Children’s Minnesota Foundation announces most diverse, representative board

Thirteen new members will join the Children’s Minnesota Foundation board of directors beginning 2021.

MINNEAPOLIS (February 22, 2021) – Children’s Minnesota announced today the appointment of 13 new members to its Foundation board of directors, making it the most diverse board to date. The newly appointed members bring decades of experience in community organizations, business, law, academia and nonprofits.

“We’re proud to have such influential leaders from across our community choose to join our foundation board of directors to help shape the future of our philanthropic work,” said Jennifer Soderholm, chief development officer and president of the Children’s Minnesota Foundation. “The rich diversity of our new board members better reflects our patient families, providing much-needed perspectives as we work together to champion the health needs of all children and families.”

The newly appointed Foundation board of directors are:

• Chad Poitra, executive director, TIWAHE Foundation
• Erin Herman, global marketing director, Medtronic
• James Weed, vice president, Global Trading Data and Analytics Lead, Cargill
• Jacqueline Lloyd Cunningham, vice president of marketing and communications, YWCA Minneapolis
• Jerry Blackwell, founding partner, CEO and Chairman, Blackwell Burke P.A.
• Mara Ryan, brand builder, food allergy and neonatal intensive care unit mom
• May Thao-Schuck, Teresa Rolling Radzinski vice president of career and professional development, St. Catherine University
• Paul Lapadat, CEO, Dessert Holdings
• Renee Treberg, chief compliance officer, Prime Therapeutics
• Shannon A. King, president, SilverOak Wealth Management
• Simone Hardeman-Jones, executive director, GreenLight Fund Twin Cities
• Tawnya Stewart, chief of people and culture, Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures
• Walter White, president and CEO, Allianz Life Insurance

In collaboration with the Foundation leadership and board, James Burroughs, vice president, chief equity and inclusion officer at Children’s Minnesota, played an instrumental role in the recruitment of new board members to ensure better representation of Children’s Minnesota patient families and our community.

About Children’s Minnesota

Children’s Minnesota is the seventh largest pediatric health system in the United States and the only health system in Minnesota to provide care exclusively to children, from before birth through young adulthood. An independent and not-for-profit system since 1924, Children’s Minnesota serves kids throughout the Upper Midwest at two free-standing hospitals, 12 primary and specialty care clinics and seven rehabilitation sites. Children’s Minnesota is regularly ranked by U.S. News & World Report as a top children’s hospital.

Find us on Facebook @childrensminnesota or on Twitter and Instagram @childrensmn. Please visit childrensMN.org.

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