2000
Jason Soland is a trust officer at Decorah Bank & Trust in Decorah.
Cassidy (Johnson) Steiner is a teaching assistant at the Blake School in Hopkins, Minn.
2001
Anessa (Dawley) Cummings is a security analyst at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Affiong Ekpo-Davids is a human resources officer at West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management in Lagos, Nigeria.
Katie Prochaska of Decorah was elected vice chairperson of the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Winneshiek County Extension Council.
Erica (Rach) Winters teaches music at Meadowview Elementary School in Farmington, Minn. She was recently named teacher of the year for the Farmington School District.
2002
Brian Borcherding is an IT systems officer at First National Bank in Hampton, Iowa.
Libby Caulum is director of marketing and public affairs at MNsure in St. Paul, Minn.
Nicole Deaderick earned a master’s degree in public administration, criminal justice/law enforcement administration from Golden Gate University and currently works as a Prison Rape Elimination Act administrator for Bernalillo County in Albuquerque, N.M.
Dane Lundahl is vice president of business development at Auction Harmony in Harmony, Minn.
Ghion Roache of Nassau, Bahamas, works at the National Insurance Board of the Bahamas.
2003
Angela Brasell of Minneapolis is a self-employed artist and an administrative assistant, reservationist, and manager at Meritage Restaurant in St. Paul, Minn. She earned a master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology from Capella University.
Tim Dahlby is a self-employed artist and restaurant manager at Mary’s Lake Lodge in Fort Collins, Colo.
Derek Distin is service director for the Custom Cloud Division of Right Networks in Alpharetta, Ga.
Drew Dittmer is commercial division manager and estimator at Select Painting in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Stacey (Loseke) Jurgensen is a supervisor at CHI Health in Omaha, Neb.
Quraish Khumri is head of cybersecurity for Kabam in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
Eli Pedelty is founder of 123Ads in the Nantes area of France.
Samantha Pfalzgraf is pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Erie, Pa.
Branden Scott is principal archaeologist at Impact7G in Des Moines, Iowa.
Matt Steffen is an agent at House of Insurance Agency in Le Center, Minn.
Melissa Stull is a partner at Soule & Stull in Minneapolis.
Jason Trost is a virtual learning deployment specialist at Ernst & Young in Minneapolis.
Melissa (Darrington) Wicklund of Decorah is an instructional designer at AEA Learning Online.
2004
Ryan Goessl was honored by the mayor of Seoul, South Korea, as this year’s Honorary Citizen of Seoul for his work in the fields of music and culture. This honor is bestowed upon non-Koreans residing in Korea who have made major contributions to the city. Past honorary citizens have included actor Jackie Chan and NFL star Hines Ward. Ryan is executive director for Camarata Music.
Steve Gritton is an instructional designer and eLearning specialist at HighJump in Minneapolis.
Tenzing Lahdon is senior technical assistance specialist at American University and program manager at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
Kristine (Erickson) Noland of Minneapolis is a project manager at Ecolab.
Monica (Winkel) Rogers is lead administrative assistant at Aegon Asset Management in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
2005
Kweku Bankah is director of risk consulting at KPMG in Minneapolis.
Jessica (Kruse) Cummings is a special education teacher at Howard-Winneshiek (Iowa) Community Schools.
Irene (ErkenBrack) Green is managing director at Northern Stage in White River Junction, Vt.
Ivan Grgic is owner and manager at AG Systems Duo in Pancevo, Serbia.
Aaron Hagenson is a software engineer at C.H. Robinson in Eden Prairie, Minn.
Clare Holland is an app systems engineer at Wells Fargo in West Des Moines, Iowa.
Lindsay Kimball is assistant program director for the Current and interim director of membership at Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul.
Ginny King is a substance abuse counselor at Preferred Family Healthcare in Hannibal, Mo.
T.C. Mack is interim director of counseling and wellness at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa.
Scott Meyer is executive director of entrepreneurship initiatives at North Dakota State University in Fargo.
