University of Minnesota

Kenneth J. Roering, Director, is Professor of Marketing in the Carlson School of Management of the University of Minnesota. He occupied the prestigious Pillsbury Company-Paul S. Gerot Chair in Marketing from 1983-2002. He served as Chairman of the Marketing Department at the University of Minnesota for five years and prior to that at the University of Missouri. He has served as visiting professor or distinguished guest lecturer at numerous universities in the United States and Europe. Since June 2006, Prof. Roering has served as Executive Vice President of Strategic Management at Marshall Bank First Corporation. He earned his doctorate from the University of Iowa and has published more than 70 articles in professional journals, written two books and edited three collections of scholarly writings. He has received several awards for his research accomplishments and has served on numerous editorial review boards of scholarly journals including, the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research and Journal of Marketing and Public Policy. Dr. Roering has been a consultant to numerous corporations such as American Express, 3M, Cargill, Carlson Companies, TSI Inc, Pillsbury, Motorola, MTS, US Bank, and Whirlpool Corporation. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of eighteen private and public companies during the past 25 years and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Arctic Cat Inc. (Lead Director), Innovex Inc. and RaveSports Inc. He has been active in a number of non profit organizations including St. Johnsota.

Dr. Hardten recently received the Senior Achievement Award Dr. David R. Hardten, a board-certified ophthalmologist and founding partner of Minnesota Eye Consultants, is one of the nation's most prominent leaders in research and education and treatment of the cornea, external disease, anterior segment, cataract, refractive and laser surgery. As director for Minnesota Eye Consultants' Clinical Research Department, Dr. Hardten leads extensive research projects surrounding the latest refractive procedures for correction of myopia, astigmatism and hyperopia. He also serves as director of Minnesota Eye Consultants' fellowship and optometric residency program, both of which are prestigious, year-long fellowships that train physicians in the sub-specialties of cornea and external disease, glaucoma, cataract and refractive surgery. A native of Kansas City, KS, Dr. Hardten graduated from Shawnee Mission South High School. He attended the University of Kansas, and was later accepted in the University of Minnesota Department of Ophthalmology residency program. While completing residency training, Dr. Hardten received numerous honors and awards for outstanding achievement. He completed his fellowship training in cornea and external disease at the University of Minnesota and received the ARVO/National Eye Institute Fellow Award. Dr. Hardten entered private practice in 1993 with Drs. Richard L. Lindstrom and Thomas W. Samuelson as founding partners of Minnesota Eye Consultants. His practice extends beyond Minnesota Eye Consultants to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, as well as greater Minnesota, providing medical and surgical services to patients in the Twin Cities and outside communities. Dr. Hardten has focused on education throughout his career. As associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of Minnesota Department of Ophthalmology, he is actively involved in teaching residents at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, as well as fellows at the Veterans Medical Center, Minneapolis. He also serves as a clinical associate professor for the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. Additionally, he is an instructor for VISX and Laser Vision Centers, where he teaches ophthalmologists from around the world to perform LASIK. Dr. Hardten consults to many major ophthalmologic companies, holds three patents and serves on the editorial board for several ophthalmic journals. He is a regular contributor and reviewer for numerous ophthalmic papers and journals. Dr. Hardten has held leadership positions in many professional organizations, including board director for the International Society of Refractive Surgery; co-medical director for Laser Vision Centers, Inc.; board of directors for the Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmologists; programming and refractive surgery interest group planning committee of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. While serving for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, he received its distinguished achievement award in 1999 for his countless efforts to advance the agenda of the Academy. Dr. Hardten lectures throughout the world on refractive surgery and research. He has published over 20 chapters and 100 articles on cornea, cataract and refractive surgery.

Jose Jessurun, M.D. is an Associate Professor of Pathology at the University of Minnesota and is the Director of Surgical Pathology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, at the University of Minnesota. He is a member of the Latin American Society of Pathology, the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology and the Minnesota Society of Clinical Pathology. Dr. Jessurun received his M.D. degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City in 1977, was the chief resident in surgical pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital from 1983-84 and has been an Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota since 1991.

Alice Kuzniar is a professor of German and Comparative Literature at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill where she has been teaching since 1983 apart from invitations as a guest professor at Princeton University, Rutgers University, and the University of Minnesota. She received her B.A. from the University of Toronto, and her Ph.D. from Princeton. She is the author and editor of several books and articles, including a book on the German Romantic authors Novalis and Holderlin for which she won the South Atlantic Modern Language Association Award, and a book titled, The Queer German Cinema, on gay and lesbian cinema from the 1920's to the present. She lives with her two whippets, Claire and Zephyr, and three white rabbits. The whippets don't harm the rabbits, but do not help in corralling them when they escape. Share your comments on the book and interview on the Psychjourney Audio Book Club blog.

