MUCH MORE THAN PAPER

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Nancy Petersen

Senior Vice President of Human Resources

Cornerstone Bank

Bismarck, N.D.

Originally from Grand Forks, North Dakota, Nancy Petersen has worked in banking for 23 years with Cornerstone Bank in New Town and Bismarck, North Dakota. As a part of the human resources team and a current member of the Cornerstone Bank Board of Directors, she values where she works and the people she works with.

Petersen graduated from the University of North Dakota with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She is also a graduate of the Human Resource Management Graduate School of Banking in Madison, Wisconsin. She earned her HRCI Senior Professional in Human Resources Certification in 2012 and her SHRM Senior Certified Professional Certification in 2015.

She is a trustee and past chair of the ND Banks Benefit Trust in Bismarck and volunteers at various events with the Missouri Slope Area United Way.

She currently lives in Bismarck, North Dakota with her husband Gary. They have two adult daughters and one son-in-law in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Heather Rye joined Gate City Bank in 2014 and was promoted to senior vice president of human resources and development in 2019. In this capacity, she provides leadership and strategic direction for human resources, aligning team members with business strategy to strengthen an engaging and high-performing culture. In her role, Rye oversees various HR functions of the bank, including recruiting, performance management, compensation, benefits and wellness, learning and development – all while ensuring the bank is compliant with state and federal laws and regulations. In addition, she keeps a top-of-mind awareness on market trends and shares that knowledge with the bank’s leadership team.

Fargo, N.D.

Rye has been extensively involved on the board at Creative Care for Reaching Independence (CCRI) in Moorhead, Minnesota, over the past five years. After serving in a variety of board positions, she recently completed her term as CCRI Board President.

A certified HR professional for 15 years, Rye has an undergraduate degree in business from the University of North Dakota and an MBA from the University of Mary.

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Grand Forks, N.D.

Heather Strandell serves as the senior director of clinic operations at Altru Health System in Grand Forks. Strandell has held leadership positions at Altru since 2004, with oversight of a variety of areas including quality and performance improvement, care management, primary care clinic operations, and has served interim leadership roles with supply chain management, revenue cycle, reimbursement, and coding.

As incident commander for Altru, Strandell led the organization through the COVID pandemic, partnering with local and state agencies, coordinating vaccination, and testing efforts and ensuring Altru’s operations were maintained while the community was safely cared for.

Within the community, she is incredibly generous with her time, talents, and financial contributions. She has been committed to many important efforts to ensure a safe, vibrant community, including serving on the boards of Community Violence Intervention Center, Sharon Lutheran Church, MN/ND Alzheimer’s Association, and is actively involved with school volunteering.

Strandell earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of North Dakota and is currently pursuing her MBA through the University of Mary. She and her husband Jon have two sons, Sam and Leo.

With a focus on community planning for rural areas across the Midwest, Wendy Van Duyne is a landscape architect, project manager, design principal and regional practice leader with Stantec Consulting. In her professional role, she successfully leads multi-disciplinary teams of designers and engineers on a wide variety of community development projects such as downtown revitalization, campus planning, placemaking, brownfield redevelopment, neighborhood planning, and parks planning & design.

Originally from Kansas, Van Duyne moved to Bismarck in 2014, and immediately became an engaged member of the community. Over the past nine years, she has solidly established herself within regional business networks and has volunteered her time with numerous community organizations and committees including current board chair of the Bismarck-Mandan Chamber EDC, Bismarck-Mandan Junior Achievement, the Missouri Valley YMCA Board of Directors, the City of Bismarck Planning and Zoning Commission, the Capitol Grounds Planning Commission, and the Bismarck Mandan Development Association. As is evident by her community involvement, she is passionate about promoting everything the Bismarck-Mandan region has to offer, for other transplants to our area.

A native of Casselton, North Dakota, Kresha Wiest graduated from Jamestown College (now University of Jamestown) in 1996 with bachelor of arts degrees in accounting and business administration with a finance concentration. She obtained a master’s in business administration, finance concentration in 2005 from the University of Mary. She is certified as a Yellow Belt in Six Sigma, has obtained the Certified Payroll Professional and Customer Relationship Manager Administrator credentials, and was appointed to the American Payroll Association National Committee.

Wiest is currently the chief financial officer at the University of Jamestown. Previously she held the positions of chief information officer, director of management systems, and interim privacy officer at the Anne Carlsen Center. She held the positions of finance, planning and analysis manager and head of payroll at Aberdeen, South Dakota, for Wyndham Worldwide. She began her professional career at Interstate Engineering, Jamestown, North Dakota, as accounting and payroll manager. Wiest serves her community by participating in athletic booster clubs, chairing fundraising dinners, and serving as an athletic task force member. She inspires confidence in her knowledge and abilities while supporting the career development and cohesiveness of her staff. She and her husband Mark have three children, daughter Jayden at home and sons Jaxton and Trey, students at the University of Jamestown.

Carrie Wilson began her career in 1986 as an executive assistant with Vaaler Insurance. With the help of mentors and coaches, she worked her way to her current role, serving as executive vice president.

Wilson oversees operations and organizational culture and empowers colleagues to grow and embrace their passions — both in their careers and outside of work.

Throughout her career as an insurance & risk advisor and manager, Wilson has worked specifically with healthcare organizations, providing them with specialized, comprehensive risk management programs. Her depth of knowledge and passion for the healthcare industry creates a client experience that is second to none.

Carrie Wilson contd.

For Wilson, culture and relationships are critical and sit at the core of her passion. She treasures the people she has the privilege of interacting with now and throughout her career—colleagues, clients, carriers, and professional contacts.

Wilson attended the University of North Dakota, holds a Certificate in General Insurance from the Insurance Institute of America, and participated in the Greater Grand Forks Women’s Leadership Cooperative, Dale Carnegie Leadership Training, and the Grand Forks Chamber Leadership Program. She is an active supporter of CVIC, Cheerful Givers, and Altru Family YMCA. Her family includes husband, Jeff; sons AJ & Tyler; daughter-in-law Cassie, and three grandsons.