Ryan Person earned a doctor of musical arts degree in choral conducting from Texas Tech University. He is director of choral activities and assistant professor of music at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. In January, he was the guest director of the 9–12th grade honor choir at the Northwest Iowa Choral Directors Association.
Katie (Bolin) and Adam Ranes ’04 work in the Des Moines, Iowa, area. She is an attorney, mediator, and owner at Ranes Law Firm. He is a client advisor and client executive at ReSource Pro.
2006
Alexis (House) Berhow is a health information specialist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Denne Brodbeck is a junior high classroom facilitator at Crossroads Academy in Decorah.
Courtney Kupfer is admissions coordinator at Adler Graduate School in Hopkins, Minn.
Elizabeth Matzen is a user experience researcher at Google in San Francisco.
Alex Nugent is a software engineer at Daugherty Business Solutions in Bloomington, Minn.
Laura (Schuurman) Rasmussen teaches upper elementary and is the upper elementary academic leader at Inner Sydney(Australia) Montessori School.
Tim Yourison is the football defensive coordinator for Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn.
2007
Amy (Hillesland) Chatfield is founder and designer at Silkebana and a retail associate at the Rustic Corner in Charles City, Iowa.
Theresa (Thompson) Jones is a certified pharmacy technician at Walmart in Boscobel, Wis.
Michael “Coz” Lindsay is a communications associate for Ramsey County in St. Paul, Minn.
Emma (Peterson) Lutzke received a 2019 Caring for Kids Award through the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. Emma works in the Treatment Foster Care Program for the Lutheran Social Services office in Eau Claire, Wis. Award selection criteria included years of service and experience, adapting to new initiatives, advocacy, leadership, and a proven record of ensuring the well-being of children and families.
Sarah (Quick) Olejniczak is vice president for student affairs at Mount Mary University in Milwaukee.
Julia Zaffarano is housing portfolio manager at the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Division of Housing, in Denver.
2008
David Kinz is a physical therapist at Kaiser Permanente in Denver.
Jackie Lentz is product operations manager at Thycotic in Washington, D.C.
Andrew Stenson played the lead role, Fadinard, in Minnesota Opera’s production of The Italian Straw Hat.
2009
BreAnn (VanDeer) Drees is a full-time teacher and athletic trainer for the Fort Dodge (Iowa) Community School District.
Kaitlyn Hanson is a registered nurse at Sentara Healthcare in Norfolk, Va.
Ashley Johnson is a vice president and wealth planner at Wells Fargo Wealth Management in Minneapolis.
Liz (Leicht) Mason earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of Minnesota. She is a Title IX and EO investigator at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C.
Beth Nimmo is an IT analyst at NovuHealth in Minneapolis.
Matt Orth is a customer solutions analyst for Nestlé in Cleveland.
Cody Webb earned an MBA degree from Western Governors University. He is EHS manager with Stanley Engineered Fastening in Decorah.
Mandy (Wubben) Weister is assistant director of career education and early outreach at Minnesota State University in Mankato.
2010
Susie Clark is digital marketing manager at Quality Bicycle Products in Bloomington, Minn.
Kirstin Manges earned a PhD from the University of Iowa College of Nursing and is a National Clinician Scholar postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania College of Nursing in Philadelphia.
Ben Schott is a critical care paramedic at Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Ill.
Michael Switzer earned an MBA degree from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management. He is a financial analyst at 3M in Woodbury, Minn.
2011
Steven Andrukaitis is social service coordinator at Minnesota Adult and Team Challenge in Minneapolis.
Rachel Barclay works in fundraising at the Salzburg Global Seminar in Washington, D.C.
Jordan Grimm of Iowa City, Iowa, was named one of the Corridor Business Journal’s 2018 Forty Under 40. Honorees are selected for the meaningful contributions they’ve made to their business and communities in their still-young careers. Jordan earned an MBA degree from the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business and is continuous improvement specialist with Van Meter.
