Board of Trustees

The foundation’s Board of Trustees is elected annually in November for three-year terms. Board members are responsible for providing governance, advocacy, and philanthropic support to advance the mission of the foundation. One-quarter of the trustees are appointed by the University’s Board of Regents. Below are the current foundation Trustees.

Officers

Jacqueline R. Williams-Roll, Chair
Chief Human Resources Officer
General Mills

Kenneth C. Glaser, Vice Chair
President
K. Charles Development

Roger J. Sit, Treasurer
Chairman
Sit Investment Associates

Shari L. Ballard, Past Chair*
Chief Executive Officer
Minnesota United FC

Thomas G. Olson, Secretary
Retired Managing Director
Prime Mortgage

Kathleen M. Schmidlkofer, President and CEO
University of Minnesota Foundation

Christine K. Searson, CFO and VP of Finance
University of Minnesota Foundation

Other members

Blythe A. Brenden 
Founder 
Blythe Brenden-Mann Foundation

Dorothy J. Bridges 
Interim President and CEO 
Meda

Lynn Casey 
Former Chair and CEO 
PadillaCRT

Rebecca A. Crooks-Stratton* 
Secretary and Treasurer 
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community

Mary A. Davenport* 
Regent 
University of Minnesota

Kathie Eiland-Madison 
Chief Engagement & Inclusion Officer
Delta Dental of Minnesota

Acooa Ellis 
Executive Director
Partnership for Equitable and Resilient Communities

Jeff Ettinger 
Interim President 
University of Minnesota

Michael B. Fiterman* 
Chairman 
Liberty Diversified International

Julie E. Gilbert 
Partner 
McKinsey

Kurt E. Heikkila 
Founder and CEO 
Tundra Companies

Pahoua Hoffman 
SVP, Government & Community Relations
HealthPartners

Hoyt M. Hsiao 
President and CEO 
Shaw-Lundquist Construction

Douglas A. Huebsch* 
Regent, University of Minnesota 
President, Goose Group, Inc.

Michael H. Johnson 
Chairman 
Johnson Brothers Liquor

Ruth E. Johnson, M.D.* 
Regent, University of Minnesota 
Physician, Mayo Clinic

James K. Lee 
Partner 
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer

Michael P. Lehan, Ed.D. 
Head of School 
IMG Academy

Beth Kieffer Leonard 
Managing Partner 
Lurie LLP

Ross Levin 
CEO and Founder 
Accredited Investors Inc.

John E. Lindahl* 
Former Chairman 
Norwest Equity Partners

Laurie Marsh 
EVP and Chief Human Resources Officer 
Ecolab

Abdul M. Omari, Ph.D. 
Regent Emeritus 
University of Minnesota 
CEO and Founder 
AMO Enterprise

Lisa Opoku, J.D. 
Former Partner
Goldman Sachs

Richard T. Ostlund, J.D.* 
Chairman of the Board 
M Health Fairview Health System 
Principal 
Anthony Ostlund

Bethany M. Owen 
Chair, President, and CEO 
ALLETE, Inc.

Lynne S. Redleaf, J.D. 
President 
Lynne & Andrew Redleaf Foundation

Michael F. Roman* 
Chief Executive Officer 
3M Co.

Ty R. Silberhorn 
President and CEO 
Apogee Enterprises

Philip E. Soran 
Technology Entrepreneur 
Lead Director 
Piper Sandler

Esta E. Stecher, J.D. 
Retired Partner 
The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Darrell A. Thompson 
President 
Bolder Options

Erik M. Torgerson* 
President 
Folden Hills Partners LLC

Peter A. Vorbrich 
Retired CFO 
CarVal Investors

Bradford W. Wallin* 
Member 
Minneapolis Grain Exchange

Theresa B. Ward 
Managing Director, Private Wealth 
Merrill Lynch

Nancy Wiser 
Independent Trustee, Eaton Vance Mutual Funds 
Corporate Director, Rimes Technologies

* Regent-nominated trustees