Scott Sakaguchi, M.D., earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of California in Davis, California. He completed Fellowships in Cardiovascular Diseases and Cardiac Electrophysiology at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Sakaguchi is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease. He presently is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Sakaguchi's specialty area is Electrophysiology.

James H. Zavoral, MD, Medical Director, has conducted clinical trials since 1987 and has earned international recognition for his achievements in lipid and obesity research. His specialty is Preventive Cardiology. He is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota and has published over 45 original scientific articles in a number of peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Zavoral has toured extensively, speaking on lipid management, weight management and hypertension. He is a past-president of the Minnesota American Heart Association.

Hoyt N. Wheeler is Professor of Management and Business Partnership Foundation Fellow, Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina. He holds the degrees of Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin (Industrial Relations), JD from the University of Virginia, and BA (cum laude) from Marshall University. He has been a member of the faculties of the University of Minnesota and the University of Wyoming, and has served as a visiting professor and scholar at the University of Paris I, Sorbonne, and the University of Paris II, Pantheon-Assas.

Craig C. Wruck is vice president for philanthropic and charitable services at U.S. Trust Company. Previously he was vice president of development for The Saint Paul Foundation, one of the 10 largest of the more than 500 community foundations in the country, and the director of gift planning for the University of Minnesota Foundation. His career stretches over more than 25 years and includes experience at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minn., and Claremont University Center in Claremont, Calif.

Vice President and Chief Technical Officer Tim Trine is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences at the University of Minnesota, where he completed his doctoral studies. Prior to joining Starkey, Trine served as Director of Audiology at Vanderbilt University's Bill Wilkerson Center, and held an Assistant Professorship in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences in the School of Medicine. Trine earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communicative Disorders from California State University Northridge, and a Master of Science Degree in Audiology from Vanderbilt University.

Kenneth H. Keller, Ph.D. (Class III) has been a director of the Company since 1997. Dr. Keller is President Emeritus of the University of Minnesota. Since August 2006, he has served as the Director of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies Bologna Center in Bologna, Italy. Previously, he was Professor of Science and Technology Policy in the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota as well as Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. Dr. Keller joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota in 1964, and through the years assumed increasing administrative responsibilities. He was Academic Vice President from 1980 to 1985 and President from 1985 to 1988. Dr. Keller was a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations from 1989 to 1996, serving as Senior Vice President of the Council from 1993 to 1995.

Marc Hillmyer is Elmore H Northey Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Hillmyer received his B.S. degree in Chemistry in 1989 from the University of Florida where he worked as an undergraduate research assistant in the laboratory of Professor Kenneth Wagener on Acyclic Diene Metathesis Polymerization. He then moved to the California Institute of Technology as a chemistry graduate student and joined Professor Robert Grubbs' research group where he continued his work on metathesis. At Caltech he focused on the preparation of functionalized polymers by Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization using newly developed ruthenium metathesis catalysts. Upon graduating with a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Caltech in 1994, Marc moved to the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota as a postdoctoral research associate in the group of Professor Frank Bates. With Professor Bates, Marc worked on a variety of research projects centered on the synthesis and self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers. In 1997 Marc moved to the Chemistry Department at the University of Minnesota. Principle research efforts in his group include the synthesis, characterization, and applications of nanoporous materials from ordered block copolymer precursors, the development of new renewable resource polymers, and the synthesis of multicomponent block copolymers and their self-assembly in dilute solution. He has published over 125 papers and holds 7 patents. Since staring in Chemistry at Minnesota, Marc has received several awards and honors including a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, a Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering, and a National Science Foundation CAREER Award.

