Curtis Brock brings more than 30 years of financial management and executive leadership experience to PFund. Over a long career at Alliant Techsystems, he served in numerous leadership roles, including vice president of enterprise operations, vice president of employee benefit solutions, vice president of internal audit, and director of finance. Since retiring, Curtis has become a certified financial planner. He has experience as a donor for multiple community organizations and as a board member, most recently with the African-American AIDS Task Force.
Steve Bubul is a shareholder in the Minneapolis law firm Kennedy & Graven, where he specializes in housing, redevelopment, and public finance law. He holds three degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison – including an undergraduate degree, master’s degree in urban and regional planning, and a law degree. A former board member and chair of Quatrefoil Library, Steve also served for 15 years on the board of directors for Community Shares of Minnesota, a nonprofit workplace giving organization. He is currently a member of the campaign committee for Clare Midtown, a 45-unit apartment building in Minneapolis developed by Clare Housing to serve people living with HIV/AIDS. After more than 20 years in St. Paul, he recently crossed the river to Minneapolis, where he lives with his partner Lee Lewis, and joined the PFund board in 2010.
Lois Carlson has been a friend of PFund since 1995. She has served as a board member, as co-chair for the PFund Cabaret fundraiser, as a long term donor, and as a volunteer, in multiple capacities. Currently serving as the vice president of investments at UBS Financial Services, Lois has also been a volunteer with the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus and other nonprofit organizations.
Marjorie D. Grevious is Program Director for the Amicus Radius Program for girls on probation. She earned her masters degree in Human Services/Community Counseling and Psychology from Springfield College. Marjorie has worked for over 15 years in the field of youth work focusing on at-risk youth/adolescents in crisis both here in the Twin Cities and in southern California. As a long time yoga student of over 30 years, Marjorie dedicated the first half of 2011 to living and working as a residential volunteer at the Kripalu Yoga Center in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. Upon her return she earned her certification as a yoga teacher from the Yoga Center of Minneapolis and started her own yoga teacher/spiritual life advisor business, all while caring for her Mom with cancer, parenting her 10 year old nephew and maintaining a strong 12 year marriage to her spouse, Lisa who travels extensively for business. Marjorie has served PFund as a volunteer grant reviewer for both scholarships and programs, and served on the Executive Director Search Committee.
Max Gries has a long history with PFund, from serving on grants and scholarship committees, participating in the executive director search committee, and being honored as PFund’s 2010 Power of One award winner. Max’s leadership roles and volunteer experience have touched almost every major initiative, project, or organization in the Twin Cities transgender community. A musician, Max teaches private piano lessons and serves as house manager at the University of Minnesota’s Ted Mann Concert Hall. Max’s skill sets include event planning and production, project management, and community building.
Jennifer Houston is experienced in nonprofit management, program development, and community outreach. Currently serving as a new program associate with the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, Jennifer has also worked at West Side Community Health Services and the Minnesota Asian American Health Coalition. Bilingual in English and Spanish, her work experience includes broad community development work in Minnesota, New York, and El Salvador. Jennifer is a graduate of the University of Minnesota where she received a BA with honors in Psychology and Women’s Studies. Additionally, she completed her MPA magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota, Humphrey School in nonprofit management and public policy. She also spent many summers at YMCA Camp St. Croix as a Camp Counselor and Trail Director during her college years. She is very active in the community and is on the Board of MN Asian American Health Coalition, Pro-Choice Resources and PFund. Jennifer lives in East St. Paul and enjoys outdoor activities, reading and traveling.
Jason Howard is a consultant and sales manager at a Twin Cities-based commercial printing company. He has been in the print and media industry for 17 years in production management, finance and sales roles. Jason has served on the board of his local Minneapolis neighborhood association as well as volunteering for organizations such as Minnesota AIDS Project, Project 515, Minnesota AIDS Ride and Theatre Latté Da. He volunteered on grant review and has been a member of PFund’s development committee for more than 8 years prior to joining the board in 2009. Jason grew up in a small Wisconsin/Illinois border town and earned his bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and an International Business Diploma from Handelshöjskole Syd in Sönderborg, Denmark, a Danish business school.
Ramona Kitto Statelyis an enrolled member of the Santee Sioux Nation. She is a graduate from Metro State University with a degree in Dakota Art and Culture and a minor in business. For the last seven years, she has directed the Success For the Future program within Indian Education. The purpose of this Indian Education grant is to enhance the cultural identity of the Native child and promote post secondary options. Ramona's greatest accomplishment is being the mother of two children, Jillian (16) and Reuben (13). Her greatest love is making plains style moccasins. See believes that this is not only a traditional shoe covering, but a representation of the path we choose to walk in this life. As indigenous people today, we have to walk in two worlds and be successful in both. If we use our native identity and traditional values as a foundation, we can walk forward into the future with confidence and success.
Alex Iantaffi’s doctorate work focused on the intersection of disability and gender in higher education. Alex is also a licensed family therapist; his professional experience and published work focus on human sexuality, transgender communities and LGBTQ family networks. Trilingual in Italian, English, and British Sign Language, Alex is an immigrant to the United States from Italy. He is currently Project Coordinator with the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota. His volunteer and work experience includes many years of youth work, particularly with LGBTQ youth, and activism on issues of human sexuality and HIV/AIDS.
