Chris Dodge retired from the State of Minnesota after more than forty years of continuous service in financial management roles for several state agencies including fifteen years as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the Minnesota Department of Corrections. As CFO, he managed all financial affairs of a large state agency. He was a member of their executive management team, prepared for and participated in legislative hearings, was a champion for change and improvement throughout his tenure, served on the agency’s diversity and inclusion committee, participated in risk assessments and internal control evaluations, and served as the agency’s ethics officer. Chris understands the importance and the value of devoting his career to public service and recently accepted a role with Dakota County. He enjoys spending time with his wife, four children and eight very active grandchildren – and tries to find time to relax at the family’s vacation property in northern Wisconsin.

Dawn Bozeman is a passionate and experienced leader committed to advancing education, equity, and community service. With a strong background in nonprofit leadership and public service, she brings people together to drive meaningful, lasting change—particularly for historically underrepresented communities. Dawn has held several key leadership roles with the American Red Cross, including board chair and leader of the Tiffany Circle, a national network of women philanthropists. She spearheaded fundraising campaigns and helped launch a fire safety initiative credited with saving lives. Her board service also includes Peoria Promise, Heritage Ensemble, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, and the Heart of Illinois United Way. She currently serves on the board of the American Red Cross (Minnesota & Dakotas Region) and Black Men Teach, a Minnesota nonprofit working to increase the number of Black male educators. Dawn also served eight years as an elected school board member for Dunlap School District 323 in Illinois, including two years as board president. As the first African American to serve on the board, she helped launch the district’s first Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Her leadership contributed to a 97% graduation rate and national academic recognition. Dawn holds a B.S. in Dietetics from Bradley University and an MBA from Millersville University. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education (EdD) in Leadership and Innovation at Purdue University Global, deepening her commitment to inclusive education and transformative leadership. Married for 32 years, Dawn and her husband Dave are the proud parents of five children—four young adults pursuing professional careers and one high school junior. Together, they established the Dave & Dawn Bozeman Charitable Fund, which supports numerous organizations focused on education, cultural enrichment, and humanitarian efforts, including members of the founding donor group (2015 Society) of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington D.C. Dawn enjoys spending time with family, traveling, watching movies and taking long walks!

Joffrey Wilson is Vice President of Human Resources, at Mortenson. The company is a leader in commercial construction, real estate development, and renewable energy. Prior to joining Mortenson, Joffrey worked for General Mills and Ford Motor Company in Marketing, Sales and Corporate Strategy. Outside of work, Joffrey enjoys playing and watching sports, along with coaching his two sons. He and his wife also enjoy live music, and finding new restaurants. Joffrey graduated from the University of Minnesota, with a bachelor’s degree in business and the University of Michigan, with an MBA. He is from Minneapolis, MN and currently resides in St. Louis Park, MN with his wife and kids.

Phil McKoy leads Services & Integration and is responsible for both Enterprise Shared Services as well as Enterprise Integration Services. Previously, Phil was chief information officer for Optum, responsible for accelerating digital adoption among everyone UnitedHealth Group serves. He led digital transformation for UnitedHealth Group, focused on building a comprehensive digital, virtual and home-based care platform. He was also the chief executive officer of Rally Health, a wholly owned subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group that provides online and mobile experiences to make it easier for consumers to take charge of their health and health care. Phil also spent four years as CIO for UnitedHealthcare, where he was responsible for UnitedHealthcare strategic technology roadmaps and the associated capital investments across the company’s domestic and global businesses. He supported technology for the UnitedHealthcare digital strategy and digital team, shepherding the evolution to a consumer-focused digital platform to meet members’ needs. McKoy also held senior technology roles at Aimia, Global Loyalty Solutions, Target and Accenture. Phil is on the board of Black Men Teach, an organization building pathways for black men to embrace careers in elementary education. He is an advisory board member of The Alan Page Foundation. McKoy holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Washington and Lee University, and a Master of Arts in international affairs from the University of Denver, Graduate School of International Studies.

Kiera Fernandez is the Executive Vice President and chief community and stakeholder engagement officer for Target, and president of the Target Foundation. In her role, she leads teams responsible for the company’s community and philanthropic strategy, including the Target Foundation, external stakeholder engagement and enterprise work around inclusion and belonging. Kiera has extensive leadership experience across human resources, business and retail operations, process and project management, and large-scale frontline leader and team development. She started her career with the company in 2001, serving as an executive team leader at her store in Arizona. Throughout her more than two decades with the company, Kiera has held a variety of human resources leadership roles in support of business areas from finance to operations, to global supply chain and logistics. She serves on the board of directors for the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) and Greater Minneapolis-Saint Paul Partnership (Greater MSP), as well as on the board for Black Men Teach and the Greater Twin Cities United Way previously. Kiera’s also a member of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC). Additionally, she is a certified yoga instructor and spends much of her free time teaching and practicing in the community. Kiera earned her Master of Arts in Human Resource Management from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.

