Ross Widmoyer is the President & CEO of Faribault Mill Co. He joined VEAP’s board because he believes VEAP is an organization that makes a huge impact in our local communities, addressing the basic and immediate needs of his neighbors. Ross says that it’s important to “think globally, act locally” and VEAP does just that.
In his personal life, Ross loves spending time at his lake cabin with his wife, two elementary school aged sons and golden retriever.
If Ross were stuck on a desert island with access to one food, he says he’d pick: “Pizza… the food that works for breakfast, lunch and dinner!”
Dion Evans is a Senior Vice President, GMM of General Merchandise at BJ’s Wholesale Club. He has also served in the Active Duty Air Force and the Air National Guard. Dion was drawn to VEAP’s board as he is passionate about addressing food insecurity in our community based on the first-hand challenges he experienced while growing up. He believes VEAP does extraordinary work in this area and he enjoys supporting our efforts in making a positive impact on people’s lives.
Dion gets tremendous joy from spending time with his young children and being outside in nature, even just for a walk around one of our beautiful city lakes.
If he were stuck on a desert island with unlimited access to one food, Dion says: “I’m not a very picky eater but I think I could enjoy PB&J for a quite a long time.”
Becky Johnson works as a nonprofit financial consultant, and is the co-founder of Nonprofit Mavens. She was compelled to serve on VEAP’s board to be connected to her community and contribute to a cause that she cares about. When not working, Becky finds joy in her family, friends and nature.
If she were stuck on a desert island with one food, Becky says: “It would be yogurt (with dark chocolate, granola, and blueberries!)”
Shannon McCormick is a Senior Global Project Manager with Medtronic, and works to develop and commercialize minimally invasive solutions for people with mitral valve disease. She felt compelled to join VEAP’s board because of her personal alignment to the mission and inclusivity of our organization. She is excited to be a part of an organization that has the infrastructure and resources to provide access to food, housing, and supportive services to all.
Shannon enjoys spending time with her friends and family, including her young children. She loves spending time out in nature, especially in environments where her two dogs can be off leash and roam.
If stuck on a desert island with unlimited access to one food, Shannon says: “I would choose ice cream – not only is it delicious, but it’ll provide me the necessary fats to survive in such a barren environment!”
Brianna “Bree” Williamson works with BMO Wealth Management as a Director | Private Wealth Advisor to families and organizations. She was compelled to join VEAP’s board for the ability to serve and make a meaningful difference in our community by providing for basic needs including food and housing.
Bree’s passions include her husband and three children. She is also an avid runner.
If stuck on a desert island with just one food choice, Bree picks: yucca fries
Joe Bauer joined VEAP’s Board of Directors in May of 2022. He presently serves as the Chief Revenue Officer at Tradition Capital Bank. He was compelled to serve on VEAP’s board after seeing how affordability of food and housing has become more difficult for people. The need for an organization like VEAP who assists people with access to these essential needs continues to grow. Joe is excited to make an impact the community where he both lives and works. He enjoys building greater awareness of VEAP.
Joe finds joy in life spending time with his three boys and coaching their various sports’ teams.
Favorite food: “Raising Canes Chicken Fingers, got to have the sauce with it though!”
Jacky Erickson works as a Public Health Nurse for Bloomington Community Health. She joined VEAP’s board in May 2022, after firsthand experience referring families to VEAP for many years. She has seen the valuable and lifesaving services that VEAP provides to many through our healthy food, social services and housing support. She enjoys giving back to her community to make it a better place for everyone to thrive.
Jacky gets joy in life from watching kids learn as they discover about themselves and the world around them, especially in sports.
If she were stuck on a desert island with unlimited access to one food, Jacky would pick: Spicy Matoke and beef stew
Anne Marie Gavel is retired from United HealthGroup – Optum where she worked as Senior Vice President. She feels extremely grateful for all that she has been given in life and is a member of VEAP’s board to serve others with the hopes they too can experience joy in their lives.
Anne Marie enjoys spending time with loved ones, giving back to her community and facilitating groups to find solutions and effect change.
If given access to just one food on a desert island, Anne Marie would pick: peanut butter.
Tai Giwa works as a Property Manager for CA Ventures. She was drawn to VEAP because of our commitment to serve and uplift the community through direct services. She is looking forward to using her professional experience, expertise, and passion to serve the community.
