PAULA KLEIN President

Smartt Interior Construction LLC

Fargo, N.D.

Paula Klein’s building method of choice, DIRTT, is an acronym for “doing it right this time.” The phrase is intended to describe the modern approach the process takes toward construction projects through the use of prefabrication and technology, but it could also be used to describe Klein’s career path. A native of Valley City, N.D., Klein holds a degree in mass communications from Minnesota State University Moorhead. After graduating from college, she opened an antiques/interior design retail store in Fargo along with her mother, who operated a sister store in Valley City. Through that business, she had the opportunity to try her hand at residential design, which exposed her to commercial design and ultimately to the construction industry, which peaked an interest in general contracting. In 2007, she was introduced to DIRTT Environmental Solutions and was inspired to launch her own construction firm to sell and install the products. In 2011, her first year of business, Smartt Interior Construction had a mere $3,000 in sales. By 2013, the company’s business had ballooned to more than $2.1 million in annual sales and a project list that included locations throughout the Dakotas and Minnesota.

“Doing it right this time,” isn’t intended to imply that traditional construction methods are wrong, Klein says. Rather, the concept celebrates modern advancements that allow building interiors to be repurposed in ways that reduce the amount of waste created and repurposed to make more efficient use of spaces than would be possible using traditional processes. Likewise, there was nothing wrong with Klein’s initial business venture, but she is the first to admit she found her true calling in construction and design. “It ended up being kind of a natural fit,” she says.

She’s self-taught in design and in the software used to create DIRTT projects and now spends much of her time educating other general contractors, architects and end users about the DIRTT process and how it could be applied to their projects. Her company’s projects already encompass a large range of industries and include the Kilbourne Group’s Loretta Building in downtown Fargo, an 18,000-square-foot new construction building in Sioux Falls, S.D., a medical facility in Duluth, Minn., and a rural school in North Dakota that needed to repurpose its 1960s-era large classrooms to accommodate smaller class sizes and modern teaching methods. In the future, she hopes to expand her staff of four to include more construction managers, designers and project champions who can help educate potential clients on the DIRTT approach. Crossing over to apply DIRTT to residential projects is also on her bucket list. “I would love to do a ‘smartt house’ and infuse a lot of technology into it,” she says.

It may have taken her years to identify and pursue her true passion, but Klein believes it’s never too late and says business ownership has been worth the long hours and working vacations. “My absolute favorite thing is when I have a project and the client not only loves the project, but the process,” she says. “There’s obviously a lot of risk involved, but there’s also a great reward in doing something and knowing that our team did great. I went to Mexico recently and it was great. Was I sitting on the balcony reading blueprints? Yes. But that’s what you do.”

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JILL DUEMELAND CEO

Duemelands Commercial Real Estate

Bismarck, N.D.

Five years ago, Jill became the fourth generation, and the first woman, to lead the family’s 115-yearold business. “I always say, I don’t want the ship to sink with me! No pressure there,” she says. Pressure hasn’t proven to be an inhibitor to her success so far. By the age of just 26, Jill had completed more than $15 million in real estate transactions, earning her a Certified Commercial Investment Member designation. In 2010, she was deemed a rising star by CCIM institute. She currently specializes in tenant and landlord representation and the sale and leasing of commercial properties in the Dakotas and Minnesota and has become a prominent presence in the increasingly competitive (and male-dominated) Williston market as well as the Bismarck-Mandan market.

While the entrepreneurial spirit runs deep in her family, Jill says she didn’t initially intend on joining the business despite a childhood that included frequent education on the finer points of business management and the real estate industry. (“I have distinct memories of learning about Cap Rate [capitalization rate] on the way to school in third grade.”) She wasn’t interested in real estate at all, in fact, until the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., launched a real estate program while she was a student there. She took it as a sign, enrolled in the program, and spent three years working for a firm in Minneapolis before rejoining her father and the family business in 2004. Jill says her time spent working outside of the family business was extremely beneficial and she recommends all family business owners do the same for their children. She intends to encourage her own children — ages 7, 3, and 1 — to spread their wings before hopefully returning to take the torch, whether it be as business owners or owner/operators. “Even though our kids are still little — that’s something we want to instill in them as they’re growing up.”

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Carol Rogne

President/CEO

DFC Consultants Fargo, N.D

Carol launched DFC Consultants in Dickinson, N.D., in 1989 to improve businesses’ finance management through her independent certified public accounting services, a goal which she realized early on could be aided through the use of technology. She became a reseller of Great Plains Software (now Microsoft) products and has grown DFC Consultants to include three locations in North Dakota. The company is known for its technical expertise and has earned more than 30 awards for excellence.

