Leading the Way

The area's top 25 women in business

BY KRIS BEVILL

Areport released last March by American Express on the state of women-owned businesses estimated that women owned more than 8.5 million businesses in the U.S. in 2013. The report, which was based on U.S. Census Bureau data, also found that over the past 16 years, women-owned businesses have grown by nearly 60 percent, exceeding the national average. Overall, women-owned firms comprise only about 30 percent of the nation’s business population, and the percentage of women in executive roles at large firms in the U.S. compared to men is even less according to most estimates, but those numbers may begin to even out in the coming years thanks to the leadership of today’s female business leaders. This month, we present our inaugural top 25 women in business in recognition of the significant role women already play in the northern Plains’ business climate.

Anne Temte President - Northland Community and Technical College - East Grand Forks, Minn.

Anne has been in the business of higher education for 40 years, serving colleges in Iowa, Oregon, Washington and Minnesota in positions including instructor, chief human resources officer, chief academic officer and her current role of president at Northland Community and Technical College, a position she has held since 2006.

Since joining Northland, she has worked diligently to secure the college’s position as a partner and leader in unmanned aerial systems (UAS) training and has secured nearly $10 million in federal funding to develop UAS maintenance and geospatial intelligence training programs. She was one of the first to voice support for the nearby UAS-focused business park at the Grand Forks Air Force Base and has been a leader in efforts to develop the area’s UAS industry.

Anne is active in multiple state and region-specific committees. She was a charter member of the Valley Prosperity Partnership steering committee and sits on the board of directors for the Grand Forks Economic Development Corp. In 2009, her alma mater, Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, presented her with the Luther Distinguished Service award in recognition of her leadership and impact.

Over the course of her career, Anne has been witness to a significant expansion in the number of roles held by women in college administrations. When she entered the profession, women were typically a small minority of administrative employees. Now, not only have the ratios evened out, but women are more frequently seen in leadership roles. “That used to be the big question: Would men accept women as a supervisor? I don’t see that as an issue anymore at all,” she says.

Salaries have also evened out, particularly at colleges like Northland where pay rates are determined by the position, length of employment and union contracts. This was not always the case, unfortunately. One of Anne’s first employers paid nonfaculty men $2 more per hour than women. When she questioned the disparity, she was told men needed higher wages because they worked harder than women and needed to replace their clothing more frequently.

Fortunately, women entering into their professional careers today do not have to face many of the gender-related hurdles that existed just a few short decades ago. Because of this, Anne advises young women not to focus on their gender and what it might mean to the profession. “Unless you’re in a business that is targeted directly to women, it’s important to just be the most competent professional you can be … competency rises to the top,” she says.

She also encourages women to consider their personal partnerships and how those partners might impact career opportunities. Anne commends her husband for his support and willingness to take on the role of “house parent” over the years whenever she had the chance to pursue professional opportunities. “Not everybody can get that type of a relationship, but I would strongly encourage women to look for a life partner who views it as a partnership, not as a competition,” she says.

Deb Anderson President - Summers Manufacturing Co. Inc. - Devils Lake, N.D.

Deb’s father, Harley Summers, founded Summers Manufacturing in Maddock, N.D., in 1965. Ten years later, Deb joined the family business as a data entry specialist. The agricultural equipment manufacturer operated for more than 30 years with the Summers family at the helm and by 2007, when the family sold the company to its employees, Deb was primed for a leadership role. In 2008, she was elected to serve as president and under her leadership, the company has steadily expanded, doubling its capacity and number of employees. Today, it produces ag equipment for customers around the world from locations in Maddock, Devils Lake, N.D., and Aberdeen, S.D.

Deb takes great pride that Summers Manufacturing is 100-percent employee owned and credits much of her success within the company to its 221 employees. She admits she never would have entered into the manufacturing industry if it wasn’t the family business, but she has never regretted her career choice and she now proudly serves as a mentor and cheerleader for other women in manufacturing. In 2013, she was one of the first recipients of the Women in Manufacturing STEP (science, technology, engineering and production) award, given by the Manufacturing Institute in recognition of significant achievements made by women in industry. The annual awards are part of the group’s larger initiative to honor and promote the role of women in manufacturing.