Ufra Mir is founding executive director and peace psychologist at her own NGO, Paigam: A Message for Peace in the United States and Kashmir. She gave a TEDx talk, “The Conflict of War and Peace,” that stemmed from her focus in the field of peace psychology and explored how to better solve conflict with peace.
Christopher Nevala-Plagemann of Salt Lake City is a medical doctor and resident in internal medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine. He won the 2018 American College of Physicians (ACP) Utah chapter poster competition presenting the case “IgG kappa Multiple Myeloma presenting as Hyperviscosity Syndrome” and will join other leaders to present at the 2019 ACP National Meeting in Philadelphia.
Alex Redding is property asset manager at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in West Des Moines, Iowa.
Alana (Humpal) Whiteley is senior technical recruiter at Robert Half Technology in Minneapolis.
Rachel (Albert) Yim is a research project manager at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
2012
Bailey (Cahlander) Aaland is a marketing specialist for Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul.
David Kort is the floorcoverings department manager at Menards in Green Bay, Wis.
Chelsea (Lynch) Larson is associate director of development at Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, Calif.
Nickolas Sanches is a development officer at Minnesota Opera in Minneapolis.
Emily Tinjum is a registered nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Fairview Health Services in Minneapolis.
Elisa Vazquez is senior marketing manager at Kellytoy in Los Angeles.
2013
Joel Anderson is an implementation consultant at Fast Enterprises in Englewood, Colo.
Ben Kerns works in operations at Trellis in Norcross, Ga.
Matt Lind earned a juris doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School. He is an associate in the intellectual property practice of Paul Hastings in Chicago.
Heidi (Kistenmacher) Lindstad is a physician’s assistant at the Iowa Clinic in Des Moines.
Kelsey (Moler) Pavlidis is a school-based mental health therapist for SummitStone Health Partners in Fort Collins, Colo.
Justin Ratzlaff is vice president of business development at SkyRide Technology in St. Bonifacius, Minn.
Jessica Ruth is a licensed associate marriage and family therapist at University of Minnesota Physicians in Minneapolis.
Samantha Shimak is property manager at Accesso Services in Minneapolis.
Carl Sorenson is a PC technician at Ecolab in Eagan, Minn., and an audio engineer at Minnehaha Recording Company.
2014
Benjamin Davidson is a positive behavior intervention and support paraprofessional for the St. Paul (Minn.) Public Schools.
Jolene De Souza earned a master’s degree in human resources management and services from St. Mary’s University. She is supervisor at Patina Stores and staffing coordinator at Excel Staffing in Minneapolis.
Peter Ecklund of Minneapolis is an archive cataloger for Minnesota Public Radio and a sales mercenary for Lagunitas Brewing Company.
Paul Esker is a juris doctor candidate at the University of Iowa College of Law in Iowa City.
Logan Hjerleid teaches first grade at Harlan Elementary School in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.
Katie Krasky is a chartered financial analyst and an associate at Goldman Sachs in New York City.
Rachel (Selvig) Lundeen is a media planner at Marketing Architects in Minneapolis.
Kimberly Osberg is a composer in Dallas, Texas. Inspired by a hiking misadventure, Kimberly composed “Rocky Summer,” a world premiere piece the Dallas Chamber Symphony performed on March 23 at the Moody Performance Hall in the Dallas Arts District.
Lora (Arens) and Isaac Skelton are owners of Not Your Mama’s Photography in Brownsdale, Minn.
Derek Sturtevant is choir director at Charles City (Iowa) High School.
Ben Wegner is director of vocal music at St. Edmond Catholic School in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
Donald Wolfgram is a human resources assistant at Associa: Desert Resort Management in Palm Desert, Calif.
2015
Tiffany Ackerman earned a master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She is personnel director at Aase Haugen Senior Services in Decorah.
Kalle Akkerman is choir director at Austin (Minn.) High School.
Caitlin Almer teaches second grade for the Littleton (Colo.) Public Schools.
