Policy Fellows: 2007-2008 Policy Fellows

Each year, 30 to 40 individuals are selected from the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota to participate in the Policy Fellows program at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. The program offers practical training in public affairs leadership for emerging leaders seeking new experiences and skills. Policy Fellows come from a variety of professional and personal backgrounds and political affiliations, and have demonstrated leadership in their careers and communities.

Abdi Ali is a human rights investigator with the City of Saint Paul Department of Human Rights. Previously, he worked with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, Avenues for Homeless Youth, and the Minneapolis Urban League. In 2006, Ali was awarded a Human Rights and Philanthropy Fellowship by the Otto Bremer Foundation for his work in youth homelessness and organizational cultural competency. Ali is the founder of the Center for Multicultural Mediation and Restorative Justice, which works to resolve conflicts through mediation and restorative justice measures. He earned a dual master's degree in nonprofit management and public administration from Hamline University.

Yende Anderson is an operational risk consultant at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, and has also held positions in Personal Trust and Institutional Trust. Anderson co-founded and volunteers for a nonprofit agency dedicated to assisting African immigrants: the African and American Friendship Association for Cooperation and Development. She is a member of the Site Council for L'Etoile du Nord, a Saint Paul public school, and a member of the Advisory Committee for the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission Diaspora Project. Anderson earned both a bachelor's degree and a law degree from the University of Minnesota. She enjoys spending time with her husband and five beautiful children.

John Berns currently represents District 33B in the Minnesota House of Representatives. He is a member of three House committees: Bioscience & Emerging Technology, Commerce & Labor, and the Capital Investment Finance Division. Berns previously served as an attorney and aide to Governor Tim Pawlenty, as an attorney in private practice, and as a felony prosecutor. He has served as member of the Wayzata City Council and is currently a volunteer firefighter for the Wayzata Fire Department. He is married to Beth and they are the parents of Lincoln, Katie, and Allison. Berns received a bachelor's degree in history from Loras College and a law degree from Drake University.

Erika L. Binger is chair of the McKnight Foundation Board of Directors, and was previously the athletic director at the Jack Cornelius Boys and Girls Club in Minneapolis. Binger serves on an advisory committee for Bolder Options, a mentoring program that uses running and biking to redirect and change youth behavior. She also developed a triathlon youth program and volunteers as a swim coach. Binger is originally from Montana, graduated from Pepperdine University in California, and earned a master's degree in organizational leadership from Bethel College in Arden Hills. Binger is a national duathlon and triathlon champion, a three-time triathlon world champion, and an aquathlon world champion.

Maura Brown is the director of organizing for the Alliance for Metropolitan Stability, a broad coalition working to eliminate racial and economic disparities in the Twin Cities' regional growth and development patterns. She directs Alliance programming which emphasizes grassroots organizing and uniting disparate organizations to work together. Previous to joining the Alliance in 2000, Brown was the director of the Harrison Neighborhood Association (HNA), a community participation organization for a racially diverse, lower income neighborhood in North Minneapolis. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Swarthmore College and lives and volunteers in North Minneapolis.

Michael Caputo is a journalist with 19 years of experience in daily newsrooms in radio, television, and newspapers, mainly as a political reporter. He has written web and newspaper political columns, covered national Democratic and Republican conventions, hosted talk shows, debates, and forums and produced election specials. Caputo is currently an analyst for Minnesota Public Radio's Public Insight Journalism initiative. Before joining Minnesota Public Radio, he was news director for public television station WXXI in Rochester, New York, where he hosted and edited a weekly news show and also reported for WXXI radio. He is married to Susan Lundy; they have two children, Cole and Zoe, and live in Saint Paul.

Alex Carey is press secretary, Greater Minnesota in Governor Tim Pawlenty's office, where he serves as the governor's spokesman for all of Greater Minnesota and suburban media outlets. Carey is responsible for writing press releases and coordinating the governor's weekly radio program and podcast series. Previously, Carey worked as a press secretary and communications director in two different congressional offices in Washington, D.C., and worked in London, England for over three years at Sky News (British Sky Broadcasting). Carey is a graduate of Middlebury College and also attended Oxford University in England where he earned a master's degree (Oxon.) focusing on international relations and international economics.