Women continue to make up a small minority of the overall manufacturing industry, Summers Manufacturing included, but Deb says she has noticed more women entering the industry and working in roles from the production level to the executive level. In fact, she says manufacturing has experienced a widespread culture change since her early days in the industry, when she says she never would have imagined women working on the production floor of a manufacturing plant. “My father ran the business and the only time I got to go out on the floor was when I was doing inventory for the finance department,” she says. “The mindsets have changed among women and men. Women out-perform men in some cases … and the men are fine with it.” She encourages women entering into male-dominated fields to overlook gender entirely and to simply view their role as part of a team. “If you look at it that way, you’re putting your best forward,” she says

Deb notes the manufacturing industry faces workforce shortages in general and is trying to recruit young people to the industry, male and female. As part of the nationwide manufacturing day last fall, Summers Manufacturing opened its doors to schools throughout the area to give students a taste of modern-day manufacturing. About 125 students from middle schools, high schools and colleges toured the facility, which Deb says is the first step to recruiting new workers. “I think it’s all about education,” she says. “We’re just an industry that young kids don’t always think about. They don’t know what goes on and how technical it has gotten.”

The “roads of life” brought Laura to Mitchell, S.D., in 2005 to help her now-husband, Brian, with the marketing aspect of his small motorcycle products company. Laura was an avid motorcycle enthusiast and fit in easily with the staff of five. After the company participated in, and won, the Discovery Channel’s Biker Build-Off competition in 2006, it was Laura who drove when the team decided to capitalize on its recent celebrity by racing the winning bike at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The race drew attention, not only because it was rare for a woman to participate but also because it was one of the first times a “bagger” (touring bike) like the one Klock Werks built had been used in that type of race. If there were skeptics, it didn’t take long for Laura to quiet them. She set a land speed record in her first two passes.

That first time racing on the Flats represented a fork in the road for Klock Werks and for Laura. Her feedback regarding the bike’s handling at a high rate of speed led Brian to develop a windshield that would create more downforce, preventing front-end lifting. The company patented the product and it has since become its top-selling item. Klock Werks currently employs about 15 people and sells nearly $4 million of its products annually, with expectations to continue growing as it expands its product line to serve bike brands including Harley Davidson, Honda, Indian and Victory, among others.

Laura’s first record-setting run at the Flats led to public speaking engagements, where she shared her experiences in overcoming struggles to achieve her goals. She was invited to speak at the Abbott House, a residential treatment facility for girls ages 7 to 18, in Mitchell, S.D., and says she immediately connected and desired to help them. She had used motorcycles to teach her own two daughters (who also race motorcycles) about success, failure and hard work and wanted to try the same approach at Abbott House. She says divine inspiration gave her the idea to have the girls help repair a damaged motorcycle and raffle the finished product to benefit the facility. The first project succeeded and led her to develop a curriculum called the Helping With Horsepower Bike Rebuild Program, which has been used by multiple treatment facilities and second-chance high school programs since its launch in 2010.

“The bike rebuild program that’s now nationally recognized wouldn’t have happened without [the Abbott House] giving me an opportunity to try this crazy idea,” she says.

Auctions for the two bikes the Abbott House girls have rebuilt to date have generated about $175,000 for the facility. Nationwide, nine motorcycles have been rebuilt/repaired through the program.

Laura volunteers at the Abbott House for Helping with Horsepower and leads a weekly recovery group. She licenses the Helping with Horsepower curriculum to other facilities, but only takes a small fee if the program succeeds. More important to her is helping young people through their struggles. “As they’re transforming the motorcycle we’re relating it to life, and we’re teaching them self confidence, problem solving, how to work as a team, how to handle success and failure,” she says. “It’s just as much about the message as the motorcycle. It’s awesome. They just thrive when we’re doing it.”

