Jennifer Lindberg is the State Exercise Officer at Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management. She has worked at HSEM since 2013, and prior to that was a Deputy State Fire Marshal in South Dakota, and a firefighter/EMT for the City of Minneapolis. Jennifer has completed the Master Exercise Practitioner Program MEP at FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute and is a graduate of the U of M Twin Cities.

Alexandra Waterman is the Medical Surge Coordinator in the Center for Preparedness and Response at the Minnesota Department of Health. She is the overall project manager for Minnesota's Crisis Standards of Care (CSC) Planning Project. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Maryland Baltimore, Alex has worked in scarce resource situations abroad in Haiti, after the 2010 earthquake and in Rwanda as a nurse educator. She was also a member of an NDMS response team for five years. While receiving her Master of Public Health at the George Washington University, Alex volunteered in Disaster Services at the American Red Cross headquarters in Washington, D.C. and completed her thesis work, a retrospective review of the Haiti response, with HHS/ASPR which was published in 2014 in PLOS Current Disasters

Jennifer Lindberg is the State Exercise Officer at Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management. She has worked at HSEM since 2013, and prior to that was a Deputy State Fire Marshal in South Dakota, and a firefighter/EMT for the City of Minneapolis. Jennifer has completed the Master Exercise Practitioner Program MEP at FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute and is a graduate of the U of M Twin Cities.

Jennifer Lindberg is the State Exercise Officer at Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management. She has worked at HSEM since 2013, and prior to that was a Deputy State Fire Marshal in South Dakota, and a firefighter/EMT for the City of Minneapolis. Jennifer has completed the Master Exercise Practitioner Program MEP at FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute and is a graduate of the U of M Twin Cities.

Blain Johnson Paramount Planning Blain Johnson is the owner of Paramount Planning, an emergency management consulting business started in 2015. He currently serves as the Lac qui Parle County Emergency Management Director and works with the Arrowhead Region Emergency Management Association (AREMA) in Northeast MN and other clients on selected Homeland Security projects. Blain formerly interned in the U.S. Senate, and holds a B.S. in Emergency Management from NDSU and an M.S. in Biodefense from George Mason University. He is also the current President of the Emerging Professionals Group under AMEM’s Professional Development Committee.

Kelli Matzek is the current Emergency Management Deputy Director for Washington County, MN. She has been with Washington County Emergency Management for 10 years. Prior to that, she was a City Planner for the cities of Lake Elmo and Minnetrista, Minnesota. She has a Master of Urban and Regional Planning Degree from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities and a B.A. Degree in Geography from Gustavus Adolphus College. In addition to being the current President of AMEM, she also volunteers on a donut making team at her church and drives her three kids – 14, 12, and 10 – to their various sporting and concert events.

Dr. Amy Kircher is the Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives in the Office of the Vice President for Research and Co-Director of the Strategic Partnerships and Research Collaborative (SPARC). Prior to coming to the University, Dr. Kircher was an epidemiologist with the U.S. Department of Defense where she led disease surveillance, epidemiologic modeling, bioterrorism preparedness, and served as a public health expert. Dr. Kircher has an extensive background in Homeland Security Defense, supporting operations and response during national disasters. Dr. Kircher has partnered with international universities, foreign governments, UN agencies, USG agencies, and NGOs on preparedness, response, global health projects, and food defense. Her current research portfolio includes identification and warning of system disruption through data fusion and analysis; supply chain characterization and assessment; and disaster preparedness. Dr. Kircher completed her Doctorate in Public Health at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.

John Harrington, MN Commissioner of Public Safety Prior to his appointment, Harrington served as the Metro Transit Chief of Police for the Twin Cities area, overseeing significant growth of the agency and increasing diversity of the department from 5 to 50 percent. In 1977, Harrington began at the St. Paul Police Department as a patrol officer, working his way up the chain of command. He was selected chief of police in 2004 and served in that role until 2010. As chief, he addressed some of St. Paul’s most difficult problems. This resulted in numerous successes, including the development of innovative programs that have greatly reduced domestic violence and gang involvement. He served as a Minnesota state senator from the east side of St. Paul from 2010 to 2012. Harrington has been on the faculty at Metropolitan State University, Saint Mary’s University, and the University of St. Thomas, where he has taught Leadership, Demographics, Community Oriented Policing, and Gangs. Harrington is a founding member of the Asian-American and black police officer associations. He helped launch and currently chairs the board at Ujamaa Place, a non-profit agency that works with African-American men to transition them out of prison and gangs to become productive community members. Harrington was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He received his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth University and master’s degree from the University of St. Thomas. He is the father of five adult children and has 16 grandchildren, and currently resides in the Twin Cities.

