2016 WIPS Speakers and Presenters

Malissa Adams

Chief operations officer, Stanton Adams Leadership Institute

Malissa brings over 15 years of experience in business management, sales, and marketing to her work with Stanton Adams Consulting, LLC. She has successfully planned and directed the business operations of public and private organizations. Malissa offers consulting services in the areas of multicultural marketing, organization development, and product development.

Peggy Andrews

senior lecturer in management and MBA Program Director, Hamline School of Business

Peggy has worked in the field of human resources for over 20 years and has held staff and leadership positions at the Pillsbury Company, Personnel Decisions International, American Express Financial Advisors, and Total Solutions Group. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development in 2010. Her research interests revolve around the intersection of work and family, including the individual and family impact of white collar layoffs and economic, sociological, and psychological perspectives on maternal employment. As a practitioner, she is passionate about helping companies design and implement hiring and development processes that increase individual-organization fit so that both can flourish.

Kathy Fodness

Business agent, Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE)

Kathy has spent 35 years working in the labor movement; organizing, representing, and negotiating. Her leadership in MAPE's anti bullying work led to the nation's first statewide policy on respectful workplaces and a commitment by the state of Minnesota to ensure healthy work environments. Kathy considers this to have been the most exciting and challenging work of her professional career. 

Meredith Fox

founder and ceo, portage partners consulting

Meredith Fox, MPP, PMP, CPCC, ACC, is the founder of Portage Partners Consulting based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Portage Partners provides leadership development, community engagement, strategic planning, and implementation support services for government and education organizations. Meredith’s passion is to support and empower the people and organizations that are making the world a better place. She has held leadership positions in Minnesota state government, the University of Minnesota, and Minneapolis Public Schools and is a certified leadership coach through the Coaches Training Institute and the International Coach Federation. She provides one-on-one coaching support to women leaders through her business, Ladyboss Coaching.

Dr. MayKao Y. Hang

President and CEO, Amherst H. Wilder Foundation

MayKao has extensive experience in the public and nonprofit sectors, serving low income and disadvantaged populations. She is committed to achieving an equitable society and believes that harnessing and building social and civic capital can transform the world. She has a Doctorate of Public Administration from Hamline University, a MA in Social Policy and Distributive Justice from the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and a BA in Psychology from Brown University. She is chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, trustee and chair of the Grants & Community Initiatives Committee of Minnesota Philanthropy Partners, and an advisory committee member for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. She is a founding member of the Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL) in Minnesota and Hnub Tshiab: Hmong Women Achieving Together. MayKao has received numerous awards including the Girl Scouts Women of Distinction Award, the Community Champion 40 & Forward Award, the Humphrey Public Leadership Award, the Ann Bancroft Award, the Ultimate Hmong Woman Award, and the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans Leadership Award.

Sarah Hinde

Director of external relations, Office of Gov. Mark Dayton and Lt. Gov. Tina Smith

Sarah leads the planning, organization, and management of the Governor and Lt. Governor’s large-scale events and strategic statewide travel that aid in bringing their message and initiatives to the public, and works with people and organizations around the state in carrying out their mission of a “Better Minnesota”.  Recent projects Sarah has led for the Governor’s Office include the “87 Counties in 86 Days” Tour and the governor’s State of the State Address at the University of Minnesota. She acts as the office’s lead for international trade missions; their State Fair presence; and the fishing, pheasant, and deer openers.

Stefanie Horvath

CIO, Minnesota National Guard

Colonel Horvath has been the CIO for four years and is responsible for all information technology and communication systems. In addition, she is the co-chair for the state of Minnesota Information Security Risk Management Governance Committee, an advisory board member of the Minneapolis Cyber Security summit, and author of “Enabling Battle Command with the Wideband Global SATCOM.” She received her master’s degree from the US Army War College. She is a recipient of the Bronze Star, earned while serving in Iraq as the lead signal planner for all U.S. forces operating in the southern nine provinces of Iraq.

Lauren Hunter

Diversity recruiter, Minnesota Department of Human Services

Lauren began her role as diversity recruiter for the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) in September 2015. Prior to joining DHS, she worked in talent acquisition for a variety of industries in the private sector, including retail, manufacturing and healthcare. Her experience includes full cycle recruitment, sourcing and partnering with hiring leaders to determine the most effective yet creative methods to fill open vacancies. In her current role, Lauren is responsible for promoting DHS as an employer of choice and attracting qualified diverse job seekers. She provides leadership in the development, coordination and communication of statewide diversity recruitment and retention activities. Lauren has an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University and a bachelor’s degree in communications from Indiana University-Bloomington.

Lizabeth M. Lehrkamp

special agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Special agent Lizabeth Lehrkamp entered on duty with the FBI in February 2005 and was assigned to the Newark field office, where she investigated organized crime for two years and then went on to cyber. In 2010, Liz was transferred to the Minneapolis field office and was assigned to the human intelligence squad working cyber matters. Recently, Liz has made a move to a counter terrorism squad. Liz received a B.S. in mechanical engineering and is a member of Society of Women Engineers. Prior to her appointment with the FBI, Liz was employed in technical sales and application engineering.