The speed trials at the Flats have become a company and family tradition. Together, the Klock Werks team has held more than 20 land speed records. This year, Laura and her daughters, both now in their 20s, will return to the Flats in August to make a run at becoming the first mother-daughter-daughter trio to reach 200 miles per hour using the same motorcycle.

Laura says the races have been a fantastic marketing tool for the company, but she also does it for the thrill. “It’s awesome to set a goal and achieve it,” she says. “When you’re the first in history to do something, you can use that story to inspire and help motivate people to follow their dreams, too.”

Jennifer Johnson Engineering Services Supervisor

Minnkota Power Cooperative Inc.

Grand Forks, N.D.

Jennifer joined Minnkota Power in 1981 and has since served in various engineering positions, including substation engineering, transmission engineering and system projects. In June 2013, she was promoted to the role of engineering services supervisor, a position responsible for coordinating multiple Minnkota engineering projects. She recently worked with construction management software firm Aconex to determine a method of managing thousands of documents from various parties to complete Minnkota’s $350 million Center-to-Grand Forks project, a 250-mile-long transmission line installation project which is expected to take five years to complete.

Jennifer currently serves as president of the Larimore (N.D.) Public School District and served for six years on the Red River Valley Education Cooperative board and legislative issues committee. She is also a member of the North Dakota state school board. A graduate of the industrial technology program at the University of North Dakota, she has served on the department’s advisory board for more than 20 years.

Jennifer and her husband also farm and ranch near Larimore, where they raise purebred Simmental cattle.

Tammy Miller

CEO

Border States Electric

Fargo, N.D.

Tammy joined Border States Electric in 1991 as the accounting manager and worked throughout the company before she was named president in 2005 and CEO in 2006. Miller and the Border States’ executive council launched an aggressive and successful strategy to double annual sales within five years. Border States now generates more than $1.3 billion in sales annually and ranks as the ninth largest electrical distributor in the U.S.

In 2007, Miller became the first woman elected to the National Association of Electrical Distributors board and was awarded its Women in Industry Trailblazer award in 2013. She has played a prominent role in supporting and mentoring women and is very active in community initiatives, including TNT Kid’s Fitness, United Way, YWCA, Minnesota State University Moorhead and the Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corp.

Deb Shephard

President

Lake Area Technical Institute

Watertown, S.D.

When Deb retires at the end of this school year, she will bring to a successful close a 36year career at Lake Area Technical Institute which began as an instructor in the recreational therapy program and ended after a nearly eight-year presidency during which the institution experienced record growth and national recognition for its training programs. During her tenure, LATI has repeatedly ranked among the top in the nation for tech school retention and graduation rates and has twice received the Aspen Institute award for excellence as one of the nation’s top two-year colleges. Deb recently led the institute’s first $10 million major gift campaign, which was used toward a 233,000-square-foot expansion project.

Internally, Deb is known for a leadership style which focuses on empowering others to succeed in their roles. Her implementation of participatory management has helped to ensure all employees are treated equally. She is active in several local and state economic development committees and has contributed to a White House blog on the impact of two-year colleges.

Kathleen Neset President

Neset Consulting Services Inc.

Tioga, N.D.

Oil drew Kathy, a New Jersey native, to North Dakota, but her migration to the Bakken occurred long before western North Dakota was known as such. A graduate of geology at Brown University, Kathy initially worked in the oil fields of east Texas before following the industry north to Wyoming and North Dakota to work as an independent petroleum geologist. In 1980, she launched Neset Consulting Services in Tioga and has served the oil and gas industry ever since, growing the company to become one of the most well-respected consulting firms in the Williston Basin and Rocky Mountain areas. She is a member of several oil industry groups and serves on the Bismarck State College petroleum technology advisory committee and the University of North Dakota petroleum engineering advisory committee.

A former Tioga High School science teacher, school board member and substitute business manager, Kathy was appointed to the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education in 2012 and will serve in that role through June 2017.