Vin Weber is Chief Executive Officer of Clark & Weinstock. He provides strategic advice to institutions with matters before the Legislative and Executive branches of the Federal government. Vin is Chairman of the National Endowment for Democracy, a private, nonprofit organization designed to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts. He serves on the Board of The Council on Foreign Relations and co-chaired a major independent task force on U.S. Policy Toward Reform in the Arab World with former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Vin is a member of the U.S. Secretary of Defensea s Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee, and he also serves on the U.S. Secretary of Statea s Advisory Committee on Democracy Promotion. He is a senior fellow at the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota, where he is co-director of the Policy Forum. In addition, Vin is a board member of several private sector and non-profit organizations, including ITT Educational Services, The Lenox Group, and the Aspen Institute where he serves on the Institutea s Middle East Strategy Group. Vin is one of the most prominent and successful strategists in the Republican Party and enjoys strong bipartisan relationships across the Legislative and Executive branches of government. He serves as a trusted advisor to senior officials in the Administration and on Capitol Hill, and has counseled numerous Presidential campaigns. He is Policy Chairman of Romney for President, Inc., overseeing all policy development for Governor Mitt Romney. In 2004, Vin was the Bush-Cheney a 04 Plains States Regional Chairman. He has been featured in numerous national publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press, National Journal, and The New Republic. Vin is a sought-after political and policy analyst, appearing frequently on major television outlets, including NBCa s Nightly News, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer on PBS, ABCa s This Week, the CBS Early Show, Fox News Channel, CNN, and MSNBC. He is a contributing columnist to The Hill newspaper.A Prior to opening Clark & Weinstock's Washington office in 1994, Vin was president a " and co-director with Jack Kemp, Jeane Kirkpatrick and Bill Bennett a " of Empower America, a public policy advocacy group. Vin served in the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 1993, representing Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District. He was a member of the Appropriations Committee and an elected member of the House Republican Leadership. Prior to his Congressional service, he served as campaign manager and chief Minnesota aide to Sen. Rudy Boschwitz (1978-1980), and as the co-publisher of The Murray County Herald (1976-1978). He and his wife Cheryl have two daughters. The Webers maintain homes in Alexandria, Virginia and Walker, Minnesota.

John L. Hick is a faculty emergency physician at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) and an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Minnesota. He serves as the Associate Medical Director for Hennepin County Emergency Medical Services and Medical Director for Emergency Preparedness at HCMC. He is Medical Advisor to the Minneapolis / St. Paul Metropolitan Medical Response System. He also serves the Minnesota Department of Health as the Medical Director for the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Medical Director for Hospital Bioterrorism Preparedness. He is the founder and past chair of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan Hospital Compact, a 29 hospital mutual aid and planning group active since 2002. He is involved at many levels of planning for surge capacity and traveled to Greece to assist their healthcare system preparations for the 2004 Summer Olympics as part of a 15 member CDC/HHS team. He continues to work with Health and Human Services and other agencies on development of hospital contingency stations and adjusted standards of care in disasters. He is a national speaker on hospital preparedness issues and has published numerous papers dealing with hospital preparedness for contaminated casualties, personal protective equipment, and surge capacity. In his spare time, he practices disaster mitigation, response, and recovery at home with his two daughters ages 4 and 7.

Andrew W. Dahl, Sc.D., has been a director of the company since September 1999. Since May 2007, Dr. Dahl has served as Chief Innovation Executive of Fairview Health Services, a $2.5 Billion nonprofit health organization, that is a clinical arm of the University of Minnesota. From March 2005 to March 2007, Dr. Dahl served as the Vice President of Consumer Driven Health and Human Resources of Alegent Health, a nonprofit, multi-hospital and health system headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. He served as President and CEO of Evolution Health, LLC., from July 2000 through February 2005. From July 1994 through December 1999, Dr. Dahl served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of HealthNet, Inc. From July 1990 through March 1994, Dr. Dahl served as President and Chief Executive Officer of IVF America, Inc. (now known as IntegraMed), where he was instrumental in taking the corporation public. Dr. Dahl also served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of St. John Health and Hospital Corporation in Detroit, a university-affiliated medical center, and was Vice President for Development of the Hospital Corporation of America, Management Company. Dr. Dahl received his Sc.D. from The Johns Hopkins University and a M.P.A. from Cornell University. Dr. Dahl is also a fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives.

Ray is the secretary and treasurer of the Co-op. He operates a 420-acre crop farm and is CEO of Seeds & Stuff Farm Market in Colfax, Wisconsin. He is a board member of Dairyland Power Cooperative and Assistant Secretary of Dunn Energy Board of Directors. Ray is a certified Professional Agronomist and Certified Crop Advisor and holds a MS in Agronomy and Plant Genetics from the University of Minnesota.

Timothy J. Penny is senior counselor to the Minnesota-based public relations firm Himle-Horner and coauthor of Common Cents. As a member of Congress from 1982 to 1994, Penny established himself as a budget watchdog and received awards for his deficit reduction efforts. Currently, Penny is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, serves on the board of directors of the Concord Coalition, chairs the Minnesota chapter of the Democratic Leadership Council, and is actively involved with the University of Minnesota Humphrey School. He is a graduate of Winona State University.