Tai has a great love for cooking and excels at recreating recipes from scratch at home. When dining out, she can easily replicate dishes just by tasting them. She can whip up an appetizer, entree and dessert in less than an hour!
If she were stuck on a desert island with unlimited access to one food, Tai says, “How can I choose just one, so many endless choices. But if I must choose, I would pick Spicy Korean Beef Bulgogi with steamed rice.”
Molly McCormick is the Chief Operating Officer of Portico Healthnet, a Twin Cities non-profit dedicated to advancing equitable access to health coverage for all Minnesotans. She joined VEAP’s board in May of 2022. A central theme of Molly’s career is increasing access to critical services, a passion that she brings to her service on VEAP’s board. She’s inspired by the volunteer spirit that powers VEAP’s programs.
In her free time, Molly enjoys hiking, camping, and exploring – always with her pandemic puppy Hugo in tow.
If stuck on a desert island with unlimited access to one food, Molly would choose her favorite comfort food – cornbread!
Keith S. Moheban is a partner with Stinson LLP. He had been involved with his two sons in Boy Scout food drives for many years, and made an annual trip to VEAP each April to deliver the thousands of pounds of food collected by the scouts. Keith believes VEAP has a critical mission and is very effective in providing essential services to those in need. He says the work VEAP does has tangible results and is here because of tremendous effort by many people over many years, and he wants to do his part by serving on the board.
In his personal life, Keith finds joy in nature and the outdoors, as well the special people in his life.
If he were stuck on a desert island with unlimited access to one food, Keith would choose: coffee.
Lisa Oster works as a Senior Internal Communications Leader at Jack Link’s, an American snack company. She was drawn to VEAP’s mission and the specific communities we benefit which compelled her to join our board. Lisa enjoys utilizing her talents as a communications professional to support the work VEAP advances.
Lisa loves spending time with her husband and children who bring much joy to her life.
If stuck on a desert island with just one food choice, Lisa says: “There is never a day that pizza isn’t an amazing idea! I think if I were on a desert island and had pizza, it would make everything else about being on a desert island seem just a little more manageable!”
John Rimstad works for UnitedHealth Group, Population Health Solutions CFO (OptumHealth) as the Director of Finance. He serves on VEAP’s board as a way to have a direct impact in his own community. In his spare time, John enjoys fixing things that are not working properly, and bringing old items back to life.
If John were stuck on a desert island with access to one food, he says he’d choose: “Cereal and milk. Simple but hard to live without.”
Megan Rogers is an attorney with Larkin Hoffman. Prior to joining Larkin, Megan served as an assistant city attorney with the City of Bloomington. In that role she had the opportunity to work collaboratively with VEAP on housing issues and joint public health programming. Megan has seen first hand the effective services VEAP provides to those in need. The work VEAP does has a direct impact on the community and she serves on the board because she wants to be a part of that work. Megan finds joy in meeting new people and growing long standing relationships.
If she were stuck on a desert island with unlimited access to one food, Megan would chose: chocolate.
Jennifer Siedow worked as the CFO of Yale Mechanical for 17 years, before retiring in 2021. She joined VEAP’s board as a way to give back in a local organization. Jennifer’s children are older and she says she now has more time to pursue other interests. In her spare time, she enjoys golfing, reading and spending time on the river in her family’s boat.
If she were stuck on a desert island with unlimited access to one food, Jennifer would pick: “Nachos!!!”
Sarah Streitz is a Bilingual High School Math Teacher for Richfield Public Schools. She desired to serve on VEAP’s Board after seeing firsthand as an educator how many students and their families struggle with food insecurity and how this impacts their ability to engage fully at school. In the summer of 2020, Sarah started volunteering at VEAP and was impressed by our commitment to provide healthy food sources. She looks forward to using her experience living in Guatemala and working with Latinx families to continue to expand VEAP’s commitment to providing culturally- relevant food options. Additionally, she wants to find ways to better support young adults in our community who are struggling to meet their basic needs. Sarah loves working with and learning from young people; she especially enjoys watching her son and students play soccer.
Sarah’s desert island food? “Iced lattes with coconut or almond milk – I wouldn’t survive without coffee!”