CEO

Prairie Lakes Healthcare System

Watertown, S.D.

Jill joined Prairie Lakes as vice president of patient care services in 2000 and was promoted to president and CEO in 2009. She has overseen the organization’s growth while remaining a financially strong, independent health care system during a period of rapid consolidations, decreased utilization and increased costs throughout the health care industry. In 2013 alone, the organization recruited nine physicians, added outreach sites, established a pulmonology program and added several other services. It received an A+ rating from Standard & Poor and was recognized by the South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations for having a 15 percent Medicare margin while continuing to provide low-cost service for its patients.

Jill is a very active member of the local community and serves on multiple committees. She is a board member of the Watertown Development Co. and was named the 2013 Business Woman of the Year by the Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member at South Dakota State University, where she taught executive leadership courses, and consults for the American Hospital Association.

Vicki Monsen

Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

McKenzie County Bank

Watford City, N.D.

Vicki has spent 25 years as an employee of McKenzie County Bank, working her way up from a teller to a member of the bank’s top management team. She currently leads the bank’s residential lending program, manages its investment portfolio, prepares its call reports, serves as the compliance officer and security officer and is a member of several internal committees.

She is a graduate of the Rural Leadership North Dakota program, where she oversaw the construction of an eight-unit senior housing project owned by the Watford City Housing Authority. At the time of the project’s construction it was the first new residential project to be built in Watford City in many years. The city now ranks as one of the nation’s fastest growing small cities due to the region’s oil and gas boom and the bank’s residential lending program accounts for 30 percent of its loan portfolio.

Vicki and her husband also farm 2,000 acres in McKenzie County.

My ESOP means that I have more than a job. I have a lifetime career that rewards me for my commitment.

–Charlene | Sioux Falls, SD

Border States prides itself on our Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). We are one of the largest 100 percent employee-owned companies in America. Hard work pays off. Because when you work at Border States you’re more than an employee, you’re an owner.

OWN YOUR FUTURE borderstates.com/bse/careers

Dr. Susan Mathison Owner Catalyst Medical Center

Fargo, N.D.

After years of working in a corporate hospital system, Fargo-native Susan took the plunge into entrepreneurship and launched Catalyst Medical Center and Clinical Spa in Fargo in 2000. The business has allowed her to carry out her goal of providing compassionate medical and cosmetic services for patients and has expanded to include locations in Detroit Lakes, Minn., and Jamestown, N.D. She is an active participant and organizer of charity events to improve the well-being of community members and is a tireless supporter of emerging entrepreneurs, particularly women.

She is a director for the Impact Foundation and the Dakota Medical Foundation and is known among fellow board directors for her strong community perspective, strategic problem-solving skills and clarity of thinking. She is also a founding organizer of TEDxFargo and has assisted in hosting several live TEDxFargo events as well as a live stream of TED MED and TEDxFargoWomen. She served as an advisor for Fargo’s first Startup Weekend in 2013 and, after noticing a lack of female participants, coordinated North Dakota Women’s Startup Weekend, which attracted approximately 60 attendees from throughout North Dakota to Fargo for a weekend of business pitching, planning and mentorship. She is also a member of the Plains Art Museum board of directors.

Deb Eslinger Executive Director

Center for Technology & Business

Bismarck, N.D.

Deb became executive director of Center for Technology & Business in 2011. The organization serves as the Women's Business Center for North Dakota, providing business advising services and trainings across the state. Through Deb's leadership, the center has launched an annual statewide Women's Business Summit, the Women's Leadership Program, the Woman of Honor award and Leading Ladies Luncheons, which honor women who have made an impact in North Dakota.

Deb serves as treasurer on the board of directors for the Association of Women's Business Centers, is a member of the Excellence in Business committee for the Bismarck Mandan Chamber of Commerce and helped organize the first North Dakota Women's Startup Weekend, held earlier this year in Fargo. She is also a certified John Maxwell coach, speaker and trainer.

Glennis Zarecky

President

Midwest Construction and Development Inc.