Douglas M. Hawkins, Ph.D. is a Professor of Statistics and the Chairman of the Department of Applied Statistics at the University of Minnesota. He is a member of the International Statistical Institute, a fellow of the American Statistical Association and a senior member of the American Society for Quality. He is also an associate editor of the Journal for the American Statistical Association. Dr. Hawkins received his Ph.D. degree from the Witwatersrand University, Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1969.

Barbara Mowry is the President and CEO of Silver Creek Systems. Her extensive executive experience includes former roles as Chairman and CEO at Requisite Technology and as a senior officer for two Fortune 500 companies, Comcast (TCI) and United Airlines. She has piloted organizations through rapid growth, steered international expansions, raised significant venture capital funding, and bought and sold companies. Spearheading the launch of new products, patented technology, and developing innovative solutions that focus on customer and business success has kept her at the forefront of the technology industry. Mowry currently serves on the Board of Directors of Gaiam (NASDAQ-GAIA) and, Real Goods Solar (RSOL). She is a Director of the Denver Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, a member of the Board of Overseers of the Carlson School at the University of Minnesota, and a Director of the Leeds School at the University of Colorado. Mowry is a member of the Committee of 200, an invitation-only organization comprised of the world's most successful women entrepreneurs and corporate leaders and has served as a judge at the Ernst and Young World Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. Barbara has a bachelor's degree from Miami University, Oxford Ohio, and an MBA from the University of Minnesota.

Brian Henjum is a graduate of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, and the University of Minnesota Medical School. He completed his family practice residency at the University of Minnesota. He is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine, and is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Minnesota Medical Association. He was in practice in the Mound, Minnesota area for over 20 years prior to joining North Memorial Clinic -- Minnetonka Physicians. He is also an adjunct clinical instructor in the family medicine residency program at the University of Minnesota.

Panos G. Michalopoulos , age 58, is the founder of the company and has been a director since 1984. Dr. Michalopoulos was Chairman of the Board from our inception in 1984 through 1999 and served as Chief Scientific Advisor from 1995 through 2000. Dr. Michalopoulos has been a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Minnesota since 1997. He has more than 35 years of research, teaching and consulting experience in traffic engineering operations surveillance and control. He has taught at several universities, consulted with many firms in the United States and abroad in the area of traffic management and control, and worked as a traffic engineer. Dr. Michalopoulos is chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and a member of the Compensation and Stock Option Committee.

Richelle joined the Walker Methodist Board in 2008. She is an Adjunct Professor for the College of Design at the University of Minnesota, and Vice President of Creative/Branding at Larsen Design Office. Richelle holds degrees from Moorhead State University and Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Charlie Hoag was named vice president and director of sales of the Star Tribune in 1993. He is responsible for sales strategy and planning, staff development, and business and industry relations. He joined the company in 1961, moving up the ranks from retail advertising sales representative to management positions. In 1989, he became the sales director for Retail/National Advertising. Hoag is an active member of the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) and Creatives for Causes, and he serves on the board of directors of the Minnesota Daily - student newspaper of the University of Minnesota. Hoag holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota.

Matt's communications experience and versatility make his counsel valuable to a diverse range of clients. Since joining the firm in 1989, he has successfully implemented strategic public relations programs for technology and manufacturing players including Rockwell Automation, Entegris, Vocollect, RSA Security, Valspar, Genesys/Alcatel, Microsoft, IBM, 3M, Iomega, Retek, Net Perceptions, CNT, Labseek, Plural, Artesyn Technologies, Weather Shield, Cycore, Sega, Shavlik Technologies and Solutran. As leader of the Padilla Speer Beardsley technology practice and a key member of the firm's business-to-business marketing team, Matt has extensive experience in positioning and message development; marketing communications planning; media relations training; corporate, brand and product positioning; merger and acquisition announcements and issues management. He has conducted more than 150 Communicating for Action sessions - the firm's proprietary planning methodology. As a member of the Crisis Response Team, he advises clients on crisis and critical-issues communications and training. Matt serves as the Padilla Speer Beardsley liaison to the Worldcom Public Relations Group, the world's largest and most established network of independent firms, and helps Padilla Speer Beardsley advise clients on how best to extend their programs around the world. He was responsible for establishing Worldcom partner protocols to improve consistency and uniformity across the network, and is chair of the Americas Region. Matt is an adjunct instructor in the journalism school at the University of Minnesota, a member of the board of directors of the Minnesota High Tech Association, a volunteer advisor for Pheasants Forever, a board member of the Fish Lake Area Residents Association, and an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America. Matt was named to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal's "40 Under 40" list of emerging business leaders in 2006. He frequently lectures at various colleges, universities and professional associations, and has authored several articles for local and national magazines. Prior to Padilla Speer Beardsley, he performed marketing and employee communications at Cray Research and U.S. Bank. He graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls with a degree in journalism and business.

