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Policy Fellows: 2008-2009 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.
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Shilpa Alva is an international logistics manager at Ecolab Inc. She earned her bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Johns Hopkins University, and is currently pursuing a master's degree in business administration at the Carlson School of Management. One of Alva's defining experiences in community involvement was a two-month volunteer project in an Indian Himalayan village where she worked to empower women and children. Alva now serves on the board of directors of YouthCARE, a nonprofit that focuses on cultural awareness and racial equality. She is also in the process of co-founding a nonprofit called SURGE that will serve impoverished communities and the self-actualization needs of local leaders. |
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Karla Bigham was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2006. She serves on the Public Safety and Civil Justice, Public Safety Finance, State Government Finance, Veteran Affairs, and Game Fish Forestry committees. She is also a member of the East Metro PFC Oversight working group and Health and Human Services Disabilities working group. Bigham is a lifelong resident of Cottage Grove, and has served on the Cottage Grove City Council and as chair of the Cottage Grove Public Safety, Health, and Welfare Commission. Bigham obtained a bachelor's degree as a paralegal, with minors in sociology and political science, from Winona State University. She works as a paralegal in the Property Crimes Division of the Hennepin County attorney's office. |
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Zach Burnett is a therapeutic specialty representative with Pfizer Inc. At Pfizer, he provides clinically relevant information on pharmaceuticals to academic specialty centers within Minnesota, including the Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. In addition to working for Pfizer, Burnett has been actively engaged in political logistics, serving as Minnesota State Senate candidate Scott Wright's finance chair and Get Out the Vote coordinator during the 2006 election. Burnett has also served as a legislative intern for Wisconsin State Senator Alberta Darling. Burnett holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. |
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Patricia Crumley is an attorney practicing criminal and employment law, including alternative dispute resolution, in private practice in the Twin Cities. She is vice-chair of the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center and serves as a mediator to help resolve conflicts among students in middle school. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Macalester College, a law degree from William Mitchell School of Law and a certificate from Labor Education Services at the University of Minnesota. Crumley serves on nonprofit boards that are dedicated to quality health care, environmental justice, and community development. |
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Kali Cruz is the director of constituent services for U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar. She manages a team of staff members who advocate for constituents on issues ranging from international adoptions to tax problems, and also oversees general operations in the Senator's Minneapolis office. Prior to joining Senator Klobuchar’s team, Cruz worked on Senator Mark Dayton's Health Care Help Line assisting Minnesotans with their health insurance, Medicare, and social security issues. Cruz also worked in Senator Dayton's Washington, D.C. office as a research assistant. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communications from the University of St. Thomas and lives in St. Paul with her husband, Santo. |
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Dean Eyler is an attorney at Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty & Bennett, P.A. His practice focuses on intellectual property and complex commercial litigation. He has led several pro bono projects, serves on the firm's pro bono committee, and was named the firm's Pro Bono All Star for 2006. Eyler earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Northern Iowa in 1993 and a law degree from the University of Iowa in 1996. After law school, he clerked for Judge Donald P. Lay on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Eyler served as a high school debate coach for nine years. He lives in Plymouth with his wife and their two children. |
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Lisa Fobbe holds leadership positions on the Princeton School Board, the Oakland School Board, the Minnesota School Board Association and the Minnesota State High School League Board of Directors. In 2006, Fobbe received the Princeton Rotary Club Distinguished Service Award, and in 2007, she was a candidate for the Princeton Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year. She graduated from the College of St. Benedict in 1985 with a degree in social work. Fobbe recently received the DFL endorsement for the special election for Minnesota State Senate District 16. When not campaigning, she enjoys reading, lake activities, travel, gardening, cooking, and theater. She and her husband, Americo Fraboni, have three teenage sons, Angelo, Domenic, and Gino. |
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Steve Francisco is the federal policy director for the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and the Minnesota Budget Project. He advocates with the state's congressional delegation on federal budget and tax issues affecting low- and moderate-income families. Prior to joining MCN in 2005, he spent 21 years working in Washington, D.C. as senior legislative assistant to the late U.S. Rep. Bruce F. Vento (D-MN), and as legislative representative for the United Steelworkers of America. Francisco earned his bachelor's degree in political science and his law degree from the University of Minnesota. He lives with his wife Bonnie in Eagan, Minnesota. |