Carol is the 2007 recipient of the YWCA Woman of the Year in Business award and the 2006 North Dakota Entrepreneur of the Year award. She currently chairs the board of directors Plains Art Museum of Fargo and is the vice chair at the Sanford Health Foundation. She is also a member of the Information Technology Council of North Dakota board of directors and a member of the Fargo West Rotary.

Kari Knudson

Vice President National Energy Center of Excellence

Bismarck State College

Bismarck, N.D.

After graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 1990, Kari spent more than a decade working in analytical and financial supervisory positions for Conoco and ConocoPhillips in locations around the globe. In 2003, she returned to the U.S. and served as vice president of finance and administration at the independent power production subsidiary of MDU Resources Group in Bismarck. She accepted the vice president position at BSC in 2007, where she leads BSC’s energy programs and provides oversight for the Great Plains Energy Corridor. She also leads BSC’s embracing diversity team, is a member of the Bismarck Rotary club and an active participant in United Way activities. Kari and her husband are active supporters of their two children’s extracurricular activities and rarely miss a game.

Tammy Peterson

President/CEO

Bremer Bank

Grand Forks, N.D.

Tammy joined Bremer Bank soon after graduating from the University of North Dakota in 1996. She has since worked her way up the ladder, taking on expanding supervisory and leadership roles with each new position. She was appointed the Grand Forks region president and CEO in 2013 and is responsible for nine bank locations with loans totaling nearly $900 million.

A mom of two boys, ages 10 and 8, Tammy also contributes to the community through volunteerism with groups including Junior Achievement, the American Diabetes Association and Girl Scouts-Dakota Horizons, where she served as a board member for five years. She currently serves as an advisory member for the Grand Forks Region Economic Development Corp., the Greater Grand Forks Young Professionals and UND’s College of Business and Public Administration.

Amy Novak

President

Dakota Wesleyan University Mitchell, S.D.

Amy accepted the president position at DWU in 2013, making her the first woman to serve in this role at the university. She joined the university in 2003 and served most recently as provost and executive vice president. Now, backed by an all-female leadership team, she is leading DWU through an extensive strategic planning, marketing and master-planning effort. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Notre Dame, a master’s degree in economics from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a doctoral degree in interdisciplinary leadership from Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. She is also a mom to eight kids, all under the age of 20.

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Tamara Somerville

Corporate Vice President/ President, Global Initiatives and Strategic Alliances

Posi Lock Puller Cooperstown, N.D.

Tamara’s first job at Posi-Lock Puller — a gear and bearing puller manufacturer founded by her dad, Dean, in 1978 — was on the assembly line when she was just a kid. She worked as an auditor and stockbroker early in her career before returning to the family business in 1992, a decision which has proven beneficial for the company. In 2002, Posi Lock Puller was the first North Dakota company to receive the Export Achievement Certificate from the U.S. Department of Commerce. In 2013, the company was named North Dakota’s Exporter of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Tamara is the company’s key international representative and her industry expertise and product knowledge has helped mold relationships with others in the male-dominated manufacturing industry all over the world. When she’s not traveling she spends as much time as possible with her two children and supports the local community as a corporate participant in fundraisers and other events.

Toni Sandin

Owner/Attorney Sandin Law LTD Fargo, N.D.

Toni graduated from the University of North Dakota School of Law in 2005, and after working as an attorney with Dorsey and Whitney in Fargo, she opened Sandin Law in 2009, a boutique estate and business planning law practice. The firm has since grown from being a solo law practice to a two-attorney firm with a staff of paralegals and an administrative assistant in just five years. As an attorney and certified public accountant, Toni has a unique blend of legal and accounting expertise which has allowed her to excel in her chosen niche of estate and business planning. A Fargo native and mom of three, Toni currently serves as a board member, treasurer and legal counsel for the North Dakota Autism Center.

Deb Nelson

President DLN Consulting Inc. Dickinson, N.D.

Deb’s career began as an educator and included several different paths until 1998, when she founded DLN Consulting with a mission of aiding nonprofits and other organizations in achieving their highest level of success through effective strategic planning and grant writing services. The firm works with a wide variety of entities, including Vision West ND, the North Dakota Association of Oil and Gas Producing Counties and the Impact Foundation. Deb is a willing mentor and advocate for other women-owned businesses in southwest North Dakota and frequently contributes her firm’s expertise to nonprofits in partnership with the Dickinson Regional Small Business Development Center and The Strom Center at Dickinson State University.

Lonni Fleck

Vice President Interstate Engineering Williston, N.D.

Lonni joined Interstate Engineering in 2005 and has since tackled the leadership role for the firm’s western North Dakota branch head-on, successfully navigating through several years of incredible growth in project activity. She has gained experience on a broad spectrum of municipal-related projects including water and sewer mains, streets, landfill design, road design and water studies. As a project manager, she’s done it all, from planning to design, funding administration to surveying. She also serves as a member of the company’s board of directors.

