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STAFF & CONSULTANTS

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

For general information or grant-related inquiries, please e-mail the Foundation at newdirection@bushfoundation.org.
 
President
Peter Hutchinson became president of the Foundation on December 1, 2007.  In 1990, he co-founded Public Strategies Group; additionally, he has been the deputy mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota’s commissioner of finance and the 2006 Independence Party candidate for Minnesota governor. Peter C. Hutchinson
President
Bush_President@bushfoundation.org

 
Senior Staff
 
Susan Heegaard joined the Foundation in March 2009 as Vice President and Educational Achievement Team Leader. Previously she was director of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. Prior to that she was educational policy advisors to Governors Pawlenty and Carlson, and a representative of Senator David Durenberger on a U.S. Senate subcommittee focused on educational issues. Susan Heegaard
Vice President and Educational Achievement Team Leader

VPEducation@bushfoundation.org
Jaime Pinkham (Nez Perce) will join the Foundation in March 2009 as Vice President and Native Nation-Building Team Leader. He was twice elected to the governing body of the Nez Perce Tribe and has worked extensively with multi-tribal efforts and in nation-building.  He also has been focused on helping tribes in the Pacific Northwest manage their valued land and its natural resources. Jaime Pinkham
Vice President and Native Nation Team Building Leader

VPNativeNations@bushfoundation.org
Pamela Wheelock will join the Foundation in January 2009 as Vice President and Leadership/Community Engagement Team Leader.  Previously she held high-level positions with Minnesota Sports and Entertainment (a parent company of the Minnesota Wild hockey team) and as a public servant in Saint Paul and Minnesota government.

Pamela Wheelock
Vice President and Leadership/Community Engagement Team Leader

VPCommunity@bushfoundation.org

Kelly Kleppe became the Foundation’s first Director of Program Operations in 2008 after serving as the Foundation's Grants Manager since 2000. In this role, she works with the President, program and investment/operations team leaders and the Board to assure effective engagement, management and internal communications.

Kelly Kleppe
Director of Program Operations

kkleppe@bushfoundation.org

 
Program Staff

Nancy Fushan has been with the Bush Foundation since 2000. In 2005 she was named a senior program officer. She specializes in grantmaking that supports arts and culture.

Nancy Fushan
Senior Program Officer
nfushan@bushfoundation.org

Rudy Guglielmo, Jr. joined the Foundation in 2006 as a program officer. He’ll be focusing on grantmaking for human services and the arts; he has expertise in program development.
Rudy Guglielmo Jr.
Program Officer

rguglielmo@bushfoundation.org
June Noronha became the Foundation's first strategic planning officer in 2005 and oversees planning and activities aimed at strategic Foundation priorities. June Noronha
Strategic Planning Officer
jnoronha@bushfoundation.org

Julie Dalgleish is the director of the Bush Artist Fellows Program. In this capacity she is responsible for all operations of the program. Julie Dalgleish
Director, Artist Fellows Program
jdalgleish@bushfoundation.org
 
 
Business Services
Gregory Keane joined the Foundation in January 2007 as CFO. He has almost 30 years of financial experience, most recently as CFO for BioScrip. In addition to his CFO roles, Greg's prior experience includes public accounting, internal audit, planning and analysis, corporate controllership and business unit controllership.
Gregory Keane
Chief Financial Officer

gkeane@bushfoundation.org
John Otterlei joined the Foundation as its first Managing Director, Investments.  In that capacity, he leads the Foundation’s investment strategy efforts, and selects and monitors investment managers and advisor, in concert with the CFO and Investment Committee of the Board.  He was most recently at Piper Jaffray as Head of Mergers and Acquisitions, and as Head of the Private Capital Group. John Otterlei
Managing Director, Investments

jotterlei@bushfoundation.org
Beth Villaume became the Foundation's Controller in October 2008. In this capacity, she directs all finance and accounting activities, including reporting and analysis, audit, taxes, budgeting and general accounting. Before coming to the Foundation, she spent the bulk of her career in various financial positions at The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, beginning as an accounting assistant and ultimately serving as Vice President for Finance and Administration.

Beth Villaume
Controller

bvillaume@bushfoundation.org
Nancy Weidler is the Foundation’s senior accountant and has worked for the Foundation since 2006. In her role, she performs day-to-day accounting and payroll functions and has responsibility for the year-end audited financial statements and tax reporting.
Nancy Weidler
Senior Accountant
nweidler@bushfoundation.org


Sharon Hollingsworth (short bio)
Information Systems Administrator
shollingsworth@bushfoundation.org


Victoria Tirrel (short bio)
Communications Associate
vtirrel@bushfoundation.org

 

Administrative Staff Services

Kari Berg (short bio)
Administrative Assistant for Leadership/Community Engagement Team
kberg@bushfoundation.org

Erin Dirksen (short bio)
Grants Administrator
edirksen@bushfoundation.org
 
Freya Jacobson (short bio)
Administrative Assistant for Program and Leadership Fellowship Staff
fjacobson@bushfoundation.org
 
Dianne J. Maki (short bio)
Receptionist/Secretary
dmaki@bushfoundation.org

Deborah Novak (short bio)
Administrative Assistant, Finance Team
dnovak@bushfoundation.org
 
Connie Sangren (short bio)
Senior Administrative Assistant to the President
csangren@bushfoundation.org

Julie Sholing (short bio)
Assistant to the Bush Artist Program
jsholing@bushfoundation.org
 

Leadership Fellows Program

Martha A. Lee (short bio)
Assistant Director
mlee@bushfoundation.org
   
Freya Jacobson (short bio)
Program Assistant
fjacobson@busfoundation.org 
 

Medical Fellows Program

Michael R. Wilcox, M.D. (short bio)
Director
bushmed@bushfoundation.org

Alice Sanborn (short bio)
Assistant Director
bushmed@bushfoundation.org
 

 
General Counsel

Gray Plant Mooty

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