Joe Kelly was named as the director of HSEM in January 2015. He has the overall responsibility to ensure coordination of state agency preparedness and emergency response to all types of natural and other emergencies and disasters in Minnesota. A native of Olivia, Minn., Joe served previously as the HSEM deputy director for the past four years. Before joining HSEM, he served 31 years in the United States Army and Minnesota National Guard and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He achieved the rank of Brigadier General and his last military assignment was as the Assistant Adjutant General for the state of Minnesota. Joe was involved in planning, coordinating, and executing military operations in support of civil authorities for more than 17 years, including serving as the joint military task force commander during the 2008 Republican National Convention. He holds a bachelor's degree from Saint John’s University, a master’s degree from the United States Army War College and is a Minnesota certified emergency manager.

The Professional Development Committee is a group of emergency management professionals that work to further the development of those in the field specifically through training and exercise opportunities. The committee has hosted training opportunities in regions one and five focusing on gaps addressed through strategic planning initiatives.

Kristen Tschida - Professional Develop Committee Chair. The Professional Development Committee is a group of emergency management professionals that work to further the development of those in the field specifically through training and exercise opportunities. The committee has hosted training opportunities in regions one and five focusing on gaps addressed through strategic planning initiatives. Kristen Tschida has been an Emergency Management Specialist with Stearns County since 2013. She is currently Chair of the Professional Development Committee, which also oversees the Emerging Professionals Group. Kristen has been actively involved with AMEM for the past five years and has also served as Vice Chair of the Central MN Emergency Management Advisory Committee (CM EMAC) as well as Chair of the Training and Exercise Committee for CM EMAC. Kristen is a graduate of the College of Saint Benedict with a degree in Business Management.

Inv. Kleffman has been in law enforcement for over 22 years. He started his law enforcement career as a Police Officer in Puyallup Washington where he worked for 11 years. While serving in Puyallup he was selected for various assignments to include patrol, problem-oriented police officer (POP), Major Crimes Investigator, Acting Investigations Sergeant, Pierce County Crime Response Unit, Field Training Officer and Patrol Sergeant as well as volunteering his time fundraising and supporting Washington Special Olympics athletes. Investigator Kleffman moved back to MN in 2011 and has worked for St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office for the past 10 years. Investigator Kleffman has served the roles of Patrol Deputy, Transport Deputy, Background Investigator, Lake Superior Forensic Technology, and Internet Crimes against Children Task Force Investigator and the Criminal Investigations Division. Investigator Kleffman also serves on the Emergency Response Team (ERT) as a Crisis Negotiator and ICOR robot operator as well as an investigator on the Lake Superior Child Abduction Response Team. Investigator Kleffman also supports and fundraises for Minnesota Special Olympics. Investigator Kleffman received his Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Biology and Fisheries at the University of North Dakota and completed his law enforcement training at the Washington State Criminal Justice Academy.

Sgt. Eric Sathers has been with the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office for over 17 years. He currently supervises the criminal investigations division in the Duluth office. In addition, Sgt. Sathers is also the negotiations coordinator of the Emergency Response Team and coordinator of the Lake Superior Child Abduction Response Team (CART). During his career with the Sheriff’s Office, Sgt. Sathers has worked a wide variety of positions, including patrol, background investigations, general investigator, ICAC investigator and peer support team member. Sgt. Sathers earned his bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of Minnesota Duluth and his skills certificate from the Fond Du Lac Tribal and Community College. In 2021, Sgt. Sathers graduated from the Command and Staff Leadership program of the National Command and Staff College.

