Leadership

Leadership team

Kent Whitworth

Kent Whitworth
Director and CEO

Jennifer.

Jennifer Jones
Associate Executive Director

Amber Annis.

Amber Annis
Director, Native American Initiatives

Briana.

Briana Joyner
Chief Human Resources and Inclusion Officer

Brian.

Brian Juntti
Chief Communications & Marketing Officer

David.

David Kelliher
Director of Public Policy & Government Relations

Ben Leonard.

Ben Leonard
Senior Director of Historical Sites and Facilities Operations 

Kevin

Kevin Maijala
Senior Director of Learning Initiatives

Fred.

Fred Neher
Chief Financial Officer

Jennifer Pogatchnik.

Jennifer Pogatchnik
Chief Development Officer

brenda.

Brenda Raney
Senior Director, Preservation and Outreach

Avi.

Avi Viswanathan
Director of Community Engagement

Governing board

Officers

  • David Hakensen, President
  • Thomas M. Forsythe, Treasurer
  • Phyllis Rawls Goff, Immediate Past President
  • Peter Reyes, Vice President
  • Kent Whitworth, Secretary

Executive council

  • Ford W. Bell
  • Barbara E. Burwell
  • Grant W. Davis
  • Michael J. Davis
  • M. Mitchell Davis
  • Joanell M. Dyrstad
  • Richard E. Engebretson
  • Michael B. Farnell
  • Stephanie L. Fehr
  • Thomas M. Forsythe
  • Phyllis Rawls Goff
  • David R. Hakensen
  • Jean M. Larson
  • Monica Little
  • Linda Brekke Mona
  • Richard C. Nash
  • Krista E. O’Malley
  • Peter M. Reyes Jr.
  • Daniel J. Schmechel
  • Diana L. Schutter
  • Anton S. Treuer
  • John R. Tunheim
  • Noelle P. Turner
  • Benjamin Vander Kooi
  • Gwen N. Westerman
  • Kent Whitworth
  • Warren J. Zaccaro

Ex-Officio

  • Tim Walz, Governor
  • Julie Blaha, State Auditor
  • Keith Ellison, Attorney General
  • Steve Simon, Secretary of State
  • Peggy Flanagan, Lieutenant Governor

Emeritus council

  • Nina M. Archabal+
  • Sharon Avent+
  • Diane Berthel
  • Robert Bruininks
  • Charlton Dietz+
  • Ram Gada
  • MayKao Hang
  • Ruth S. Huss
  • Dennis Lamkin
  • Susan B. McCarthy
  • Dean Nelson
  • Peter Reis
  • Susan Kenny Stevens
  • Bo Thao-Urabe
  • Kathy H. Tunheim
  • Charles W. Arnason+
  • Bruce W. Bean+
  • Kathleen Blatz
  • Judith S. Corson
  • D. Stephen Elliott
  • William Green
  • Stanley S. Hubbard 
  • Lucy R. Jones+
  • Elizabeth S. MacMillan+
  • William C. Melton+
  • Richard H. Nicholson
  • Mark Ritchie
  • William R. Stoeri
  • Karen Wilson Thissen
  • Eleanor Winston
  • Annette Atkins+
  • Gretchen U. Beito+
  • Suzanne Blue
  • Mark Davis+
  • Harold A. Frederick
  • James T. Hale
  • Karen A. Humphrey+
  • Sylvia Kaplan+
  • Charles Mahar
  • Joseph S. Micallef+
  • Elizabeth M. Nordlie
  • Kennon V. Rothchild+
  • Edward Stringer
  • Missy Staples Thompson

Honorary council

  • Lowell C. Anderson
  • Charles W. Arnason+
  • Bruce W. Bean+
  • S. K. Dash
  • Elizabeth S. Driscoll
  • Michael J. Fox
  • John Huss
  • Sylvia Kaplan+
  • Elizabeth S. MacMillan+
  • William C. Melton+
  • Stephen Nelson
  • Mark Peterson
  • Jeff Savage
  • Jeanette (Jan) E. Warner
  • Marvin R. Anderson
  • Annette Atkins+
  • Gretchen U. Beito+
  • Mark Davis+
  • Dennis Dvorak
  • Ram Gada+
  • Ruth Huss+
  • Colles Larkin
  • Terry McGibbon
  • Joseph S. Micallef+
  • Larry G. Osnes
  • Kennon V. Rothchild+
  • Gerald Vizenor
  • Annette M. Whaley
  • Nina M. Archabal+
  • Sharon Avent+
  • Ford W. Bell
  • Charlton Dietz+
  • Richard L. Ferrell
  • Karen A. Humphrey+
  • Lucy R. Jones+
  • Robert (Bob) C. Mack
  • Peg Meier
  • Richard Moe
  • Fred Perez
  • Ramedo J. Saucedo
  • Vernell Wabasha
  • Mary Lethert Wingerd

+ Emeritus and Honorary Council Member