As the Deputy General Counsel for C.H. Robinson, a global leader in logistics and supply chain management, Chris Ugarte is an experienced attorney who focuses on dispute resolution, employment law, contract review, and counseling business leaders. Chris is a relentless problem solver who is passionate about helping others grow and succeed. When not providing legal counsel, Chris spends time coaching local youth in a variety of sports, including football, baseball, and basketball. Chris has a bachelor’s degree from Santa Clara University and a law degree from Loyola University in Chicago. Chris and his wife, Katie, live in Golden Valley, Minnesota with their two children. The Ugartes enjoy traveling and cheering on all of Minnesota’s (heartbreaking) sports team.

Ginny Arthur began her appointment as president of Metropolitan State, Minnesota State’s urban, comprehensive, minority-serving university, in July 2016. She joined Metropolitan State in 2012 as provost, and has co-chaired the university’s strategic planning process, forged new baccalaureate completion partnerships with Twin Cities area community colleges, created the Center for Faculty Development, revamped the governance process to be more effective, and developed the role of associate provost for Student Success. Previously, Ginny served the University of Northern Iowa as associate provost for faculty affairs from 2009 to 2012, and the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University from 1985 to 2009 where she served as chairperson of the Management Department for seven years, chair and vice chair of the joint faculty assembly, and faculty member for over 20 years. President Arthur is a member of the Board of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU), Minnesota Campus Compact, the Central Corridor Anchor Partnership and a Board officer for Communidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio (CLUES), the largest Hispanic serving non-profit in Minnesota. Ginny holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and business administration from Syracuse University and a juris doctor (JD) degree from the Washington College of Law at American University. She has presented at numerous conferences and authored dozens of publications.

Kevin Idahor is an experienced Talent & Organization leader with Accenture. His expertise spans leading clients through enterprise transformation with a focus on HR Transformation, journey management, and leadership engagement interventions to minimize disruption. Kevin’s passion for education and developing those around him is greatly influenced by his upbringing in Nigeria. Kevin relocated to the Minneapolis area in 2010 and has been involved in organizations such as BestPrep and Big Brothers & Big Sisters. He enjoys cooking, running, and spending time with his family navigating Minnesota fishing lakes.

Dr Rhoda Mhiripiri-Reed has served in public education for over 15 years. Improving the lives of others has been a driving force throughout her life. During her time as a student at Bloomington Kennedy High School, she became intrigued with community service while in the role of a candy striper for the Minnesota Masonic Home for the elderly. While attending Yale University, she became even more involved in the community through tutoring adolescents, volunteering weekly at the local Head Start, and serving meals at the homeless shelter. These experiences helped her realize the impact that quality education can have in young people’s lives, and she decided to make education her lifelong ambition. After graduating from Yale with her teaching license, she returned to Minnesota to begin her career as an educator. She taught social studies at Highland Park Junior High in Saint Paul, and later served as an assistant principal at her alma mater Bloomington Kennedy High School, and then as a high school principal for five years at Champlin Park in the Anoka-Hennepin District. She was soon after admitted into Harvard University’s new doctoral program in Education Leadership, which resulted in a doctoral residency with District of Columbia Public Schools, building a principal training program. Finally, right before moving back to her home state, Rhoda served as Associate Superintendent in the Monterey Peninsula Unified District for three years. Rhoda is thrilled to lead Hopkins Public Schools from great to world class. She and her team are strengthening E-12 excellence by developing a strategic innovation vision for the future, emboldening an already strong district identity, and transforming learning experiences to cultivate students who will be leaders around the world. Rhoda lives with her husband, Frank, and their two children, Sterling (10) and Sawyer (7). Although she loves to work, she spends weekend hours exercising, bargain shopping, watching reality TV and playing with her kids.

Dr. Jesse Mason currently serves as Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities while on leave of absence as Provost/Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs at North Hennepin Community College. He has been with the Minnesota State Colleges and University System for 17 years. As a first-generation high school and college graduate, he understands the power of how education changes lives. His personal mission “is to create transformative experiences for students that will lead to success and a better quality of life.” His dedication to enhancing the lives of others is emphasized by both his practical and educational experiences. These includes the practical nature of his work such as his work in drug addiction treatment, children with emotional and behavioral disorders, working on teacher pathway programs, and young men transitioning from the justice system to his educational pursuits like serving as faculty and department chair/coordinator, in psychology at both 2-year and 4-year institutions, and progressive administrative roles such as an Academic Dean at Century College. Dr. Mason is the founder of the African American Education Empowerment Program at Minneapolis College. A retention and leadership development program that has been successful in both retaining students of color and developing leadership skills. Dr. Mason received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in Psychology (Cognitive and Brain Science) with a specialty in Psychopharmacology. He has also served as a postdoctoral associate at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Programs in Health Disparities Research and a policy-fellow for both the Minnesota Equity Partnerships and the Hubert Humphrey School of Public Affairs in Politics and Governance. Dr. Mason currently has served and serve on other boards that aim to eradicate homelessness, empower youth, and improve the lives of men living with trauma.