Lucy has over 20 years of experience in Emergency Management. Having started out as a volunteer with the American Red Cross doing anything and everything that needed doing, she was hired by the Dallas Chapter as a Bilingual Client Casework Manager in 2004. During Hurricane Katrina, she managed chapter operations singlehandedly and then was assigned to manage the Data Center for Client Casework. Because of her outstanding work, she was picked for a special project by National Headquarters as part of the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Act. After moving to the Twin Cities, she continued to work for both National and the Twin Cities Chapter in various capacities. She then moved to State government in 2008 as a “Terrorism Response Planner” aka the UASI coordinator for HSEM. As the UASI coordinator, she coordinated the Urban Area Securities Initiative grants along with the Non-profit and Transit Security grants. She brought structure and spreadsheets to the young grant program. While there she received the Chief’s Award of Merit from Metro Transit for her grant work. Due to her former experience with Red Cross, she was assigned additional duties as a Disaster Assessment liaison with FEMA and SBA looking at the disaster damages throughout the State when needed. In 2012, looking for more EM related duties, she went from State government to City government with the City of Saint Paul as an Emergency Management Coordinator focusing on grants and as a Mass Care liaison. Lucy served as the EOC manager during multiple flood events, windstorms and civil disturbances. In 2014, she led the disaster response and recovery efforts to, at the time, the 7th highest crest of the mighty Mississippi River in Saint Paul. At the City she has worked on various projects including climate resiliency, EMAP certification, EOC renovations and responded to Hurricane Sandy with the Red Cross. She served as Interim Director for 13 months. In total she has responded to over 2 dozen Presidential declarations in 14 different states. In her spare time, she enjoys making cards in the winters and can be found riding around Minnesota/Wisconsin on her Harley once the salt has left the roads. She is a Motorcycle Riding Instructor for the State and teaches the basic and intermediate courses in the Metro.

Dewey Johnson is the Emergency Operations Manager for St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office. Dewey has been in Emergency Management for almost 7 years. Prior to Emergency Management he spent 13 years as a 9-1-1 dispatcher and 7 as a 9-1-1 supervisor. He also has a background in Fire/EMS and was a paramedic. Dewey is involved with his regional Emergency Management Association and is past president of AMEM.

Jody Beauchane is the Emergency Manager, Evidence Technician and a UAS drone pilot for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Jody started working for Polk County in 2001 as an Engineering Technician and Bridge Construction Inspector for the Highway Department. From there he took the position as the Polk County Ag and Drainage Inspector. In 2013 he was appointed as the Polk County Emergency Manager.

A graduate from the Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison in 1987, Todd worked at the WI State Climatologist office and Weather Central, Inc., a private weather firm, before joining the National Weather Service in 1988. After stations in Midland, TX and St. Louis, MO, Todd became the Warning Coordination Meteorologist in La Crosse, WI in 1995 and remained in that role until December 2021 when he was named Meteorologist-in-Charge of the office. He has given presentations at American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association conferences, Governor's conferences in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and at hundreds of spotter and safety training sessions through the years. He has also performed many damage surveys and conducted operationally based research from time to time.

Amy Card joined the Northwest Health Services Coalition in 2017 as the Lead Regional Healthcare Preparedness Coordinator. In this position she provides emergency preparedness planning, training and exercise opportunities for over 200 facilities, agencies and departments. Prior to this position, she was well known in the field of emergency management as a HSEM Regional Coordinator for over 17 years and a local emergency manager for 8 years. Some of her duties include assisting local agencies in major emergencies and assisting counties, cities, response agencies and private facilities in preparing emergency response plans that not only meet local, state and federal requirements, but also are functional. During her career, she has deployed to over 30 disasters throughout the State. Amy earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education, Health, Physical Education and her Coaching Certification from Mankato State University. She also became a State and Federal Certified Emergency Manager in 1997 and earned the Certified Emergency Manager designation from the International Association of Emergency Managers in 2014.

