People

We believe that change happens through people, and that includes our staff and board members.

We believe that we’re most effective when our staff and board reflect the wide-ranging perspectives and life experiences of the people throughout our region.

We’ve pushed ourselves to build a really stellar staff by being more intentional in our hiring and recruiting of talent, and to build an inclusive Bush culture that delights in our differences as much as our shared experiences. The same goes for how we cultivate and engage our board.

We invest in our people to do their best work and build an organizational culture that is grounded in our operating values. And we do it with lots of laughter, joy and fun!

We hope you enjoy getting to know us!

Staff

Adora Land

Grantmaking director

Amanda Rios Heintz

Grants administrator

Amy Anderson

Program operations officer

Anita Patel

Vice president, grantmaking

Carol Peterfeso

Managing director of investments

Chris Romano

Chief operating officer

Eileen Briggs

Grantmaking director

Farhiya Abdulkarim

Grantmaking coordinator

Jackie Statum Allen

Grantmaking director

Jen Jang

Program operations associate

Joni Chacich

Talent & HR manager

Justin Christy

Learning and evaluation manager

Kallie O’Hara

Program operations officer

Kari Ruth

Communications director

Kassira Absar

Learning and evaluation manager

Katie Foy

Communications associate

Kent Linder

Finance and facilities associate

Kevin Bruins

IT strategy and solutions manager

Kia Vang

Executive assistant to the president and board of directors

Kimberly David

Talent, learning & evaluation coordinator

Kristina Ward

Program operations officer

Lyndsay Ulrickson

Grantmaking officer

Malcom Chapman

Grantmaking officer

Matt Stowell

Controller

Mattie Harper DeCarlo

Grantmaking officer

Nhia Vang

Program operations coordinator

Ramla Bile

Grantmaking officer

Rudy Guglielmo, Jr.

Grantmaking officer

Sophie Forest

Investment officer

Stephanie Andrews

Talent, learning & evaluation director

Tammy Nolen

Communications officer

Tharangi Cumaranatunge

Finance director and treasurer

Tina Emerfoll

Senior Accountant

Tony LookingElk

Grantmaking Director

Board

Alan Solano

President and CEO of the John T. Vucurevich Foundation

Armando Camacho, Board Vice Chair

President and CEO, Amherst H. Wilder Foundation

DeAnna Cummings, Board Chair

Program Director of Arts & Culture, McKnight Foundation

Dr. Cynthia Lindquist

President, Cankdeska Cikana Community College

Jodi Archambault

Strategic Advisor, Wend Collective

Karen Driver

Senior Advisor to the President for Native American Affairs, University of Minnesota

Kevin Goodno

Executive Vice President, Fredrikson & Byron P.A.

Lee Anderson

Vice President, Government & Public Affairs, General Mills

Malini Srivastava

Associate Dean for Research, Creative Scholarship and Engagement, College of Design, University of Minnesota

Mary Brainerd

President and CEO, HealthPartners (retired)

Mary Grove

Managing Partner, Bread and Butter Ventures

Matt Kilian

President, Brainerd Lakes Chamber of Commerce

Paul Batcheller

Partner, PrairieGold Venture Partners

Ro Adebiyi

Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer, Insurance, Thrivent Financial

Susan Bass Roberts

President, Pohlad Family Foundation

How can we help?

We make it as simple as possible to get in touch with our team. You can reach us by email, phone or schedule a brief call. We hope to hear from you!