Pierre, S.D.

Glennis and husband, Mark, launched Midwest Construction in 1981 and have since grown the general construction company to become a leader in the Pierre area’s building industry. In 1998, the Zareckys expanded to pursue the development of land in northeast Pierre and in 2000 broke ground on the Highlands Ridge development. The residential development project now includes approximately 125 homes and townhomes. The company is also developing a multimillion dollar project in Fort Pierre’s Teton Island which will include a restaurant, commercial and retail space and a marina.

Glennis has served in leadership roles in numerous organizations and continues to be very active in the community. She is a past president of the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce and currently chairs the board of directors for Capital Area Counseling Service, a mental health, addiction treatment and child welfare agency. She recently received the 2014 Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce Pierre Pride award for her work in the community.

Mary Weinheimer

President

Morris Equipment LLC/Morris Inc.

Pierre, S.D.

Mary’s career began in 1998 at Morris Inc., a Pierre-based heavy construction firm launched by her parents in 1970. In 2002, she started Morris Equipment LLC, an equipment leasing company, and has since overseen the company’s operations, leading it through multiple equipment dealership agreements and location expansions. Today, the company operates four locations and employs 46 people. Mary also continues to serve with her parents and four siblings as an active principal and managing member for all of the Morris family business operations, which combined employed more than 400 people last year.

Despite her many professional duties, Mary believes firmly in balancing work and home life. Last year, while leading her staff through major expansion projects, Mary prioritized her demanding work schedule to be actively present in the office environment while always being available for her family. She was able to maintain a balanced focus in her many responsibilities while caring for her five children and assisting her husband in their sustainable farming operation known as Synergy Farms.

Shelley Earsley Partner

Eide Bailly

Fargo, N.D.

Shelley has worked at Eide Bailly for nearly 20 years and has more than 14 years of experience in providing strategic business and IT consulting. She has developed expertise in a number of areas including business process consulting and systems integration and has earned a reputation for her work ethic and willingness to confront challenges. She is a mentor and business coach for employees and colleagues alike and has shared her knowledge and experiences as a guest speaker and participant in Eide Bailly’s First Focus group, focused on the retention and promotion of female employees into partnership and leadership roles at the firm.

Shelley has played an active role in numerous nonprofit groups, including United Way of Cass Clay and MS Society Upper Midwest Chapter. She currently serves as president of the YWCA Cass Clay board of directors.

Dr. Shelby Terstriep Medical Doctor, Oncologist

Sanford Health

Fargo, N.D.

Shelby joined Sanford Health’s Roger Maris Cancer Center in 2007 and quickly made her mark on the organization through her innovative, creative and business-savvy approach to medical care. She specializes in breast cancer and survivorship care and led the development of Embrace, Sanford’s cancer survivorship program, which, since its launch in 2008 has become the organization’s leading survivorship program. She continues to serve as medical director for the program in addition to her doctoral duties within the cancer center. Shelby is quadruple boarded in internal medicine, hematology, oncology and palliative medicine and is a clinical associate professor at the University of North Dakota.

Shelby’s passion to improve care for cancer patients was recognized in 2011 with the American Cancer Society’s Lane Adams Quality of Life award, an award given to only 11 caregivers nationally each year. In 2013, she was awarded Sanford Health’s Innovator Award in recognition for her work to improve the patient experience. She serves on two national committees to improve quality of life and health care outcomes. She also designed and is leading a clinical trial evaluating nutritional interventions to improve breast cancer outcomes.

Jodi Duncan

President

Flint Communications Fargo, N.D.

Jodi completed an internship at Flint Communications soon after graduating from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. More than 12 years later, she returned to the company in 2004 as a seasoned veteran of the marketing and advertising industry, having spent the time in between as marketing director for an insurance agency, a brand and research manager at Microsoft Business Solutions, and a marketing instructor at the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D. Jodi proceeded to work her way up to her current role as a president at Flint, where she analyzes data and market research, writes strategy and proposals, collaborates with clients and co-workers and participates in internal management and planning projects.

