Foundation leadership drives impact

The Minnesota Chamber Foundation has established itself as a thought leader on the performance of Minnesota’s economy. The research and data produced by the Foundation is relied upon by business leaders, policy makers and the news media. The workforce solutions delivered by the Foundation provide a practical, on the ground approach to creating workforce pipelines in local communities and its effort to build inclusive workforces and provide opportunity for those on the economic sidelines has been widely recognized. This success would not be possible without the leaders of the Foundation board of directors, currently chaired by Traci Tapani, Co-President, Wyoming Machine.

This fall, we say good bye to a number of exceptional leaders and welcome a new class of terrific board members.

We are grateful to the following retiring board members:

• Rick Bauerly, Founder and CEO, Granite Partners – Rick’s leadership in manufacturing across the state has provided significant knowledge and expertise to the research focus.
   
• Jon Campbell – Jon chaired the Foundation board, and was instrumental in guiding the workforce inclusion programs of the Foundation.
   
• Jeff DeYoung – Jeff is also a past chair, and provided steady leadership and financial acumen to our work.
   
• Susan Marvin – Susan chaired the Foundation for two years after its relaunch and has brought years of private sector business leadership to the board.
   
• Tim Penny – Tim’s quiet advice and recommendations ensured a strong rural perspective to the Foundation’s effort.

Welcome, new board members: 

• Kathy Bray, Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary, SFM Mutual Insurance Company
   
• Justin Erickson, Vice President, Site Selection and Economic Development, The Brookshire Company
   
• Mercedes Jackson, Shareholder, Fredrikson
   
• Kristina Morton, Chief People Office, API Group
   
• Laura Oberst, Executive Vice President and Head of Central Region, Wells Fargo