Kris’ educational background consists of a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and a Master’s degree in Public Health with an emphasis in Epidemiology. She is certified in Emergency Management and Business Continuity. Kris has spent her professional career working in the healthcare industry and has been leading emergency management programs since 2006. She has also served in leadership roles in the regional health and medical coalition and been activated for large scale events. In addition to leading emergency management programs, Kris has developed, implemented and led system-wide business continuity programs for healthcare organizations. Kris’ role in emergency management in a level 1 trauma center and a large statewide healthcare system required in-depth knowledge of all-hazards emergency operations planning and ICS, HICS, and NIMS concepts and frameworks, as well as integration of healthcare response plans with local, state, and federal response agencies and regional healthcare coalitions. Kris is currently serving as an Emergency Management and Business Continuity consultant for the COVID-19 response and is an instructor for FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness. Kris has responded to several hospital and regional/state incidents that include highly infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics, tornado touchdowns, supply chain disruption, work stoppage, and utility failures, as well as large scale, multi-jurisdictional events such as COVID-19 pandemic, bridge collapse, NFL Championship, and NCAA Final Four. For these incidents, Kris served as incident commander or on the incident command team for the healthcare system, the regional health and medical coalition incident management team, and the local emergency operations center. In addition, Kris has served on the Health Emergency Response Office team at the University of Minnesota during the COVID -19 pandemic.

Erin McLachlan has worked in public health emergency preparedness for several years and is currently the Health Care Preparedness Program Manager at the Minnesota Department of Health. She supervises programs and staff in areas of health care preparedness and medical surge. Prior to working for MDH, Erin’s experience includes business continuity and crisis management for NBCU, the New York City Emergency Management Department, and the NYC Medical Examiner’s office. Erin’s last role in NYC was the Executive Director of the Regional Catastrophic Planning Team preparing for catastrophic disasters in NY, NJ, CT, and PA. In 2011, Erin took a break from local disasters and worked in South Sudan with Doctors Without Borders.

The Professional Development Committee is a group of emergency management professionals that work to further the development of those in the field specifically through training and exercise opportunities. The committee has hosted training opportunities in regions one and five focusing on gaps addressed through strategic planning initiatives.

Kristen Tschida - Professional Develop Committee Chair. The Professional Development Committee is a group of emergency management professionals that work to further the development of those in the field specifically through training and exercise opportunities. The committee has hosted training opportunities in regions one and five focusing on gaps addressed through strategic planning initiatives. Kristen Tschida has been an Emergency Management Specialist with Stearns County since 2013. She is currently Chair of the Professional Development Committee, which also oversees the Emerging Professionals Group. Kristen has been actively involved with AMEM for the past five years and has also served as Vice Chair of the Central MN Emergency Management Advisory Committee (CM EMAC) as well as Chair of the Training and Exercise Committee for CM EMAC. Kristen is a graduate of the College of Saint Benedict with a degree in Business Management.

Inv. Kleffman has been in law enforcement for over 22 years. He started his law enforcement career as a Police Officer in Puyallup Washington where he worked for 11 years. While serving in Puyallup he was selected for various assignments to include patrol, problem-oriented police officer (POP), Major Crimes Investigator, Acting Investigations Sergeant, Pierce County Crime Response Unit, Field Training Officer and Patrol Sergeant as well as volunteering his time fundraising and supporting Washington Special Olympics athletes. Investigator Kleffman moved back to MN in 2011 and has worked for St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office for the past 10 years. Investigator Kleffman has served the roles of Patrol Deputy, Transport Deputy, Background Investigator, Lake Superior Forensic Technology, and Internet Crimes against Children Task Force Investigator and the Criminal Investigations Division. Investigator Kleffman also serves on the Emergency Response Team (ERT) as a Crisis Negotiator and ICOR robot operator as well as an investigator on the Lake Superior Child Abduction Response Team. Investigator Kleffman also supports and fundraises for Minnesota Special Olympics. Investigator Kleffman received his Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Biology and Fisheries at the University of North Dakota and completed his law enforcement training at the Washington State Criminal Justice Academy.

Sgt. Eric Sathers has been with the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office for over 17 years. He currently supervises the criminal investigations division in the Duluth office. In addition, Sgt. Sathers is also the negotiations coordinator of the Emergency Response Team and coordinator of the Lake Superior Child Abduction Response Team (CART). During his career with the Sheriff’s Office, Sgt. Sathers has worked a wide variety of positions, including patrol, background investigations, general investigator, ICAC investigator and peer support team member. Sgt. Sathers earned his bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of Minnesota Duluth and his skills certificate from the Fond Du Lac Tribal and Community College. In 2021, Sgt. Sathers graduated from the Command and Staff Leadership program of the National Command and Staff College.