Jodi is known for her keen sense of business and strategic thinking abilities and an approachable management style that makes her a trusted leader within the firm. She is also active in the community and has served on several boards of directors, including the Lake Agassiz Girls Choir board and the Stephanie Goetz Foundation board.

Lisa Robson

Owner

Evergreen Eating Emporium

Thief River Falls, Minn.

Lisa developed a passion for the foodservice industry at a young age while working as a server and helping hand at her mother’s restaurant in Thief River Falls, Minn. She pursued another career track, however, and worked for years as an insurance agent while continuing to assist in managing the family restaurant. In 2012, she decided to dedicate her focus on her initial passion and purchased the restaurant from her mother, where she works alongside her longtime staff members daily to provide top-notch food and service to the community both in-house and through off-site catering. She credits her three children for supporting her throughout her career.

Lisa serves as a role model for many in the community and is known for offering work opportunities to those in need of a helping hand. She is active within the Chamber of Commerce and hosts an annual Christmas Eve dinner for individuals and families who are alone for the holiday.

Tracy Bernard

Owner/Creative Director

Tout Advertising (formerly Bernard Marketing)

Rapid City, S.D.

After graduating from the University of South Dakota in 1996, Tracy’s advertising and marketing career included work at several large companies, including McCann-Erickson Worldwide, one of the world’s leading advertising agencies. In 2003, she moved to Rapid City and launched her own full-service advertising and marketing firm. While it has been in business for less than a decade, the firm has already won more than a dozen advertising awards. She recently rebranded the firm and changed its name from Bernard Marketing and Advertising to Tout Advertising, a move which Tracy says signifies the company’s growth, among other factors.

Tracy is also the creator and publisher of the lifestyle magazine “Black Hills Woman” and works frequently with female-oriented businesses.

Julie Johnson Executive Director

Absolutely! Aberdeen, Prairie Vision Aberdeen, S.D.

Julie currently serves as executive director for Absolutely! Aberdeen, the northeast South Dakota growth initiative, as well as its regional development arm, known as Prairie Vision, but the majority of her career has been spent practicing law and influencing and shaping state policy. For more than 30 years, Julie has played an active role in the state’s policy process, serving as cabinet secretary for the South Dakota labor department and revenue department, president and CEO of the Industry and Commerce Association of South Dakota, executive director of the South Dakota Rural Development Council, acting director of the South Dakota Math, Science and Technology Council, and a registered lobbyist at 35 legislative sessions. She also served as an administrative law judge for several years and is a current member of the State Bar of South Dakota.

Julie credits several mentors for supporting her throughout her career and now relishes her role as a mentor for other women in politics and business. She has been involved with several women-focused groups to aid that effort, including Outdoor Women of South Dakota and South Dakota Business and Professional Women, among others.

Angie Bjorgaard

Founder

Sublime Aesthetic Professionals LLC

Grand Forks, N.D.

Angie discovered a true passion for helping women look and feel healthier while working as a registered nurse and as an entrepreneur. Over the past decade, she’s turned her passion into a profession that resulted in the launch of Sublime Aesthetic Professionals, an aesthetic spa specializing in nonsurgical procedures that help women (and men) feel better about themselves. In 2013, Angie expanded Sublime to include a Fargo location. Additionally, she and her team created the Beauty Expo, an annual event which promotes women-focused area businesses. She plans to continue adding locations throughout the region and also plans to open a boutique hotel and coffee shop in Grand Forks.

Kari Warberg-Block

Founder/CEO earthkind

Bismarck, N.D.

Kari was a serial entrepreneur who had experienced varying degrees of success and tribulations when a run-in with a rodent in a tractor eventually led her to invent and commercialize Fresh Cab, a natural rodent repellent.

