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.
Lupe Castillo is the first Latinato be president of PFund’s board of directors. In her 20-year career in workforce development and educational equity she has provided much needed career, educational success and multicultural services. Today, she is with the T.R.i.O Program at the University of Minnesota. Lupe’s skills include fund raising, capacity building, undoing racism initiatives and leadership development. She was a leader in PFund’s community conversations initiative, which led to the first-ever Communities of Color Endowment. Her commitment is reflected in her volunteer work, including a successful 2008 kick-off for the Racial Equity Leadership program. Her many inspirations are her partner, her family, friends, music/dancing, cultural reclamation and gardening. Lupe is passionate about social justice and intent on creating access and strengthening leadership in us all. Alicia Cordes is the communications director for the Office for Equity and Diversity at the University of Minnesota. She is passionate about social justice, and her professional endeavors and volunteer work in the community reflect this interest and commitment. Her background involves extensive work with nonprofits, foundations and governmental entities. An active community volunteer, Alicia has served on the board of directors at Casa de Esperanza and the SpectrumTrust Multicultural Endowment of The Saint Paul Foundation, and on board committees at various other nonprofits. She first became involved with PFund as a member of the governance committee before joining the board in 2009. Alicia has a bachelor’s degree from Gustavus Adolphus College and a master’s degree from Baruch College (CUNY) through the National Urban Fellows program.
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.
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 is a long-time member of the PFund community, as a donor for both general operating funds and grants and as a volunteer serving on the communications committee. Currently a community volunteer, Lindsay retired in 2008 from Macy’s department store (previously Dayton’s/Marshall Field’s), where he spent the majority of his career in merchandising as a buyer, merchandise planner, and logistics manager. His most recent experience has been working with Project for Pride in Living (PPL), supporting its employment training effort. A longtime resident of the Powderhorn Park neighborhood in Minneapolis, Lindsay enjoys flower gardening, theater, and working out at the downtown YMCA.
Dawn LaDassor returned to PFund’s board this year after having served on the board in the early ‘90s. A trailblazer and visionary, Dawn was one of the first women on our board. She and her partner, Michelle, have been committed PFund supporters ever since. Dawn says that PFund is the couple’s No. 1 nonprofit because of our broad reach and the various and unique social justice work of our grantees. Dawn is a licensed social worker and received her master’s degree in social work from the University of Minnesota in 1999. She worked as a social worker from 2000-2008, first at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota and then at University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital, Fairview. In 2008, Dawn made a career move into the world of benefits compensation and works for Blanchard Chase as a benefits analyst.
Anna Min, Assistant Director for Philanthropy at Macalester College's Annual Fund, has been an energetic leader in the Twin Cities’ LGBT community for almost a decade. A Macalester College alum with a BA in Economics and Statistics, Anna recalls how important receiving a PFund scholarship was in "starting off college on the right foot". Anna joined the PFund board in 2010 with 5 years of service on the Communications Committee and currently serves as its chair. Also a member of the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota’s Social Change Fund Committee, Anna had recently completed two years of board service with the Rainbow Health Initiative. Professionally, Anna has worked with Wells Fargo Private Banking, its Wealth Management Group, and ROR Tax Professionals. Anna's spare time life is spent on photography, reading, eating, and conversing about solutions to social issues.
Diane Napper owns and operates Taurus Moon Graphic Design, LLC, a freelance graphic design business. She has been in the graphic design industry for 15 years and has worked for American Express Financial Advisors, ING ReliaStar and Starkey Laboratories. In 2003, she joined PFund on the communications committee, creating newsletters, brochures, event programs and other materials. She joined the board in 2006 and is currently the chair of the communications committee. She has also staffed Pride booths in the Twin Cities and Mankato. Diane grew up in Philadelphia, Pa., and earned her bachelor’s degree in International Business from American University in Washington, D.C. She is married and lives in Minneapolis.
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.
Bill Venne is chief development officer for the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. He is an active community volunteer and has served on the boards of Theater Latte Da and Project 515 Education Campaign. In addition, he is a regular evaluator for the Ivey Awards and the Minnesota State Arts Board. He is a past treasurer of the Twin Cities Gay Softball League. Bill served on PFund’s arts and culture grant making subcommittee before joining the board in 2007; he currently serves as vice chair and secretary. A native of Hibbing, Bill earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of St. Thomas.