Gail Cederberg is the director of environmental, health and safety (EHS) for Imation, the world's leading provider of removable data storage products. She is also responsible for incorporating business sustainability and product life cycle programs into Imation's EHS programs. Prior to joining Imation, Cederberg managed the cleanup of Superfund sites on the east coast and the development of groundwater protection strategies for the U.S. Yucca Mountain high-level nuclear waste facility while at Los Alamos National Laboratory. She earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Carleton College and a Ph.D. from Stanford University in environmental/civil engineering. She lives in Mahtomedi with her husband and daughter.

Beth Cieslik is a senior government affairs specialist at Target, where she also worked as a business analyst. In her current position, Cieslik is responsible for the management of public affairs issues and relationship building at the city and county level in the western and southern portions of the country. Cieslik serves on the Board of Directors for Kids Voting Minnesota and is involved with activities at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church. She has a bachelor's degree in political science and social policy from Saint Olaf College and has completed coursework in microeconomics at Augsburg College. She grew up in Eden Prairie and currently lives in Minneapolis.

Rob Clark is the senior director of public relations and state government affairs for Medtronic. Prior to joining Medtronic, he served in similar leadership positions at several other organizations. Clark also served as a public affairs officer in the United States Air Force and Air Force Reserve where he attained the rank of Major. Clark serves on the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and the Minnesota High Technology Association. He holds a bachelor's degree in English from the Virginia Military Institute and a master's degree in political science from the University of South Dakota. Clark lives in Plymouth with his wife Laura and two sons, Nathan and Andrew.

Amanda Digre is a personnel administration officer at the Minnesota National Guard state headquarters, where she leads personnel policy development for more than 11,000 Minnesota National Guard soldiers, as well as process improvement initiatives and activities for senior level personnel management functions. She has served in various management and leadership roles in the military for 17 years and has been involved with award-winning Malcolm Baldrige competitions for the Minnesota National Guard. Digre also enjoys an active role in the parent organizations at her children's schools. She holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from the Johns Hopkins University. She resides in Saint Paul with her three daughters.

Mark Giga is the director of outreach for the Taxpayers League of Minnesota. Since 2004, he has served as a lobbyist at the State Capitol, helped facilitate the League's legislative agenda and grassroots organizing campaigns, assisted in producing David Strom's radio show, and has written the Taxpayers League's weekly E Update newsletter. Giga is a contributor to Budget and Tax News from the Heartland Institute, was a 2005 Claremont Institute Lincoln Fellow, and served in the United States Marine Corps following graduation from the University of Minnesota in 2001. He lives in Edina with his wife Whitney, a corporate recruiter for Medtronic.

Tom Hagen is the director of insurance product filing and securities registration at the Minnesota Department of Commerce. He is also a Major and Judge Advocate in the Minnesota Army National Guard, where he has served for 18 years. His service with the National Guard includes deployments to Bosnia in 2003-2004 and with the 1/34 Brigade Combat Team to Iraq in 2006. Prior to joining the Commerce Department, Hagen was in private law practice in Waseca, where he also served as mayor from 2000-2005. He has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Minnesota Duluth and his juris doctorate from William Mitchell College of Law.

JaPaul J. Harris is an attorney practicing housing discrimination law in the Housing Equality Law Project (H.E.L.P.) of Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services. In addition, Harris is a commissioner on the Saint Paul Human Rights Commission. He earned a bachelor's degree in history and secondary education from Syracuse University and a law degree from Hamline University School of Law. Harris serves on several committees of the Minnesota State Bar Association and volunteers as a youth athletics coach with Saint Paul Parks and Recreation. He lives in Saint Paul with his wife.

Mohamed Husein Hassan is the current public relations director of the Somali Institute for Peace and Justice, and has organized countless community events addressing local and international Somali issues. He is also the executive director and co-founder of World Hope, an international nonprofit organization headquartered in Minneapolis. Hassan is a present recipient of the Hennepin County Government Management, Administration and Policy (MAP) Fellowship. His interests and research include good governance and community development. Hassan earned a bachelor's degree from Metropolitan State University of Minnesota and a master's degree from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota.