From her company’s early days of production at the kitchen table, Kari and her team have grown earthkind into $40 million of retail sales with a 90 percent repeat purchase rate, and customers around the world. Despite its impressive growth, the company remains committed to its goals of supporting the environment, community and people by continuing to produce Earth-friendly products, employing people with developmental disabilities whenever possible and insisting on growing all its ingredients on U.S. family farms.

Kari’s success has earned her recognition as one of Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneurial Winning Women and as one of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s top three business people. Locally, she continues to use her success story to inspire others through mentorship and financial support. She is an original member of Pride of Dakota, a past chair of North Dakota’s Women in Business Council and has helped launch multiple new businesses through Start Up North Dakota.

Andrea Boe

Business Development Director

AE2S (Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services Inc.)

Grand Forks, N.D.

Nearly 20 years ago, Andrea joined startup engineering firm AE2S as a marketing assistant with a plan to build her portfolio and move on to a marketing career in a more interesting industry. She soon became fascinated with the engineering industry and grew along with the firm, which fostered her entrepreneurial spirit and allowed her to significantly expand the marketing team, essentially create a marketing agency within the firm. “AE2S is such an entrepreneurial firm that I never felt pigeonholed,” she says. “I always knew that if I saw an opportunity and wanted to grow in a certain way, if I could prove it was a good idea they’d pretty much let me go.”

Having built a successful marketing arm for the firm, Andrea recently moved on to serve as business development director for its water solutions and construction groups, focusing heavily on design/build water projects for oil producers and industries in North Dakota’s Bakken region. Early this year, she also helped launch a web-based app developed by the firm called OpWorks, aimed at helping water facilities manage their operations.

Tonya Stende

President

Dale Carnegie Business Group of North Dakota Fargo, N.D.

After spending seven years working in her chosen field of accounting, Tonya left her successful career to pursue a path of business leadership. She and her business partner, Tamara Anderson, own the North Dakota franchise for Dale Carnegie Training, a worldwide performance-based training company, and have built the company into a respected and highly successful business, having trained thousands of business leaders and their employees throughout the state.

Tonya also plays a significant role in supporting other women in business in the region through her volunteerism efforts. She helped found the United Way of Cass-Clay’s 35 under 35 leadership program, which focuses on providing skills training and access to resources for young business women. She has served as a volunteer for Junior Achievement, a board member for the Women’s Leadership Council and is the incoming United Way campaign chair, a role which will require her to lead the organization’s efforts to raise more than $5 million to fund its programs.

Shelly Weppler President

St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation Minot, N.D.

Shelly is dedicated to the betterment of her community’s residents and currently carries out that mission through her role as president of St. Joseph’s Community Health Foundation, which serves more than 150,000 residents in an 11county area by granting funds to organizations for projects that address mental, physical, spiritual and emotional needs. This month, the foundation will grant more than $600,000 to area organizations.

She also serves as a commissioner for Ward County, a member of the North Dakota Association of Nonprofit Organizations public policy committee and is a past-president of the group, in addition to playing an active role in multiple other community groups.

Shelly has more than 15 years of banking experience and 17 years of professional fund development experience. She served in managerial roles at U.S. Bank and Metropolitan Federal Bank and was the annual fund director for Minot State University. She also served as president of the Minot Art Association during its capital campaign and renovation of a downtown Minot building into the Taube Museum of Art.

She is a U.S. Army veteran and served as a military police officer in Germany.

Cheri Johnson

President

Personal Touch Embroidery & Marketing Inc.

Moorhead, Minn.

Cheri was working as an accountant when she launched Personal Touch Embroidery in 1990 after recognizing a need for an embroidered goods service in the local market. With no prior business experience or qualifications for a traditional bank loan, she was able to acquire a loan with assistance from West Central Initiative’s small enterprise loan fund and launched her business in a small rental space with one employee and two embroidery machines. Today, the business occupies a 19,000-square-foot showroom and production facility in Moorhead. The company employs 20 people and offers in-house embroidery, screen printing, engraving, digital print and other services.

Cheri currently sits on the board of the directors for West Central Initiative and is active in multiple nonprofit organizations, including Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.