Lindsay Kruh joined the Board in 2011 and is serving the PFund community as Board Chair and as a member of the Communications and Governance Committees. A PFund volunteer and donor for many years, he has participated in scholarship review and staffed the foundation's Pride booth. Currently a community volunteer, Lindsay spends time with the Minnesota AIDS Project and Minnesotans United for All Families, in addition to his work with PFund. A retiree from Macy’s department store (previously Dayton’s/Marshall Field’s), he spent the majority of his career in merchandising as a buyer, merchandise planner, and logistics manager. His most recent work experience has been executing special projects for Project for Pride in Living (PPL), supporting the organization's employment training effort. He received his bachelors degree from St. Olaf College and is a longtime resident of Minneapolis' Powderhorn Park neighborhood, where he enjoys flower gardening, theater, and working out at the downtown YMCA.
Dawn LaDassor, a human resources consultant for Blanchard Consulting Group, returned to PFund’s board in 2010 after having served on the board in the 1990’s. Dawn also served for several years as a volunteer on the grants and programs committee and as a member of grants and scholarships community review panels. Dawn and her partner, Michele, are committed PFund supporters because of the organization’s broad community reach and unique mission. Dawn is a licensed independent clinical social worker and, before making her career change, worked in adult mental health and Twin Cities in-patient medical settings for 14 years. Dawn received her MSW from the University of Minnesota in 1999.
Tyler Merten is a Registered Associate at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Minneapolis, where he currently works in institutional fixed income sales & trading. His other experience within the financial services industry includes equity research, wealth planning, and socially responsible investment strategies. Tyler has been a PFund volunteer since moving to the Twin Cities from Chicago in 2011; he has served on the finance and communications committees, as well as the planning committee for PFund Cabaret. Tyler became a PFund supporter because of the organization’s commitment to reducing isolation for all LGBTQ individuals, as well as its advocacy for equal participation by, and visibility of, all members within that community. Tyler grew up in rural southeastern Wisconsin and received an Honors BS in Finance and Business Economics from Marquette University. In his spare time, Tyler’s interests include running, food & wine, political discourse, and traveling with his partner Charles, who is a PFund scholarship alum.
Luciano Patiño moved to Minneapolis almost 12 years ago to study at the University of Minnesota. Before graduating in 2006, he served as a group facilitator and co-chair of the U's Queer Student Cultural Center. He helped plan several major conferences in Minneapolis, including the Midwest college conference (MBLGTACC) in 2007 and The Task Force's Creating Change conference in 2011. Luciano is a veteran of the PFund Grant Committee, having served an unofficial record 5 years in a row. He has also served as a volunteer for the PFund Cabaret. When not acting as a sidekick to some of the Twin Cities' most talented young activists, he serves as a product expert at the NorthstarMLS. He believes strongly in PFund's Vision and Mission, and is therefore honored to help see them come to fruition as a new member of the board.
Craig Peifer brings over 35 years of experience in financial services, benefits and executive leadership to PFund. Craig is a Senior Vice President of Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement & Trust where he is trustee and oversees servicing for Wells Fargo’s own benefit programs with over 300,000 participants and assets of approximately $35 billion. Craig leads a very diverse team of over 50 people in both Minneapolis, MN and Charlotte, NC and is experienced in planning and managing budgets with an annual budget of $24 million. Craig is a former member of the Wells Fargo Minnesota Diversity Council, and served as the Chair of the Diversity Council for two years. Craig grew up in small town Minnesota and majored in history and philosophy at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter. Craig spent 18 years in San Francisco, where he was a consultant with Watson Wyatt before relocating back to Minneapolis in 1994. Craig lives in Minnetonka with his partner Larry Lozano. Craig and Larry became supporters of PFund due to PFund’s focus on scholarships and leadership development for LGBT youth, PFund’s social advocacy work, and its outreach to members of the LGBT community in greater Minnesota.
Jaron Roering is a finance manager with US Bank in Minneapolis. His skills and expertise include auditing, accounting, investments and reviewing and implementing financial oversight procedures. Jaron has been a volunteer with PFund since 1998 and joined the board in 2008. He has served on the finance committee, staffed Pride booths in the Twin Cities, Duluth and Rochester, assisted with signature events and participated on the grant review committee. He led the process in selecting PFund’s auditor. After growing up in rural, central Minnesota, he became a PFund supporter due to our focus on reducing isolation, especially in rural communities. He received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Minnesota-Morris and his M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas.
Kathryn Ross has over 20 years experience working as a development professional in the nonprofit sector. She is currently employed as Associate Director of Institutional Giving at Goodwill/Easter Seals Minnesota and has worked at Open Arms of Minnesota, Rochester Art Center and Walker Art Center. Ross served on PFund’s board from 1997-2000 where she played a critical role in building the foundation’s infrastructure and fundraising capacity. She is currently the Board President of Kulture Klub Collaborative and a participant in the 2012 James P. Shannon Leadership Institute. Ross received her BA in English from Carleton College and makes her home in south Minneapolis.
Claire Wilson works in the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State as the Voter Outreach Director. Prior to working for the state, she worked in non-profits for over 15 years in positions that reflected her devotion to the arts, youth, and cross country skiing. This included time with Frank Theater, The City of Lakes Loppet, and the Loft Literary Center. Her skills include being able to build a campfire in the rain and strategically thinking about statewide campaigns to increase civic engagement in underparticipating communites. She currently serves on the Programs Committee for PFUND and has delighted in the collaborative work that transpires between the community, the board, and the staff of PFUND. She has found a home in the Powderhorn community where she currently serves on the Powderhorn Park Board of Directors.