Lucy has over 20 years of experience in Emergency Management. Having started out as a volunteer with the American Red Cross doing anything and everything that needed doing, she was hired by the Dallas Chapter as a Bilingual Client Casework Manager in 2004. During Hurricane Katrina, she managed chapter operations singlehandedly and then was assigned to manage the Data Center for Client Casework. Because of her outstanding work, she was picked for a special project by National Headquarters as part of the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Act. After moving to the Twin Cities, she continued to work for both National and the Twin Cities Chapter in various capacities. She then moved to State government in 2008 as a “Terrorism Response Planner” aka the UASI coordinator for HSEM. As the UASI coordinator, she coordinated the Urban Area Securities Initiative grants along with the Non-profit and Transit Security grants. She brought structure and spreadsheets to the young grant program. While there she received the Chief’s Award of Merit from Metro Transit for her grant work. Due to her former experience with Red Cross, she was assigned additional duties as a Disaster Assessment liaison with FEMA and SBA looking at the disaster damages throughout the State when needed. In 2012, looking for more EM related duties, she went from State government to City government with the City of Saint Paul as an Emergency Management Coordinator focusing on grants and as a Mass Care liaison. Lucy served as the EOC manager during multiple flood events, windstorms and civil disturbances. In 2014, she led the disaster response and recovery efforts to, at the time, the 7th highest crest of the mighty Mississippi River in Saint Paul. At the City she has worked on various projects including climate resiliency, EMAP certification, EOC renovations and responded to Hurricane Sandy with the Red Cross. She served as Interim Director for 13 months. In total she has responded to over 2 dozen Presidential declarations in 14 different states. In her spare time, she enjoys making cards in the winters and can be found riding around Minnesota/Wisconsin on her Harley once the salt has left the roads. She is a Motorcycle Riding Instructor for the State and teaches the basic and intermediate courses in the Metro.

Jody Beauchane is the Emergency Manager, Evidence Technician and a UAS drone pilot for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Jody started working for Polk County in 2001 as an Engineering Technician and Bridge Construction Inspector for the Highway Department. From there he took the position as the Polk County Ag and Drainage Inspector. In 2013 he was appointed as the Polk County Emergency Manager.

Dewey Johnson is the Emergency Operations Manager for St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office. Dewey has been in Emergency Management for almost 7 years. Prior to Emergency Management he spent 13 years as a 9-1-1 dispatcher and 7 as a 9-1-1 supervisor. He also has a background in Fire/EMS and was a paramedic. Dewey is involved with his regional Emergency Management Association and is past president of AMEM.

A graduate from the Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison in 1987, Todd worked at the WI State Climatologist office and Weather Central, Inc., a private weather firm, before joining the National Weather Service in 1988. After stations in Midland, TX and St. Louis, MO, Todd became the Warning Coordination Meteorologist in La Crosse, WI in 1995 and remained in that role until December 2021 when he was named Meteorologist-in-Charge of the office. He has given presentations at American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association conferences, Governor's conferences in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and at hundreds of spotter and safety training sessions through the years. He has also performed many damage surveys and conducted operationally based research from time to time.

Kris’ educational background consists of a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and a Master’s degree in Public Health with an emphasis in Epidemiology. She is certified in Emergency Management and Business Continuity. Kris has spent her professional career working in the healthcare industry and has been leading emergency management programs since 2006. She has also served in leadership roles in the regional health and medical coalition and been activated for large scale events. In addition to leading emergency management programs, Kris has developed, implemented and led system-wide business continuity programs for healthcare organizations. Kris’ role in emergency management in a level 1 trauma center and a large statewide healthcare system required in-depth knowledge of all-hazards emergency operations planning and ICS, HICS, and NIMS concepts and frameworks, as well as integration of healthcare response plans with local, state, and federal response agencies and regional healthcare coalitions. Kris is currently serving as an Emergency Management and Business Continuity consultant for the COVID-19 response and is an instructor for FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness. Kris has responded to several hospital and regional/state incidents that include highly infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics, tornado touchdowns, supply chain disruption, work stoppage, and utility failures, as well as large scale, multi-jurisdictional events such as COVID-19 pandemic, bridge collapse, NFL Championship, and NCAA Final Four. For these incidents, Kris served as incident commander or on the incident command team for the healthcare system, the regional health and medical coalition incident management team, and the local emergency operations center. In addition, Kris has served on the Health Emergency Response Office team at the University of Minnesota during the COVID -19 pandemic.