Jeffrey Heegaard leads 1000 Friends of Minnesota, a nonprofit dedicated to helping Minnesota's communities plan for growth and development. He was a founding partner of two for-profit companies, HomeStyles Publishing and Marketing of Saint Paul and Juliana America of Red Wing. Heegaard has served on a variety of nonprofit and foundation boards; he currently serves on the executive committee of Youth Frontiers, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching kindness, courage and respect in schools, and on the board of the Afton Community Foundation. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and lives in Afton with his wife and three children.

Mary Ann Hennen currently serves as the area program leader for the University of Minnesota Extension's Leadership and Civic Engagement programs, providing direction to regional educators as they deliver leadership and civic engagement programming across Minnesota. Hennen previously led the Community Leadership Initiatives area at the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation in Saint Paul, worked in Extension in the 1990's as a Leadership Development Specialist, and had an even earlier career in student services in several university settings. Hennen has a master's degree in educational psychology and social foundations, and has completed graduate courses in training and development and nonprofit management at the University of St. Thomas.

Timothy Huebsch is a logistics operations planner for General Mills in their Yoplait Yogurt division. He received his master's degree in business administration from the Carlson School of Management in May of 2007 and received his undergraduate degree in computer science - management information systems from Minnesota State University, Mankato in 2002. Huebsch recently completed a two year term on the Board of Directors for the Community Capital Alliance and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Minnesota State University, Mankato Alumni Association. Huebsch was a 2005-2006 participant in the Leadership Twin Cities program and is also involved in the Citizens League and the Greater Twin Cities United Way.

Mike Jungbauer is currently serving his second term in the Minnesota State Senate, representing District 48. He was recently appointed to the National Conference of State Legislatures standing committee on Agriculture, Environment and Energy. Prior to his Senate election, Jungbauer served two terms as mayor of his hometown of East Bethel, Minnesota. He is a wastewater treatment designer by trade, has a degree from Moody Bible Institute, and has worked as a pastor and youth minister. Jungbauer currently spends his free hours pursuing a degree in environmental policy at Metropolitan State University and also enjoys running, biking and traveling to new locations with his family.

Deborah Parker Junod is a program evaluation manager at the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor. She has led research teams evaluating a wide array of state government programs and services, including MinnesotaCare, state regulation of gambling, tax compliance, and human services administration. Prior to joining the Legislative Auditor's Office in 2001, she spent 13 years with the U.S. Government Accountability Office in Washington, D.C. Junod holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Carleton College and a master's degree in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University.

John Keller is currently the executive director and supervising attorney at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM), a position he has held since 2005. Prior to this, he was a staff attorney at ILCM from 1998 to 2005. He has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Immigration Clinic and a judicial law clerk for the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Keller completed a bachelor's degree in Latin American studies and Spanish at the University of Minnesota and a juris doctorate at Hamline School of Law. Keller is fluent in Spanish and has volunteered with a number of nonprofit organizations in both the United States and Peru.

Jeremy Kovash is the executive director for the Lakes Country Service Cooperative, providing regional support to schools, cities, counties, nonprofits, and other government agencies in west central Minnesota. Kovash and the Lakes Country Service Cooperative are responsible for educational services, cooperative purchasing, health and safety, and risk management. Kovash earned a bachelor's degree from Concordia College Moorhead and his master's degree and superintendent's licensure from Minnesota State University Moorhead. Prior to his current position, Kovash was a teacher and administrator in Perham where he resides with his wife and three sons.

Heidi Kraemer works as the global program manager in the Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs office at IBM. She has been with the company for 20 years, serving in a variety of capacities including sales, direct marketing, and international work. Kraemer is involved with a number of community organizations including PACER Center, SciMath Minnesota, and Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota. She has also participated in Leadership Minneapolis and Leadership Rochester. Kraemer received a bachelor's degree from St. Olaf College and a master's degree in organizational leadership from the College of St. Catherine. She lives in Rosemount with her husband, two children, and pet dog.