Cale Austin is equity plan administrator at United Fire Group in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Taylor Baloga of St. Paul, Minn., earned a master’s degree in music therapy from Augsburg College.
Carl Bates is a logger for American Radio Works at American Public Media Group in St. Paul, Minn.
Mullen (Wacker) Beisker of Waukon, Iowa, is owner and leader at Agnes & Dora by Mullen.
Emily Betts is senior manager of operations at Waxing the City in Woodbury, Minn.
Audrey Bird is director of planning and special project marketing at Gingrich Productions in Arlington, Va.
Sadie Botine is a youth development outreach volunteer for the Peace Corps in Swaziland.
Thomas Bottem is an audio specialist at Midwest Energy Association in Eagan, Minn.
Sarah Brandt of St. Paul, Minn., is executive assistant at Salem Media Group and front of house manager at Artistry.
Taylor Bremer is an occupational therapist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Anna Burke earned a master’s degree, with distinction, in human rights and international politics from the University of Glasgow and is pursuing a juris doctor degree at the University of Iowa College of Law in Iowa City.
Ryan Castelaz is a barista at Discourse: A Liquid Workshop coffee shop in Sister Bay, Wis.
Mariana Corpus is a registered nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Kyrie Dailey is clinical research coordinator at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Denver.
Isaac Davis is software developer team lead at Epic in Verona, Wis.
Courtnee DeMuth earned a master’s degree in school counseling from the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
Adriana DePaolis of Excelsior, Minn., is a human resources generalist at Honeywell.
Katherine Dick is assistant county attorney at the Linn County Attorney’s Office in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Jessica Dorsey is director of annual giving and events at Depaul USA in Chicago.
Renae Eddy of Hopkins, Minn., is an ecommerce analyst at Lifetouch Portrait Studios.
Erik Ehresmann is a business operations analyst for Epicor Software Corporation in Minneapolis.
Emily England is a curator for the Swedish American Museum in Chicago.
Kaitlyn Fillmore is project coordinator, client services at Pearson Education in Iowa City, Iowa.
Alexandra Fitschen is a MackinMaker specialist at Mackin Educational Resources in Burnsville, Minn.
Sarah Fox is a prepared-foods cook at the Wedge Community Co-op in Minneapolis.
Caleb Freund is an installation specialist at Custom Builders of Tipton (Iowa).
Emily Hagen is director of social services at Good Samaritan Society–Comforcare in Austin, Minn.
Katie Hale of Minneapolis is production editor at Red Line Editorial.
Emily Hasher is assistant project manager at Snap Install in St. Paul, Minn.
Dylan Hinton is a special education paraprofessional for the Bloomington (Minn.) Public Schools.
Katherine Huska is project manager at Trillium Works! in Duluth, Minn.
Phillip Johnson of Cambridge, Wis., earned a master’s degree in healthcare administration from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. He is an administrative fellow for Mercyhealth Wisconsin and Illinois.
Henry Jungbauer is a sales associate at Morrie’s Automotive Group in St. Paul, Minn.
Bailey Kampa is a sales support specialist at Securian Financial Group in St. Paul, Minn.
Hanna Knutson is marketing manager at Colored Organics in Minneapolis.
Alexandra Lohrbach earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of Minnesota and is program associate with Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative for the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore.
Kurayi Mahachi earned a master’s degree in public health and is a doctoral student in epidemiology at the University of Iowa.
Sarah Simons is a registered nurse at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Rachel Skinner is marketing manager at Academic Programs International in Austin, Texas.
Rachel Skolaski is an optometry intern at Atwater Eye Care Center in Bloomington, Minn.
Lydon Smit of Johannesburg, South Africa, is dean of students at Sagan Centre and director of Educlined and Educlined Junior.
Robert Starr is technical account coordinator at Epsilon in Westminster, Colo.
Maria Thompson is a client service associate at New Heights Solutions.
