy’s press team for his 2006 U.S. Senate campaign. She began her career in Washington, DC working in education policy.

Breanna attended Johns Hopkins University for her Master of Arts in Government and is a recipient of the 2013 Bryce Harlow Fellowship. A native of Minnesota, Breanna graduated with a bachelor’s in political science from the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University. She lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two sons, serves on the Board of Directors for the Alzheimer’s Association Minnesota-North Dakota Chapter and is the current Board Chair of the Retail Council of New York State.

Former Mayor, Minnetonka

Terry Schneider

Mayor Terry Schneider was recently recognized as the 2017 recipient of the League of Minnesota Cities’ prestigious C.C. Ludwig Award, which recognizes vision, statesmanship and unwavering commitment to the public good. The award recognizes Mayor Schneider’s life of public service in Minnetonka, which began in 1977. In the past four decades, Mayor Schneider has served on Minnetonka’s Park Board (1977-81), Planning Commission (1981-89), City Council (1992-2008) and was Mayor from 2009 until 2018 when he decided not to run for re-election. He has also served on countless boards and committees, and has held other leadership positions throughout his distinguished career.

Ballinger Leafblad Executive Search

Damon Shoholm

Damon has been a leader in the non-profit sector for over a decade developing a strong reputation in leadership development, civic engagement and facilitation training programs and services. Currently, he is a partner with the executive search firm, Ballinger-Leafblad while still doing facilitation and engagement work through his consulting practice, Socratic Consulting, LLC. Damon describes himself as a leadership facilitator and community engagement practitioner with a focus on assisting in the clarification of purpose and values and in support of the change makers among us. For over a decade he has worked in and across communities with neighborhood leaders, grassroots advocates as well as organizational leaders across the region. He has been partnering with LSP since 2013 and considers it to be one of the meaningful engagement opportunities he has the privilege to be a part of.

NEOO Partners Inc

D’Angelos Svenkeson

D’Angelos is the Founder and CEO of NEOO Partners Inc, serving public and private project leaders in urban planning, and real estate development. He’s been privileged to work on over $350M worth of vertical development, master planning, and infrastructure projects over the last 7 years.

He is focused day to day leading complex large-scale projects for NEOO’s clients in Minnesota and Mississippi.

The next frontier for NEOO is capital placement alongside their clients to accelerate economic development in the urban core for communities decimated by civil unrest, the pandemic, and systemic racism.

Public Relations and Public Affairs

Kurt Zellers

Kurt Zellers is a public relations and public affairs executive and has worked in the Minneapolis/St. Paul market for 20+ years for several full-service public relations and advertising firms, as well as worked on several state-wide political campaigns. He specializes in media training, message development, crisis communications and media relations. He is a regular commentator on the ‘At Issue’ program on KSTP-TV. Previously, he was elected the 57th Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives for the 2011-12 Legislative Session. He had previously served as House Minority Leader. Kurt authored bi-partisan legislation on many key initiatives on public safety issues, mental health treatment for adolescents, and building a new hospital for his local community in Maple Grove. Kurt graduated from the University of North Dakota with a bachelor’s  in political science. He lives in Maple Grove, MN with his wife Kim and their three children, Reagan, Will and Ben.