Neng Lee is currently a public relations liaison at Independent School District 622. Prior to joining the school district, Lee served as the executive director of the Hmong United Internal Council of Minnesota. He was also previously elected as an at-large councilman for the city of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Lee has volunteered with many nonprofit and community groups, including the Kellogg Foundation's Leadership for Community Change program and the Minnesota State Board of Physical Therapy. Lee holds a bachelor's degree in marketing from Winona State University. He is married to Mai Yia Yang, an accountant, and they have two wonderful children, Huche Jonathan and Nkaujxwb Angela.

Ted Ludwig is president of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, Local 33 in Bloomington. As president, he has concentrated his efforts on getting thousands of laid-off union technicians from Northwest Airlines retrained and re-employed by lobbying the legislature and promoting their skills to companies throughout America and abroad. In 2006, Ludwig tried to get party endorsement for a Minnesota State Senate seat to bring further attention to labor issues. He was employed as an aircraft technician at Northwest Airlines for 16 years after serving honorably in the United States Air Force as a jet aircraft mechanic for eight years. Ludwig has an associate's degree from Normandale Community College and is married with two daughters.

Denise Mayotte is the executive director of the Sheltering Arms Foundation, which is based in Minneapolis and makes grants statewide to nonprofits that help Minnesota's most vulnerable children. The foundation has a strong interest in supporting early childhood care and education advocacy efforts. Prior to her work with Sheltering Arms, Mayotte served as a program officer with the McKnight Foundation, as general manager of KFAI, Fresh Air Radio, and as executive director of the Neighborhood Resource Center. She lives in South Minneapolis with her husband and daughter.

Tiffany Mulvihill is the assistant director at the Federal Executive Board of Minnesota, a U.S. government entity that coordinates intergovernmental relationships throughout the state. Prior to her current position, Mulvihill was a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in Washington, D.C. Other previous jobs include FEMA crisis counselor in Mississippi for Hurricane Katrina relief effort, home page editor at the Washington Post's website, and sixth grade English/alternative teacher at Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland. Mulvihill received her bachelor's degree at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point and her master's degree in social work from the Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

Kevin Olson is the director of public affairs for the Minnesota Army and Air National Guard. He is responsible for communicating all aspects of public information for a 13,000-member military organization. In 2005-2006 he was deployed to Iraq as a media operations officer and coordinated embedded media for multinational coalition forces. Before becoming active duty with the Minnesota National Guard in 1999, Olson spent 12 years in supervisory and management positions with Marriott Lodging. He earned a bachelor's degree in European history from Framingham State (Massachusetts) College, and is enrolled in the master of arts in organizational management program at Concordia University in Saint Paul.

Eric M. Peterson is an attorney at Dorsey & Whitney LLP, providing business and regulatory advice to entities in the health care sector. Prior to joining Dorsey, Peterson clerked for the chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, worked as a public health policy analyst for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and practiced as a social worker at Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare. He earned a juris doctorate from the University of Washington-Seattle, a master's in public health from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and a master's of science in social work and bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Peterson serves on the board of directors for Minnesota AIDS Project and Courage Center.

Jamie Proulx is the assistant director of communications at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. She manages media relations for the Institute, assists with event coordination, and writes for Humphrey Institute publications. Prior to joining the Humphrey Institute, Proulx worked in media relations for the University of Minnesota's central communications office, Mall of America, and a publishing house in Stillwater, Minnesota. In 2002, she served as deputy press secretary for Senator Norm Coleman's campaign and remained with him as his press secretary in 2003. Proulx is a graduate of the University of St. Thomas, and she resides in Saint Paul with her husband, Brent.

Kirk Pumphrey currently serves as chief of staff to the president of Ovations Part D at UnitedHealth Group, working closely with the Part D team dedicated to delivering prescription drug benefits to America's seniors. Prior to UnitedHealth Group, he spent 18 months in Kiev, Ukraine as a consultant and entrepreneur, opening a Mexican fast food restaurant. From 1994-2001, Pumphrey managed a portfolio of Eastern European and former Soviet embassy and foreign mission accounts for Riggs National Bank in Washington, D.C. He has a master's degree in business administration from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and a bachelor's degree in Slavic and Eastern European studies from the University of Virginia.