George provides senior pricing leadership on consulting engagements and is a faculty member of SPG's education services. With over 28 years of industry experience, he has held senior business, sales, and marketing positions at DuPont, Monsanto, and Union Carbide. A frequent speaker and writer on pricing strategy, George is also a regular lecturer at executive education programs at University of Minnesota, University of Chicago, and Columbia University. His insights and articles have appeared in leading publications such as The Economist, Marketing Management Magazine, Journal of Pricing Management, and the Chemical Marketing Review. George is a member of the Advisory Board for the Institute for the Study of Business Markets and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Virginia. He holds an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering, an M.B.A., and has done doctoral work in marketing.

Tim is the president and co-founder of The Metanoia Group, executive director for the Hendrickson Institute for Ethical Leadership, in addition to serving on the faculty of St Mary's University of Minnesota as senior professor. Tim has served in a multitude of leadership positions in the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), including secretary and director of the International Board, and chair of the Ethics, Professional Credential and Career Advancement Committees. He also speaks extensively on Professional Ethics, Board Development and Major Gift issues.

Michael J. Perkins is Associate Vice President for Capital Planning & Project Management at the University of Minnesota. In this role Mike and his team are responsible for all strategic planning, tactical planning, design, and construction management system-wide for the University's physical environment. He maintains communication and relationships with internal and external stakeholders regarding Capital Projects and contributes to the University Services leadership team. Mike has functioned in this capacity for 4 years. Mike has more than twenty years experience as a senior corporate executive in strategic planning, design, construction and project management, property management and real estate. Prior to joining the University he managed similar functions at Medtronic for 7 years and most recently at American Express for 17 years. During the course of his career Mike has developed and/or managed over 5.7 million square feet of corporate or institutional real estate valued in excess of $ 1 billion. Michael graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Economics and Business Administration.

Professor Bianco is Assistant Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the University of Minnesota and is Vice Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the university, where he directs the Experimental Surgery Service. In this capacity, he oversees the Research Subjects Protection Program, the administrative home of both the Human Subjects Committees and the Animal Care and Use Committees. Professor Bianco has over twenty years experience in scientific surgical studies, beginning at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. After serving at Mayo for six years, he joined the University of Minnesota as a scientist in the cardiovascular surgery division. Since 1978 he has been working at the university in progressively higher areas of responsibility, on the preclinical evaluation of medical devices for regulatory submission, both in the US and Europe. He is an acknowledged and widely recognized expert on regulatory matters governing the use and approval of all classes of medical devices. His direct experience in consulting to the medical device industry is legend, and he counts among his clients some of the largest and most innovative early stage medical device companies in the world. Professor Bianco has been Co-Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Development of International Standards for in vivo Testing of Prosthetic Valves, and currently sits on the Board of Directors the Lillihei Heart Institute, on the Board of Directors of the Academy of Surgical Research, on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the National Association for Biomedical Research, and on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Journal of Heart Valve Disease. Professor Bianco is also a member of the International Standards Cardiac Valve Committee. Professor Bianco earned his B.A. degree from the University of Minnesota, where he also attended graduate school. He has published over 100 papers of original research and has presented numerous times before national congresses and medical meetings. He has several patents pending including Non-Invasive Detection of Rejection in Heart Transplant Patients.

Steve Cawley has over 18 years of experience in information technology management, including: telecommunications and Internet technologies, Mainframe and client-server computing, ERP system implementation, web services, course management systems, and classroom technologies. Steve has a Bachelor of Arts degree in organizational management and communication from Concordia University. Steve currently serves as the University of Minnesota's Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer, a position held since May 1998. Steve has held several other positions at the University of Minnesota, including Assistant Vice President for Administrative Information Technology and Director of Telecommunications Services. Steve started his career at the University of Minnesota as the Assistant Director of Telecommunication Services in 1987. Steve serves on several state and national organizations that support information technology in education.