Sharon J. Lubinski

United States Marshal for the District of Minnesota

Sharon Lubinski has 39 years of law enforcement experience in both local and federal agencies. She served as a patrol deputy and a criminal investigator for the Dane County Sheriff’s Department in Madison, Wisconsin, for more than eight years. From 1987 to 2010, she worked for the Minneapolis Police Department and eventually became assistant chief of police. In 2001, Lubinski received the Police Executive Research Forum’s Gary Hayes Award for Initiative in Policing for the Minnesota HEALS Homicide Reduction in Minneapolis. In 2014, she received the Distinguished Achievement Award from Hamline School of Business. Lubinski has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master of Public Administration from Hamline. She’s an adjunct faculty member for criminal justice programs at Hamline University and Metropolitan State University. Since 2010, she has served as U.S. Marshal for the District of Minnesota.

Anne Marcotte

Aitkin county commissioner

Anne is a practicing attorney and has been a Minnesota state public defender for the past 16 years. As a public defender, she represents indigent clients in criminal matters from felony to misdemeanor-level charges. She is also serving her second four-year term as an Aitkin county commissioner and represents constituents in District 5. She serves on the board of Northern Pines Mental Health and is a tenured board member for the Advocates for Family Peace.

Erin Murphy

Minnesota state representative

Minn. Rep. Erin Murphy first received a bachelor of science in nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. From there she went on to attain her master’s degree in organizational leadership from Saint Catherine University where she currently teaches nurses earning a doctorate of nursing practice. She practiced surgical nursing before going to work for the Minnesota Nurses Association. During her public service, Rep. Murphy has been a champion for education, economic opportunity, women’s reproductive rights, and healthcare related issues. Erin has represented the mighty citizens of district 64A in Saint Paul since 2006 and she loves her job.

Alice Percy

senior investigator, Minnesota Department of Human Services/MAPE

 Alice has worked for the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) for almost 12 years as a senior maltreatment investigator. Prior to that, she was the director of a childcare center at the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center. Alice has been active in the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE) since she began working for DHS and has served as a local officer, chair of the Women’s Committee, and chief steward for her region. She became a part of MAPE’s task force on the Respectful Workplace policy when MAPE began to work with the state on the development of the policy.

Nathan A. Perez

Career and job-search coach, 20-Minute Communications

A retained executive search professional, Nathan is responsible for the first step of the search process, devising the “where and how to find” recruitment strategies to locate new leadership for client companies. Cited by the Huffington Post as one of the most connected people on LinkedIn worldwide, Nathan also coaches job-seekers of all experience levels aimed at career advancement. A formally trained actor, Nathan spent 20 years in New York City and Hollywood performing in stage, film and television, working in a wide array of industries along the way. He now speaks nationally on career development and uses his performance background to teach business and career development workshops. Nathan is board secretary of the Loft Literary Center; a member of the Actors Equity Association union (AEA); a voting union member of the Screen-Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA); and co-author of The 20-Minute Networking Meeting – Professional Edition, winner of 2016 National Indie Award and International Book Award.

Y. Elaine Rasmussen

CEO, Social Impact Strategies Group (SISG)

Elaine is CEO of Social Impact Strategies Group (SISG). SISG designs effective community-centered strategies for positive, sustainable impact and social change for philanthropists, nonprofits, foundation. Elaine has extensive experience in building cultural competency and facilitating transformational relationships in a wide range of sectors: philanthropy, tribal, government, Native and non-Native nonprofit organizations. She has a proven track record of strategic positioning and creative communications and an innate ability to develop strong relationships internally and with community donor/partners for win-win outcomes as well as unite fractured groups for a shared sense of purpose. She has been recognized for her innovation in driving fundraising, impact, and organizational effectiveness for organizations such as Native Americans in Philanthropy, Warner Bros, Dreamworks, Brown College, the US State Department, and various social enterprise ventures.

Erika Rivers

Director, Parks and Trails, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Erika Rivers is director of the Division of Parks and Trails at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Prior to her role as Parks and Trails director, Rivers was an assistant commissioner for customer engagement and outreach at DNR, where she also oversaw the divisions of Fish & Wildlife, Parks & Trails, and Enforcement. As division director, Rivers manages a $230 million biennial budget and a staff of nearly 1,200. State parks and trails host more than nine million visitors each year, supporting Minnesota’s $12 billion tourism industry. Rivers holds a Ph.D. in conservation biology from the University of Minnesota.

Stephanie Revering

chief of police, city of Crystal

Chief Revering started her career in law enforcement in 1997 with the Crystal Police Department. Chief Revering holds a master’s degree in public safety administration from St. Mary’s University and a Bachelor’s degree from Metro State University. She has been fortunate enough to be a graduate of the Northwestern Police Staff and Command in 2005, CLEO Academy in 2009, BCA Supervisor/Management School in 2008, and a FBI LEEDS graduate in 2010. She most recently was elected as the secretary for the MN Chiefs of Police Association.

Cecilia Stanton-Adams

Director of enterprise talent acquisition and Diversity, Buffalo Wild Wings, and CEO, Stanton Adams Consulting LLC

Julie Sullivan

Sharepoint site collection administrator, Minnesota it services

 Julie has worked for the state of Minnesota for nearly 20 years and has been involved with fighting bullying in the workplace for most of that time. As an active Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE) member, she has held local offices, is currently the Regional Director for her region, and represents her region on the negotiations team. Julie serves on the MAPE Anti-Bullying Task Force and worked on the Respectful Workplace Policy.