Natarajan Raman is currently the director of radiation oncology at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. He obtained his medical degree from the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune, India in 1988 and went on to specialize in radiation oncology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. After moving to the United States, Raman worked at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and was a faculty member at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. He moved to Minnesota in 2005 and is married with three children. Raman has an interest in improving the healthcare system and shaping health policy.

Brigid Riley is the executive director of MOAPPP, the Minnesota Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention and Parenting. Riley has worked in the field of adolescent health promotion for 13 years, previously holding positions at Hennepin County, the City of Bloomington, and the University of Minnesota. Riley's work ranges in scope from management and fundraising to programming and policy. She is a lifelong resident of Minnesota, the president-elect of the School of Public Health Alumni Board, and past co-chair of the Midtown Farmer's Market in South Minneapolis. Riley holds degrees from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and the College of St. Catherine.

Penny Schumacher is a program director for the Saint Paul Jewish Community Center, a social service agency which serves the social, cultural, recreational, and educational needs of people of all ages. For the past two years, she has supervised and managed several departments for the agency including developing new programming for the community. Prior to joining the Saint Paul JCC, Schumacher worked as the education director for Shir Tikvah Congregation for 10 years. She earned a bachelor's degree in public relations and Hebrew from the University of Minnesota. She lives in Golden Valley with her husband and their three teenage daughters.

Avni Patel Shridharani is the program manager for the Intercultural Mutual Assistance Association's Healthcare Access and Education Services and a board member for the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Olmsted County. Before moving to Minnesota, she was employed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a policy analyst, managing Asian and Pacific Islander programs for the Bureau of Primary Health Care in Washington, D.C. Shridharani earned a bachelor's degree in biopsychology and cognitive science from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor and a master's degree in health policy from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Robert Strand is a market planner with Boston Scientific and a lecturer in corporate responsibility and business ethics at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. Strand's business experience includes roles in strategy, marketing, and operations with IBM and Boston Scientific. He was a 2005-2006 United States Fulbright Scholar to Norway where he researched corporate responsibility and business ethics across Scandinavia. Strand also serves on the leadership team of the Minneapolis Professionals Net Impact chapter. He earned a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Wisconsin and a master's degree in business administration and international business from the Carlson School of Management. He and his wife Sarah live in Minneapolis.

Julisa Viveros has worked at Centro Legal for the last five years as the finance manager, responsible for finances and human resources. Prior to Centro Legal, Viveros worked at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota where she created and designed a web site in English and Spanish. Viveros earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos in Mexico. Also in Mexico, she worked at Liconsa, S.A. de C.V., a company funded by the federal government that focuses on distributing high quality, nutritious products to low-income children and elderly people. Viveros has lived in Minnesota for six years.

Charles Weber is an attorney practicing with the Office of the Hennepin County Public Defender. He has been with the office for 13 years, 11 as an attorney, handling all manner of indigent defense including adult criminal, juvenile delinquency, and child protection cases. He has also served as the head of the public defender's committee on Communication and Education of New Legislation and led related legal education seminars. Weber received his juris doctorate from Hamline University in 1996 and his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin -Madison in 1993. He lives in Eden Prairie with his wife and two daughters.

Amy Weldon is the senior government relations specialist for Best Buy, where she works on the company's national Get Out the Vote campaign, develops grassroots capabilities, works on strategic initiatives for the company and is responsible for legislative advocacy in more than 13 states. Prior to joining Best Buy in 2002, Weldon worked with the Minnesota State Senate Republican Caucus for five years, where she served as a legislative assistant to Senator Tom Neuville (R-Northfield, MN). Weldon began her career working for a local municipality, serving as a planning and economic development assistant for the City of Belle Plaine, Minnesota. She earned her bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Marnie Kate Wells currently leads Saint Paul Mayor Coleman's Second Shift Initiative, which focuses on out-of-school time. She was appointed to this position in April of 2006, and has since worked to coordinate learning opportunities during the Second Shift to align with academic outcomes and ensure access. Wells has a master's degree in human development from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota and a master's degree in public affairs from the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. She has over 17 years experience working in the youth development and adolescent health fields in program design and management, lobbying, and advocacy as well as working directly with youth.