Kent Pekel is the Executive Director of the Consortium for Post-Secondary Academic Success at the University of Minnesota. The new consortium was established in 2006 to engage and include educators, faculty and staff, and representatives from school districts, state education organizations, and the business community building collaborative efforts and addressing other critical education issues. Pekel was most recently a senior policy associate for America's Choice, Inc., where he coordinated the launch of the State Alliance for High Performance, a national initiative to help states raise student achievement. He previously served five years in leadership for the St. Paul Public Schools where he conceptualized and oversaw the development of the Six Year Plan, which every student in the district must complete to earn a high school diploma. The plan guides students through four years of high school and on to at least two years of higher education.

Dave Hopkins is an accomplished business leader with over 20 years of experience in the development and application of corporate strategy, brand management, innovation and operations improvement. Possessing a broad industry background, Dave has co-founded his own companies, and worked with emerging growth companies as well as Fortune 500 corporations. Currently, Dave is managing director of Carlson Brand Enterprise at the University of Minnesota, after stints at MRM Partners, Grant Thornton, Aegis Consulting and Saatchi and Saatchi. Author of several published business articles, Dave earned a Masters in strategy and industrial organization at the University of Utah.

Dana E. Johnson is Professor of Pediatrics, member of Division of Neonatology and Founder of the International Adoption Clinic at the University of Minnesota which is one of the largest adoption-related medical programs in the world. Over the past twenty-three years, information gathered through this clinic on the medical status of children adopted from dozens of countries and a wide variety of living conditions has helped establish the field of adoption medicine. His research focuses on the short- and long-term effects of early deprivation on child health and early development. Dr. Johnson is an adoptive parent, serves on the Editorial Boards of Adoption Quarterly and Adoptive Families Magazine and is a Senior Research Fellow in the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.

Ann Hagen is the Assistant Director of the Minnesota Craniofacicial Research Training Program (MinnCResT) at the University of Minnesota. She has degrees from the University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota both in bassoon performance. Ann also performs regularly with Allegro Sinfonia (Minnesota).

Dr. Shukla is a pediatric urologist with a strong interest in hypospadias, vesicoureteral reflux, pediatric stone disease and urinary reconstruction, among other areas. He is trained in minimally invasive surgical techniques including pediatric ureteroscopy, laparoscopy and robot-assisted surgery. Dr. Shukla is currently the director of pediatric urology at the University of Minnesota and previously practiced in association with the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. He enjoys spending time with his wife and two sons, writing, tennis and basketball.

Bruce Downing, Ph.D. is a professor of linguistics and Director of the Program in Translation and Interpreting at the University of Minnesota. He serves on the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care's Committee on Standards, Training, and Certification, and earlier represented the American Translators Association on the ASTM Subcommittee on Interpreting Standards.

David, who is from the United States, is a Regents Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota. He is also the Co-Director at the University of Minnesota Human Rights Library and Center. Previously he has been a member of AI's International Committee on Policy and a member of the Board of AI USA. He was elected to the IEC in August 2005.

Debra DeBruin, PhD, is Director of Education in the Center for Bioethics at the University of Minnesota. She received her PhD in philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh. She completed a Greenwall Postdoctoral Fellowship in Bioethics and Health Policy at Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health and Georgetown University. Dr. DeBruin has served as a health policy fellow for the United States Senate. She has worked as a consultant to the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine and the National Bioethics Advisory Commission. She has also been a member of a number of working groups relevant to public health, including the Minnesota Privacy and Security Project Solutions Workgroup, the Minnesota Privacy and Security Project Legal Workgroup, the Minnesota Center for Healthcare Ethics' Pandemic Influenza Ethics Work Group, and the State of Minnesota Department of Administration's Work Group on Genetic Information. Currently, Dr. DeBruin is helping to lead a team of ethicists from the University of Minnesota's Center for Bioethics and the Minnesota Center for Health Care Ethics to provide guidance to the Minnesota Department of Health on ethical issues in pandemic planning. In addition to her work in public health policy, she teaches and conducts research in the ethics of research.