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Mitzi Bestall

Mitzi and her husband initially ventured into Williston in 2010 in search of new opportunity after the nationwide recession had nearly wiped out the real estate market elsewhere. The pair marketed a subdivision in Williston from a borrowed RV until winter convinced them to head back to Colorado for a few months. They returned in the spring and launched their own real estate office, Bakken Realty, focusing on new home construction, land and lot sales. Within a year, they were able to hire one associate. One year later, the company employed nine agents. Today, the company employs more than 20 licensed agents, has two offices and recently changed its name to RE/MAX Bakken Realty to reflect its new affiliation.

Mitzi has been an active member of Rotary International for more than 16 years and is a member of the American Petroleum Institute and the Williston Area Builders Association.

Lynn Moser

Lynn has more than 35 years of experience in the male-dominated oil and gas industry. She took over as president of the family-owned full-service land brokerage company in 1991 and oversees the company’s involvement as a non-operator drilling the company’s leasehold and minerals in the Bakken and Three Forks formations of the Williston Basin. In 2012, she became the first women to receive the Landman of the Year award from the Landman’s Association of North Dakota — an award which her father, the founder of Inland Oil and Gas, had received in 1982. Now, she is guiding her daughter through the family business.

Lynn is a board member for the North Dakota Petroleum Council, the North Dakota 4H Foundation and U.S. Bank in Bismarck. She is a past president of the North Dakota Landman’s Association.

Polly Peterson

Executive Vice President University of Jamestown Jamestown, N.D.

A 1989 graduate of the University of Jamestown (then Jamestown College), Polly returned to the school in 1992 as controller. In 2006 she was named vice president for institutional advancement. Last year, she accepted the role of executive vice president, which includes oversight of the business affairs and institutional advancement offices. A lifelong learner, she is also currently enrolled in the higher education graduate program at North Dakota State University and is expected to earn a doctorate’s degree later this year.

Polly is known for being the first to volunteer and the last to go home, whether the occasion is community-focused or one of her three children’s many athletic activities. She has been a volunteer member of the St. John’s Academy school board for more than decade.

Kari Reichert

Vice President of People Services

National Information Solutions Cooperative Bismarck, N.D.

A graduate of Yale Law School and the University of Minnesota, Kari joined NISC in 2009 as assistant general counsel. In 2011, she was selected for her current role, where she leads a team of eight and has initiated cutting-edge changes to the company’s hiring practices which have helped the company identify and retain quality candidates in a tight labor market.

Kari is halfway through a four-year term on the North Dakota Board of Higher Education and was also recently appointed to serve as North Dakota’s representative on the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. When she’s not at work or participating in a higher ed board activity, she can be found on the sidelines of her eight-year-old son’s soccer games or taking part in his Cub Scout activities.

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Michelle Wall

Business Coach, Area Manager, Speaker Dale Carnegie Business Group of North Dakota Bismarck, N.D.

Michelle coaches organizations, teams and individuals across North Dakota to boost their performance, implement change and develop and execute strategies that get results. She is a member of the VI Class of Rural Leadership North Dakota, where she focuses on strengthening the agriculture community and the state, and a founder of the Women’s Leadership Program through the Center of Technology & Business. She helped found NDSU’s Sigma Alpha Alumni Chapter, served as its first president, and was the sorority’s first Hall of Fame inductee. She is a member of the Human Resource Association and the American Petroleum Institute.

Michelle Kommer

Chief Administrative Officer/ General Counsel Western State Bank Fargo, N.D.

Michelle holds a bachelor’s degree from Mayville State University, a master’s degree from the University of Mary and a law degree from the University of North Dakota. She spent a decade serving in various roles at Community First Bank, followed by six years as senior vice president of human resources and inside legal counsel for Otter Tail Corp., and two years as senior vice president of human resources and development for Noridian Mutual Insurance Co. (dba BlueCross BlueShield ND) before joining Western State Bank one year ago. In 2014, she received the Distinguished Alumni award from Mayville State University in recognition for proven leadership in her profession.

A mom of three daughters, Michelle, along with her husband, Toby, is active with many organizations and associations in the Fargo area. As an adoptive parent, she is a passionate supporter of adoption and helped to establish the North Dakota Heart Gallery in 2008.

Heather Jones

CEO City Air Mechanical Bismarck, N.D.

For the past 15 years, Heather has led the only woman-owned mechanical construction company in North Dakota. She currently chairs the Bismarck/Mandan Development Association and serves on the North Dakota State Plumbing Board. Additionally, she is a member of Vistage Group 3133 and was one of 18 finalists selected out of 18,000 members for the Vistage Member Leadership award. In 2012, she was named North Dakota’s Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Sara Watson

Owner, Business Manager Mosaic Foods LLC Fargo, N.D.