Alison Vuolo is general music and choir instructor at Upper Mississippi Academy in St. Paul, Minn.
Casey Waterman is business development manager at Spring Grove (Minn.) Soda Pop.
Nicole Wink is bookkeeper/inside sales at Spahn & Rose Lumber Company in Monticello, Iowa.
Lindsey (Bjorge) Winrick is a post-market surveillance analyst at Abbott in St. Paul, Minn.
Dylan Winston is a technician at Affordable Electrical Repair in Crown Point, Ind.
Sofi (Kragness) Wyers is talent partner I at CorTalent in Minneapolis.
2016
Michael Bruins is program coordinator at College Possible in Portland, Ore.
Lindsay Getschel participated in an open debate held by the United Nations Security Council that addressed the impacts of climate-related disasters on international peace and security. The debate took place Jan. 25, 2019, and included more than 70 countries. It was the fourth debate the Security Council has held on the topic since 2007 and the first time a young briefer was invited to speak at the Security Council on the issue of climate change and international security. Lindsay earned a master’s degree in international relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science and works as a research assistant for the environmental security program at the Stimson Center in Washington, D.C.
Maya Hansen teaches fourth grade at Monroe Elementary School in Brooklyn Park, Minn.
Kristy Housholder earned a master’s degree in occupational therapy from the Medical University of South Carolina and is an occupational therapist at ChildServe in Johnston, Iowa.
Anna Johnson is visitor experience and events manager at the Rochester (Minn.) Art Center.
Margaret Kienitz is grants manager at Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid in Minneapolis.
Nadia Onsando of Nairobi, Kenya, is an immigration specialist at One Acre Fund.
Erik Queoff is an exercise lab technician at Marquette University in Milwaukee.
Claire Seitzinger earned a master’s degree in chemistry and is a doctoral candidate at the University of Minnesota.
Daniel Stover is a third-year medical school student at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
2017
Shelby (Gebhardt) Ballard is a charge medical technologist at UnityPoint Health–St. Luke’s in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Leah Barkema teaches eighth-grade science at Miller Middle School in Marshalltown, Iowa. She is also head coach of the Miller swim team and assistant coach of the Marshalltown High School swim teams.
Meghan Barker is the Alaska organizer at Trout Unlimited in Anchorage, Alaska.
Hannah Bernatz is sales lead for Decorah’s Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. in Boston.
Rhianna (MacDonald) Freiburger is head athletic trainer at Salt River High School in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Sarah Grabe earned a master’s degree in public health from San Diego State University.
Emily Holm is project manager at Bluedoor Publishing in Minnetonka, Minn.
Catherine Karsell is clinical program assistant at Fraser in Minneapolis.
Kyle Knoke of St. Louis Park, Minn., is a healthcare IT consultant for Nordic Consulting Partners.
Ellen Larsen is executive director at the Volunteer Network on Aging in Galesburg, Ill., and is a guest vocal soloist with the Knox-Galesburg Symphony.
Gideon Matchey is band and orchestra director at Hill-Murray School in Maplewood, Minn.
Stephanie Murray teaches eighth-grade English for the Waseca (Minn.) School District.
Veronica Seher is clinical research coordinator at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
Rosen Slavov is solutions manager for the Energy Management Collaborative in Plymouth, Minn.
Brynne Stellner teaches English language arts at Northfield (Minn.) High School.
2018
Bridget Becker is a registered nurse at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Eli Bowe is a volunteer with AmeriCorps in Bozeman, Mont. As part of his project, he’s developed a podcast for the city of Bozeman. The podcast can be found by searching “micromegas” on any podcast platform.
Katie Hendrickson is special events coordinator for church partnerships and philanthropy at Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota.
Timothy Radermacher teaches band and directs the program for fifth graders through high school seniors at St. Albert Catholic Schools in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Anna Ryden is a naturalist fellow at Dodge Nature Center in West St. Paul, Minn.
Mitchell Van Epps is project manager at Epic Systems in Verona, Wis.