Douglas Geers is a composer who works extensively with technology in composition, performance, and multimedia collaborations. Geers' works have been performed widely, and he has won many grants and awards, including a 2007 McKnight Composer Fellowship, a Fulbright Scholarship, a Composers Commissioning Project prize from the American Composers Forum, the Roth-Thomson award for "Impressive project for musical composition," and others from sources including the Experimental studio der Heinrich-Strobel-Stiftung des Sudwestrundfunks e.v. (Germany), the Zurich Hochschule fur Musik und Theater (Switzerland), Meet the Composer, ASCAP, NYSCA, the Ditson Fund, Columbia University, and the Mellon Foundation. Geers is currently Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) School of Music, where he teaches composition and is Director of the studios for Sound, Technology, and Research at the University of Minnesota (STRUM). He is also the founder and director of the annual Spark Festival of Electronic Music and Arts, is a co-founder and co-Director of the Electric Music Collective, an internationally-based group of electroacoustic composer-performers, and he is a member of the electroacoustic improvisation group Sonreel. For more information including scores, audio, and a list of recent performances, please see www.dgeers.com.

Professor Eli Coleman, director of the Program in Human Sexuality at the University of Minnesota, told ABC News, "I find it rather outdated in terms of its scientific knowledge and also narrow in its view of homosexuality," Coleman said. "It concerns me because I think our public policy really should be based upon best available science." Other criticisms of Holsinger: He opened a church in Lexington, Kent, that may or may not have an ex-gay therapy program, a type of therapy denounced by most major health organizations. The pastor of the church has given conflicting press accounts of the church's programming. Holsinger also voted to deny a gay man membership in the Methodist church and voted to defrock a lesbian minister. Concerns have been raised about his leadership at the Veterans Administration.

Inez Bersie-Mize, LMFT, works primarily with children, adolescents, and their families and has been a mental health professional for nine years. She is currently the clinical director for the University Day Community STARS program at the University of Minnesota where she supervises staff and helps children and their families gain higher levels of functioning at home, in the community, and at school. Bersie-Mize also has a part-time private practice at Mid West Centers for Personal and Family Development in St. Paul. Her goal is to guide families and children to an understanding of themselves and their world.

Dr. Rank completed his undergraduate work at University of Minnesota, majoring in microbiology. He received his medical degree from the same institution. His internship and residency was complete at the University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinic. Dr. Rank finished a three year fellowship in gastroenterology at University of Minnesota. Since his fellowship he has served as Instructor in Medicine, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Interim Director, Medical Director of Endoscopy, and Co-Director of Digestive Disease Center at University of Minnesota. He has been practicing in the Twin Cities since 1981.

Jerry Luckhardt, Associate Professor of Music at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, conducts the Symphonic Band, Chamber Winds and teaches courses in conducting. His other artistic and administrative positions include: Acting Director of the University of Minnesota School of Music (2007-2008), Director of the University of Minnesota Marching Band (1997-2004), Associate Director of Bands at Baylor University (1994-1997), Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Texas-Austin (1991-1993), and Marching Band Director at the University of Michigan (1989-1990). He has appeared as a guest conductor and clinician with ensembles throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Professor Luckhardt is currently music director and manager of the Medalist Concert Band in Bloomington, MN, and serves as conductor and artistic director of the Encore Wind Ensemble of Minneapolis, MN.

Day leads Gillette's Neuromuscular Clinic as program medical director. He also serves as co-director of the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Center, and as director of the Muscular Dystrophy Clinic at the University of Minnesota. Day is active in clinical research through his work at Gillette and the University of Minnesota. Areas of interest include the development of treatment and outcome strategies for muscular dystrophy, and the investigation of stem cell therapies for muscle and neuromuscular diseases. An associate professor, he lectures on neurosciences topics to students at the University of Minnesota's Department of Neurology. Day obtained his medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School and his Ph.D. in neuroscience from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York. He completed a neurology residency and a fellowship in clinical neurophysiology/electromyography at the University of California San Francisco.

John E. Wagner, M.D., is the Division Director of the Hematology-Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program, the Scientific Director of Clinical Research of the Stem Cell Institute and the Scientific Director of Molecular and Cellular Therapeutics and the Clinical Trials Office of the NCI designated Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Wagner has authored more than 180 publications on Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, co-chairs the Committee on Alternative Stem Cell Sources of the International Bone Marrow Transplant Registry and has served on the Board of Directors of the NMDP since January 2002.

Linda J. Burns, MD, is Associate Professor of Medicine and Fellowship Director of the Hematology, Oncology, and Transplantation Program at the University of Minnesota. Her major fields of interest include experimental therapeutics for leukemia and lymphoma, as well as hematopoietic cell transplantation with an emphasis on lymphoma and the late effects of transplantation. Dr. Burns received her medical degree from the University of Missouri School of Medicine. She completed residency in internal medicine and fellowship in hematology/oncology at the University of Iowa.

