Prairie People

U.S. CONSUL BEGINS POSTING IN WINNIPEG

Anthony (Tony) Pagliai recently arrived in Winnipeg to assume the post of Consul and Principal Officer at the United States Consulate.

Pagliai’s primary responsibility is to advance the interests and goals of the United States to the people of Manitoba, and report local views and issues to the U.S. government. His expected tour of duty is three years.

Pagliai is a career diplomat whose previous foreign postings include Tanzania, Thailand, the Bahamas and Mexico. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Florida. He speaks Spanish and Thai. Pagliai is married to Dr. Geneva Pagliai, who was born and raised in Winnipeg.

AT&T NAMES NEW VP/GENERAL MANAGER IN THE NORTHERN PLAINS REGION

AT&T named Lisa Mitchell-Kastner to oversee mobility and consumer markets in the Northern Plains Region. The region includes Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska.

Mitchell-Kastner will manage more than 800 sales and service consultants, more than 60 AT&T-owned retail locations, more than 90 authorized retail locations and more than 320 national retail locations.

Mitchell-Kastner previously served as the company’s vice president of human resources. She holds master’s degrees in industrial/organizational psychology and business management from Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas.

ASKELSON NAMED INTERIM DIRECTOR OF UND’S RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS

Mark Askelson will serve as interim executive director for the UND Research Institute for Autonomous Systems.

Askelson received two bachelor’s degrees from UND before earning both his master’s and Ph.D. in meteorology at the University of Oklahoma.

As a professor of atmospheric sciences at UND, Askelson specializes in detect and avoid technologies (DAA) and unmanned aircraft systems, among other fields.

The research institute was created to help integrate the activities and resources of UND and the North Dakota University System. Its goal is to establish unmanned and autonomous research leading to economic development and diversification in North Dakota.

Physicians Join Altru Health System Staff

A neurologist, pediatrician and anesthesiologist are among the physicians who’ve recently joined Altru Health System in Grand Forks, N.D.

n Dr. James Miles is one of three pediatric neurology specialists in North Dakota. Miles earned his medical degree from the University of North Dakota School of Medicine in Grand Forks.

He completed his pediatric and adolescent medicine residency, as well as his child neurology fellowship, at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

n Dr. Ahmad Qawasmi has joined the pediatric team at Altru Health System. Qawasmi earned his medical degree from Al-Quds University, Al-Quds Faculty of Medicine in Jerusalem. He completed his residency at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, Mich., then joined the pediatric hematology and oncology program at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.

n Dr. Bethany Gourneau has joined the anesthesia team at Altru Health System. Gourneau earned her medical degree from University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. She also earned a master of public health degree from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. She completed her anesthesiology residency at the University of Kansas in Kansas City, Kan.

North Dakota Governor Names First Chief People Officer

Gov. Doug Burgum recently announced the hiring of Cheri Schoenfish as state government’s first chief people officer.

Schoenfish is taking a one-year civic leave of absence from her current position as Microsoft’s director of global talent management to fill the CPO position, starting Oct. 9.

“As CPO, Schoenfish will be the state’s workforce strategist and organizational development leader, with a focus on enhancing performance and productivity as she coaches and advises the governor’s leadership team,” according to a press release.

Schoenfish earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a math minor from Dickinson State University and worked for 14 years in training and human resources at Great Plains Software in Fargo.

Sdsu Student Named To National Council

BROOKINGS, S.D. – South Dakota State University graduate student

Brandon Varilek has been named to the Graduate Nursing Student Academy Leadership Council.

The Leadership Council consists of 10 graduate nursing student members, each of whom serves a two-year term.

Varilek was named a GNSA liaison in 2016.

Varilek, who’ll complete his degree in 2019, would like to become a faculty member at a university. A registered nurse, he currently works full time at Avera McKennan as a solid organ transplant coordinator.

Nicole Griensewic Mickelson Elected Gmnp President

Nicole Griensewic Mickelson, executive director of Region Nine Development Commission, was elected as president of the Greater Minnesota Partnership at the organization’s annual meeting.

As president of the nonprofit, she will help direct efforts to inform state legislators on issues that are important to economic development in Greater Minnesota, such as workforce housing, job skills training, broadband expansion and environmental regulations.

Griensewic Mickelson has served as executive director of Region Nine, which serves nine counties in south central Minnesota, since 2012.

Essentia Adds To Medical Staff

n Dr. Caitlin Pandolfo, an obstetrician and gynecologist, has joined the Essentia Health-32nd Avenue Clinic in Fargo.

Pandolfo is originally from Bowbells, N.D. She earned a medical degree from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D. She completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, Mass.

Mark Steele Returns To Houston Engineering

Mark Steele has returned to full-time status in Houston Engineering, Inc.’s Bismarck office as a computer-aided design or CAD designer.

Steele worked full time at HEI from 2004-10 as a CAD supervisor, then taught engineering technology and geographic information systems at Bismarck State College. While teaching at BSC, he interned at HEI for the past several years.

A Bismarck native, Steele has an associate’s degree in architectural drafting and estimating technology from North Dakota State College of Science and a bachelor’s degree in technical education from Valley City State University in Valley City, N.D.

Ruit Appointed Associate Dean At Und Medical School

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Kenneth G. Ruit, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, has been named associate dean for education and faculty affairs at the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Ruit previously served as associate dean for educational administration and faculty affairs.

Ruit received his Ph.D. in cell biology, neurobiology and anatomy from Loyola University of Chicago in 1989. A faculty member at the medical school since 1991, he teaches human anatomy and neuroscience.

First serving as assistant dean for academic and faculty affairs in 2008, Ruit assumed the role of associate dean for educational administration and faculty affairs in 2014.

Essentia Health hired at least five physicians and many other medical professionals over the summer. The newcomers include: n Dr. Travis Swartz, a general surgeon, has joined the Essentia Health St. Mary’s-Detroit Lakes Clinic in Detroit Lakes, Minn. n Dr. Philip Wanzek, a urologist, has joined the Essentia Health-32nd Avenue Clinic in Fargo, N.D. Wanzek grew up in Valley City, N.D. He earned a medical degree from A.T. Still University in Kirksville, Mo.

Swartz earned a medical degree from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, Pa. He completed a residency in general surgery at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D.

He completed a residency in urology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

He’s been an active member of the Army National Guard for 23 years and served in Afghanistan with the 1-188th ADA based in Grand Forks.