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Amy Fredregill is the vice president of the Minnesota Association of Cooperatives/Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives, where she has worked since 2003. She manages the Minnesota office, administers the political action committee (PAC), and serves as the secretary/treasurer for the PAC's foundation. Previously, Fredregill was a legislative aide for the Senate Agriculture Committee in Washington, D.C. and a program coordinator for a national nonprofit conservation organization. She serves on the board of the Minnesota Project and the supervisory committee for the Northcountry Co-op Federal Credit Union. Fredregill holds a master's degree in environmental policy, with top departmental honors, from George Washington University. |
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Jennifer Grudnowski is Managing Counsel at Regency Beauty Institute where she focuses her practice on employment law. Prior to working at Regency, Jennifer held the position of Senior Counsel at Fair Isaac Corporation where she focused her practice on employment law as well as litigation and trademark and securities matters. Jennifer is a graduate of Washington University School of Law and holds an undergraduate degree in anthropology from Washington University. In her free time, Jennifer enjoys downhill skiing, hiking and spending time with her husband and son. |
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Jake Hamlin is a government relations associate at Cargill. Hamlin's responsibilities include legislative advocacy in key states with Cargill operations, coordination of Cargill's Get Out the Vote campaign, and hosting domestic and international dignitaries. Before joining Cargill in 2005, Hamlin worked with the Minnesota House Republican Caucus coordinating educational programs and later serving as committee legislative assistant for Representative Tom Hackbarth (R - Oak Grove). Hamlin also worked for four years at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from St. Olaf College and a master's degree in public administration from Hamline University. He lives in Saint Paul with his wife Paula and their two children. |
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Yussuf Hamud is a claims representative with the United States Social Security Administration, a position he has held since 2003. Previously, he worked for the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority and Madina Hospital. Hamud has volunteered with the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits to assist non-English speakers participating in the political process, and has served as a volunteer tutor and mediator with a variety of organizations. In 2008, Hamud was selected to participate in a competitive year-long leadership development program in the Chicago Region of the Social Security Administation. Hamud has a dual master's degree in management and public administration from Hamline University. |
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Tracey Hester is a legislative affairs senior specialist for Target Corporation, responsible for implementing Target's legislative and regulatory agenda at the state and federal level. Prior to joining Target, Hester lobbied for the TwinWest Chamber of Commerce, a regional business organization in Minnesota. She has also held positions at the Minnesota House of Representatives, the Arizona State Senate, and the Arizona Governor's Office. In 2007, she was selected for the American Council of Young Political Leaders delegation to India and Pakistan. Hester holds a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in public administration from Arizona State University. |
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Wayne Kazmierczak serves as the assistant superintendent of Moorhead Area Public Schools. Prior to joining the Moorhead school district, he was the superintendent of the Lakeview school district of Cottonwood and Wood Lake, Minnesota. Kazmierczak was a member of the Minnesota Principals' Academy during the 2007-08 school year. He was a teacher and coach in the Minnetonka school district before entering the administrative field. Kazmierczak earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of North Dakota and is currently pursuing a doctor of philosophy degree in educational administration from the University of Minnesota. He resides in Moorhead with his wife, Clare, and children Anna and Vincent. |
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Drew Kleven is a manager within the assets protection division of Target Corporation, where his team provides risk-related research and analysis to company leaders to support business decision-making. Prior to Target, Drew worked as the deputy director of intelligence for the Fifth Coast Guard District in Virginia, providing intelligence support to both national security and domestic law enforcement operations. Drew began his career in the Marine Corps, spending eight years on active duty as an intelligence officer. He earned his bachelor's degree in history and political science from St. Olaf College, and his master's degree in military history from American Military University. Drew lives in South Minneapolis with his wife and two daughters. |
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Todd A. Kruse is president of Thought Leadership Management, LLC (TLM) based in Minnesota. Founded in 2004, TLM is a public affairs and strategic management consulting firm which specializes in developing and managing third party allies via a range of earned media activities to advance clients' public policy and marketing agendas. TLM also provides corporate intelligence research and executive recruitment services. Kruse holds a master's degree in international management from the University of St. Thomas, and bachelor's degrees in economics and political science from Iowa State University. In 2001, he became a part-time student at George Mason University, pursuing a doctor of philosophy in public policy. |