Dr. MacMillan is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Hematology-Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation and attends on the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation service. Dr. MacMillan is the Clinical Medical Director of the Pediatric BMT Program and the Medical Director of Pediatric the BMT Unit at the University of Minnesota. She received her MSc degree at the University of Toronto in 1989 and her M.D. degree at the University of Toronto in 1991. She completed her internship residency in Pediatrics, and post-doctoral fellowship in Hematology-Oncology-BMT at the University of Toronto School of Medicine in 1997. Dr. MacMillan then completed a Blood and Marrow Transplant fellowship at the University of Minnesota in 1999, after which she joined the faculty. Dr. MacMillan is the co-director of the University of Minnesota Fanconi Anemia Comprehensive Care Clinic, which follows the largest number of Fanconi anemia patients in the world.

Artistic Director Matthew Mehaffey makes his debut with the 2008-2009 concert season. Dr. Mehaffey holds degrees from Bucknell University, Westminster Choir College, and the University of Arizona. He is Assistant Professor of Music and the Associate Director of Choral Activities at the University of Minnesota where he conducts the Concert Choir, Men's Chorus and teaches graduate courses in Choral Conducting and Literature. Dr. Mehaffey is an accomplished conductor, dynamic programmer and educator, and has been published extensively. In addition, he is widely sought as an invited guest conductor, lecturer, and clinician for choral festivals, all-state choirs, and workshops. Prior to his appointment at the University of Minnesota, he served as Director of Choral Activities at George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Myron's mission is to improve the performance and quality of life for people in organizations through accelerated learning and leadership development. As Director of External Technology Initiatives, in the Office of Information Technology at the University of Minnesota, Myron Lowe is responsible for state and national level technology projects that support strategic University research and education goals. He is also resposible for planning and management of collaborative projects with other universities, state agencies, and corporations.

Roger Johnson has been the recipient of several national awards including the Research Award in Social Studies Education presented by the National Council for the Social Studies, the Helen Plants Award from the American Society for Engineering Education, the Gordon Allport Intergroup Relations Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (Division 9 of the American Psychological Association), the Alumni of the year award from Teachers College, Ball State University, and the Outstanding Contribution to Research and Practice in Cooperative Learning award from the American Educational Research Association Special Interest Group on Cooperative Learning. Roger is currently the co-director of the Cooperative Learning Center at the University of Minnesota, which conducts research and training nationally and internationally on changing the structure of classrooms and schools to a more cooperative environment.

William J. Doherty, Ph.D., is Professor and Director of the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at the University of Minnesota.A He is a scholar, researcher, and practitioner with many years of work in the areas of marriage and fatherhood. Bill is past president of the National Council on Family Relations and author of 12 books on the family, including Take Back Your Marriage: Sticking Together in a World That Pulls Us Apart. He leads the federally funded Minnesota Family Formation Project, which works with urban at-risk couples.A He is co-founder of the National Registry of Marriage Friendly Therapists (www.marriagefriendlytherapists.com), and co-founder (with his daughter Elizabeth) of The First Dance, a new premarital program on the family dynamics of wedding planning (www.thefirstdance.com). He is developing a new project to do marriage education with couples facing chronic illness.A He speaks across the country to both lay and academic audiences and appears frequently in the media. He has been married for nearly 35 years, is the father of two and beaming grandfather of one.

Toni Winter is the office manager in the athletic department at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota. She started in the athletic department in the summer of 1999. Winter completed her undergraduate in Administrative Information Systems at Winona State University in 1996. She is married to Ray Winter, and has two children, Abby and Bradley.

Aaron is a professor at the University of Minnesota where he teaches courses related to how technology can be used to enhance learning within K-16 classrooms. He has extensive experience in the development and delivery of educational content via the Internet. With a Ph.D. in instructional systems and technology and a M.S. in geography, Aaron's latest research focuses on the impact of adventure learning within the K-12 classroom, how to design and develop education courses in technology successful, how students' envision the use and need for technology, and how geospatial technologies can be used to enhance learning within science and social studies curricula. Prior to coming to the University of Minnesota, Aaron taught middle and high school social studies in Rochester, MN taking students to more than 17 countries in order to study the physical and cultural geography of the area. His love for geography stems from his roots farming roots, as he was raised on a farm in southern Minnesota. Currently a resident of St. Paul (a big city), Aaron misses the solitude and peacefulness of rural living. Aaron did not ease into the ranks as a Arctic explorer - he busted it! His first expedition was the 6 month, 2000 + mile dogsled expedition Arctic Transect 2004.