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WFMN Welcomes New Trustees

The Women’s Foundation of Minnesota welcomes five new trustees to its Board. Their three-year terms began on April 1, 2022.

WFMN’s President & CEO Gloria Perez shared, “WFMN’s new trustees are united in their commitment to gender and racial justice and bring unique experiences, skill sets and identities as leaders in business, community, and longtime donor- and grantee-partners from across the state. With a shared belief in the power of community solutions, the new Trustees will fuel WFMN’s investments in a Minnesota where women, girls, gender-expansive people and their families hold the power to create and lead safe, prosperous lives.”

New Trustees:

Katherine Hayes

Katherine Hayes is owner/director of HRK Group, Inc, a comprehensive wealth management business comprised of an investment partnership, a private trust company, and a private foundation. The HRK offices are in St. Paul, MN. Katherine served as the HRK Investments, LLC portfolio manager from 1998 until 2011. Katherine served as the HRK Trust Company board chair from 2015 until January of 2022.

Katherine graduated from Carleton College in 1992 with a BA in studio art and received an MBA from the University of St. Thomas in 2010. She received mediator training in 2010 and volunteered for the Conflict Resolution Center in Minneapolis from 2010-2014. Katherine started a repair business called Fixity in 2011. She has also worked as a metalsmith and jewelry designer. Katherine has served as a board member on the HRK Foundation board since 1996, Artspace Projects Board from 2002-2007 and 2011-2016, The Cowles Center for Dance and Performing Arts 2011-2016, and the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Board 2008-2012. She currently serves as treasurer for the Apostle Islands Historic Preservation Conservation Board. She lives in St. Paul with her two children, Sevona 18, and Tysen 16, and two dogs Olaf and Moe.

Ed Heisler

Ed Heisler is co-executive director, with Sarah Curtiss, of Men As Peacemakers (MAP), an organization dedicated to the primary prevention of sexual violence, domestic violence, and commercial sexual exploitation. Ed specializes in developing and implementing innovative community-driven strategies to promote equality and prevent gender-based violence. Additionally, he has 10 years’ experience as a core trainer for A CALL TO MEN, co-facilitated batterer’s intervention classes for 10 years, published research on men’s involvement in ending violence against women, is a member of the third cohort of Move to End Violence, and serves as a collaborator on a number of equity, violence prevention and transformative justice projects. Over his career, Ed has grown in his appreciation and practice of healing, reconnection to spirit, and peacemaking, and loves practicing these things with others. He is grateful for the opportunity to work with so many people committed to radical hope for a “new normal” that protects everyone’s interconnected well-being and ability to thrive.

Kris Maritz

Kris Maritz is currently a business advisor and vice president of the Board of Trustees of NextStage, a nonprofit institutional lender. She has over 30 years of experience in finance, management, and strategic and business planning for entrepreneurs. Kris specializes in loan underwriting, real estate financing and works with start-ups as well as expanding businesses. Kris’s previous experience includes the African Development Center (ADC), City of Minneapolis Community Planning & Economic Development (CPED), and Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA). She has been the owner of retail businesses and has owned and managed several commercial properties. Kris is also active in the social change/social justice community and has served on several boards of immigrant-led organizations as well as organizations dealing specifically with women’s issues and human rights. She was previously on the Board of Trustees and Board Chair for the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota. Other committees and boards of which she has been a part include Midwest Health Center for Women, Sojourner Project, Women’s Initiative for Self Empowerment, PFund, and Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus among several others. Kris holds an MBA in Finance from George Washington University and a BA in Political Science from the University of Missouri.

Dr. Rajni Shah

Dr. Rajni Shah is the head of client and clinical affairs for MyMeds, a Minnesota-based digital health company that is redefining the medication experience through real-time data exchange. She leads all engagement and partnership efforts with clients, integration partners, and research institutions. An optometrist by training, Dr. Shah previously was the regional director of eye care for Luxottica Retail, overseeing Pearle Vision’s 5-state midwest region. Prior to that, she conducted FDA and new product clinical trials at CIBA Vision in Atlanta.

Since moving to Minnesota in 2007, Rajni has been dedicated to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul community. Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors of the YMCA-Greater Twin Cities where she is a member of the Executive Committee and chairs the Equity Action and Change Committee. Recently, she helped design and launch the YMCA Equity Innovation Center, which focuses on innovative ways to change perceptions about equity and create lasting change in local and national communities.

In addition, she is a member of the Board of Governors of the Minneapolis Club where she chairs the family committee and is on the strategy committee. She is also involved with the Women’s Health Leadership Trust and serves on the board. Previously, she was a director of Marnita’s Table and Social Capital and a volunteer for ACES and MicroGrants. Rajni lives in downtown Minneapolis with her husband and 10-year old twin daughters.

Elizabeth Tolzmann

Elizabeth Tolzmann currently serves as the director of policy & planning in Ramsey County, where she leads planning and policy analysis across the organization to inform the county’s strategic priorities and supports its vision, mission, and goals. She reports directly to the county manager and serves on the county’s executive team. Prior to joining Ramsey County, she served as the assistant city manager for the City of Bloomington, where she led overall organizational management, strategic planning, employee engagement, workforce development; and community engagement in the city. She has also worked for Hennepin County as the workplace culture specialist for Public Works and for the City of Brooklyn Park as a community engagement coordinator.

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