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Jake Kulzer is the commander of the Minnesota Army National Guard recruiting battalion. He is responsible for all of the Army National Guard recruiting activities throughout Minnesota. He is a recent veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom where he served as the civil military operations officer. While in Iraq he worked on capacity development and reconstruction in conjunction with the U.S. State Department and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Jake is a 2005 graduate of the Carlson School of Management, where he earned a master's degree in business administration. He resides in Minneapolis with his wife and three daughters. |
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Shaun LaDue is the chief of police for the City of Owatonna. Previously, he worked for the Bloomington Police Department and the Hennepin County sheriff's office. LaDue holds a bachelor's degree in public accounting from St. Cloud State University and a master's degree in public administration from Minnesota State University - Mankato. He is currently serving as an instructor with the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association Command Academy as well as with the Department of Traffic Safety. LaDue has also been an adjunct instructor in law enforcement at Normandale Community College and a substitute teacher in secondary education for the Bloomington public schools. LaDue resides in Owatonna with his wife and five children. |
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Lars Leafblad is a vice president with KeyStone Search, a Minneapolis based retained executive search firm with a unique emphasis on corporate culture. Prior to KeyStone, Leafblad served as director of development for the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, assistant director of alumni and parent relations at St. Olaf College, and as a market development manager with Four51.com. He serves on the boards of Faith's Lodge and The Salvation Army-Twin Cities, and is active in a number of other organizations. Leafblad earned a bachelor's degree from St. Olaf College and a master's degree in business administration from the Carlson School of Management. He resides in Roseville with his wife Maren and their two children. |
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Brian Lucas is manager of public relations for Best Buy, coordinating public relations activities in the home theater, entertainment, and appliance categories as well as the holiday campaign. Prior to joining Best Buy, Lucas spent five years at Fleishman Hillard working on consumer public relations campaigns. Before that, he worked as a television reporter in La Crosse, Wisconsin and a radio reporter for Minnesota Public Radio. Lucas received his bachelor's degree in politics from Princeton University and a master's degree in broadcasting from Northwestern University. He currently serves on boards for the Finnegan's Community Fund and the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife Betsy and his daughters Julia and Molly. |
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Mobin Malik is a staff physician in the department of internal medicine at the Hennepin County Medical Center, and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Malik is the co-founder and chief executive officer of the nonprofit Public Health Initiative for South Asia. He has also served as a consultant and co-investigator on a number of public health initiatives in Minnesota, addressing issues such as health disparities, health care among African immigrants, and screening for HIV in prison populations. Malik has an interest in international health, immigrant and indigent health care, preventive health, and history of medicine. |
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Sakawdin Mohamed is a program administrator for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, where he administers highway safety grants and coordinates state highway safety programs. Previously, Mohamed led community development and multi-ethnic programs with Fargo-Moorhead-based nonprofit organizations while serving as Executive Director for Somali Community in the Valley. He also managed programs that address health barriers and conducted his graduate thesis on the role of culture in the spread of HIV/AIDS among new Minnesotans. Mohamed has a master's degree from Minnesota State University - Mankato and bachelor's degree from North Dakota State University - Fargo. |
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Patrick Ness is the public policy manager with Catholic Charities' Office for Social Justice of St. Paul/Minneapolis. His work includes issue education, community organizing, and legislative advocacy on issues that affect the dignity and rights of people who are politically, socially, or economically marginalized. Among other issues, Ness has worked toward comprehensive immigration reform, universal health care, and a raise in the minimum wage. Prior to his current position, he served as a family advocate and manager of Mary's Place, a homeless shelter for families. He has also sent time living and studying in New Orleans and Mexico. |
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Gretchen Nicholls joined Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) in late 2007 as a program officer coordinating the Corridor Housing Initiative, which she formerly led as the executive director of the Center for Neighborhoods. The Initiative explores models of proactive planning and production of affordable housing throughout the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and surrounding suburban cities. For seven years, Nicholls served as an elected neighborhood representative on the Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program policy board. She also teaches an urban studies course at the University of Minnesota on community-based organizations. She holds a bachelor's degree and is working towards her master's degree in public policy from the University of Minnesota. |