Chef Sara was on maternity leave with her second child in 2003 when she created a business plan and menu for a catering business. She delivered menus to businesses in downtown Fargo, with her two small children in tow, and prepared the company’s initial orders in her family’s apartment. Within a few months she relocated the business to a commercial kitchen and her husband, Eric, also a chef, left his job to help build the company. Today, Mosaic Foods employs 85 people and includes three entities — Mosaic Catering & Events, Mezzaluna restaurant in Fargo and Rustica Eatery & Tavern in Moorhead, Minn. The company’s eateries have received numerous awards for excellence. Sara frequently contributes to area youth programs and art programs and is passionate in her support for organizations that support those in need.

Sara and Eric now have four active children in addition to their growing business. She continues to master the finer points of juggling business management and serving as the kids’ taxi driver.

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Dawn Lahlum

President/Owner

Park Co. Realtors Fargo, N.D.

Dawn joined Park Co. in 1993 and has been instrumental in implementing technology in real estate used throughout the region every day. She was one of 500 Realtors nationwide to test and establish a technology certification called e-PRO that continues to be used to Realtors how to use technology to grow their businesses. She was at the forefront of initiating the use of electronic signatures in real estate transactions in North Dakota and led the development and integration of a real estate management system at Park Co. which allowed associates to mobilize their businesses. She became president of the company in 2012 when she purchasing the company.

Dawn is a member of many industry groups and organizations, including the United Way of Cass Clay’s Women’s Leadership Council and the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce business training committee. She mentors other business professionals within Park Co. and through the United Way’s 35 Under 35 program. In addition to her numerous volunteer activities, Dawn and her husband have two children.

Sandi Piatz

Senior Manager Eide Bailly LLP Fargo, N.D.

With more than 15 years of experience in the tech industry, Sandi has gained expertise in understanding an organization’s technology initiatives and identifying ways to use technology to better enable a company to meet its business objectives. In her current role, she manages the business development and marketing team for Eide Bailly’s technology consulting team. She also provides IT account management services for her clients. She has earned several accolades for exceptional performance throughout her career and is a graduate of the United Way 35 Under 35 Women’s Leadership Program as well as Eide Bailly’s Leadership Training Program. She is an avid runner and has competed in 2 full and 11 half-marathons over the past 11 years. When she’s not running marathons, she and her husband are often running along the sidelines at their two children’s sporting events.

Sue Lancaster

Director, Corporate Development and Strategy

South Dakota Innovation Partners

Sioux Falls, S.D.

Sue is a founding team member of the venture capital firm. She manages its research and industry advisor network for technology sourcing, due diligence, and startup company formation and investment. She also develops and manages analytical and operational processes, data and the R&D strategy for the firm’s portfolio companies, and was recently named acting vice president, research/development and chief technology officer for Prairie AquaTech. In addition, she has been named one of two inaugural entrepreneurs-in-residence at the University of South Dakota, where she provides mentoring for students and faculty.

She holds a masters degree in biomedical engineering from the University of South Dakota and her work in cardiovascular drug delivery has been published by multiple scientific journals. She is completing her black belt certification in Lean/Six Sigma and volunteers for a number of organizations throughout the region, including The Banquet in Sioux Falls.

Sarah Atchison

President/CEO

Midwest Fire Equipment & Repair Company

Luverne, Minn.

Sarah had worked for 15 years as a dental hygienist when she set out on a completely different path with the purchase of Midwest Fire in 2013, making her one of only a few female CEOs in the firefighting and manufacturing industries. Her commitment to creating a company culture focused on continuous improvement and growth has resulted in numerous staff promotions, increased sales and growing national recognition for the company. She has also invested in new technology across all of the company’s existing product lines and encourages employees to enroll in continuing education classes.

Sarah and her husband, Dean, have two daughters.

Sherri Thomsen

Since accepting her current position in 2011, Sher has implemented a strategic shift in the group’s investment strategy and continues to focus on garnering the greatest ROI while addressing the community’s needs, also managing an annual budget that exceeds $5 million and overseeing a staff of 11 people. She has nearly 20 years of non-profit leadership experience, including six years as regional executive director for the American Red Cross Minn-Kota Chapter. While there, she led the Red Cross’ emergency response efforts for the flood of 2009 and was responsible for 900 volunteers for 43 consecutive days.

Sher’s leadership qualities and willingness to help others are apparent in her personal life as well. When both of her sons were diagnosed with dyslexia she joined forces with others in the community to grow the region’s dyslexic tutoring and resource group. She and her husband have also remodeled more than 20 homes and fostered more than 100 homeless animals.