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Emina Peljto is the executive director of the Bosnian Women's Network (BWN). Founded in 2000, BWN is the only organization in the Twin Cites dedicated to serving Bosnian women and their families. Peljto has collaborated with existing community resources and built partnerships that increase the organization's impact in the Twin Cities and the state of Minnesota. She also helped establish the mathematics department at an alternative school for new Americans, in Minneapolis, where she was the head of the department and a teacher for ten years. Peljto holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Sarajevo and attended the master of arts in teaching program at Hamline University. |
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Mona Peterson Rosow is the lead attorney for Evercare, a business unit of UnitedHealth Group, serving people who have long-term or advanced illness, are older, or have disabilities. Previously, Peterson Rosow worked at Halleland Lewis Nilan & Johnson, P.A., a local Minneapolis firm, where she provided legal, program, and policy advice to such initiatives as the Minnesota Citizens Forum and the Minnesota Biobusiness Alliance. Peterson Rosow holds a bachelors degree in biology and studio art from St. Olaf College and a joint law and master's degree in public health from the University of Minnesota. |
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John Rock is a trial attorney with Dorsey & Whitney LLP. He serves on the board of Twin Cities Christian Legal Aid, a nonprofit organization that provides free legal consultation and assistance to low income people at three urban clinic locations. Previously, Rock was a history and civics teacher at Sioux Central Community Schools in Sioux Rapids, Iowa, where he also coached high school varsity basketball and baseball. Rock holds a bachelor's degree in history from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and a juris doctorate from the University of Minnesota Law School. He and his wife, Shelly, reside in Stillwater with their three sons. |
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Dan Strittmater is a project manager for Presbyterian Homes and Services where he spent the last two years leading organization-wide strategies in culture change, quality improvement, standardization, systematization and collaboration. His ambition is to lead Aging Services providers in collaborating with policy makers to meet the coming age wave. Strittmater served as a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator at the North Oaks, Roseville, and Bloomington Presbyterian Homes communities since 1997, and previously on Chicago's south side and in rural Tennessee. He earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from St. John's University, and a master's degree in healthcare administration from the University of Minnesota. |
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Patrick Troska is a senior program officer at The Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation, with responsibility to oversee all aspects of the Foundation's grantmaking strategies. He previously worked as a fund distribution and community initiatives manager for United Way of the Saint Paul Area and began his career in youth programming, where he held several positions with the Catholic Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and Minnesota Children's Museum. Troska has his bachelor's degree in theology from St. John's University, and a master's degree in leadership from Augsburg College. He has served on a number of nonprofit boards in the Twin Cities and is currently vice-chair of the board of the Minnesota AIDS Project. He lives in downtown Minneapolis with his 11-year old black lab. |
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Fedwa Wazwaz is a senior data warehouse programmer with the University of Minnesota and has worked in information technology for 14 years. In 2001, she co-founded the Islamic Resource Group, which is an outreach educational organization that seeks to build bridges of understanding through education between Muslims and the greater Minnesota community. She also leads EngageMN.Com, a program to foster dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims. Wazwaz has a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota and completed training in restorative justice at the University's Center for Restorative Justice and Peacemaking. In 2007, she traveled to Tarim, Yemen to receive education from Muslim scholars seeking coexistence and harmony with people of other faiths. |
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Kevin Worden is the executive director of Rochester Area Habitat for Humanity, and is completing his second term as an elected member of the Kasson City Council. Under Worden's leadership, Rochester Area Habitat for Humanity was the first Habitat location in the state to complete a Youth United home, and has earned two "Best Practices" awards from Habitat for Humanity of Minnesota. Worden earned his bachelor's degree in political science from Gustavus Adolphus College, and a master's degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas. He lives in Kasson with his wife and three children. |
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Liberty Wyrum is the committee legislative assistant for Representative Michael Paymar and the Minnesota House of Representatives committee on Public Safety Finance, with fiscal oversight of the courts, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Human Rights, and the Department of Corrections. Previously, she contributed five years to WATCH (We're at the Courthouse), a court monitoring organization reviewing cases of domestic and sexual violence in Hennepin County District Courts. Wyrum also staffed the Hennepin County Domestic Fatality Review Team and serves as board member to several political and community organizations. She attended the University of Minnesota and resides in Minneapolis with her husband, Daniel and their dog, Frank. |
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