Amy Card joined the Northwest Health Services Coalition in 2017 as the Lead Regional Healthcare Preparedness Coordinator. In this position she provides emergency preparedness planning, training and exercise opportunities for over 200 facilities, agencies and departments. Prior to this position, she was well known in the field of emergency management as a HSEM Regional Coordinator for over 17 years and a local emergency manager for 8 years. Some of her duties include assisting local agencies in major emergencies and assisting counties, cities, response agencies and private facilities in preparing emergency response plans that not only meet local, state and federal requirements, but also are functional. During her career, she has deployed to over 30 disasters throughout the State. Amy earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education, Health, Physical Education and her Coaching Certification from Mankato State University. She also became a State and Federal Certified Emergency Manager in 1997 and earned the Certified Emergency Manager designation from the International Association of Emergency Managers in 2014.

Erin McLachlan has worked in public health emergency preparedness for several years and is currently the Health Care Preparedness Program Manager at the Minnesota Department of Health. She supervises programs and staff in areas of health care preparedness and medical surge. Prior to working for MDH, Erin’s experience includes business continuity and crisis management for NBCU, the New York City Emergency Management Department, and the NYC Medical Examiner’s office. Erin’s last role in NYC was the Executive Director of the Regional Catastrophic Planning Team preparing for catastrophic disasters in NY, NJ, CT, and PA. In 2011, Erin took a break from local disasters and worked in South Sudan with Doctors Without Borders.

The Professional Development Committee is a group of emergency management professionals that work to further the development of those in the field specifically through training and exercise opportunities. The committee has hosted training opportunities in regions one and five focusing on gaps addressed through strategic planning initiatives.

Kristen Tschida - Professional Develop Committee Chair. The Professional Development Committee is a group of emergency management professionals that work to further the development of those in the field specifically through training and exercise opportunities. The committee has hosted training opportunities in regions one and five focusing on gaps addressed through strategic planning initiatives. Kristen Tschida has been an Emergency Management Specialist with Stearns County since 2013. She is currently Chair of the Professional Development Committee, which also oversees the Emerging Professionals Group. Kristen has been actively involved with AMEM for the past five years and has also served as Vice Chair of the Central MN Emergency Management Advisory Committee (CM EMAC) as well as Chair of the Training and Exercise Committee for CM EMAC. Kristen is a graduate of the College of Saint Benedict with a degree in Business Management.

Inv. Kleffman has been in law enforcement for over 22 years. He started his law enforcement career as a Police Officer in Puyallup Washington where he worked for 11 years. While serving in Puyallup he was selected for various assignments to include patrol, problem-oriented police officer (POP), Major Crimes Investigator, Acting Investigations Sergeant, Pierce County Crime Response Unit, Field Training Officer and Patrol Sergeant as well as volunteering his time fundraising and supporting Washington Special Olympics athletes. Investigator Kleffman moved back to MN in 2011 and has worked for St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office for the past 10 years. Investigator Kleffman has served the roles of Patrol Deputy, Transport Deputy, Background Investigator, Lake Superior Forensic Technology, and Internet Crimes against Children Task Force Investigator and the Criminal Investigations Division. Investigator Kleffman also serves on the Emergency Response Team (ERT) as a Crisis Negotiator and ICOR robot operator as well as an investigator on the Lake Superior Child Abduction Response Team. Investigator Kleffman also supports and fundraises for Minnesota Special Olympics. Investigator Kleffman received his Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Biology and Fisheries at the University of North Dakota and completed his law enforcement training at the Washington State Criminal Justice Academy.

Sgt. Eric Sathers has been with the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office for over 17 years. He currently supervises the criminal investigations division in the Duluth office. In addition, Sgt. Sathers is also the negotiations coordinator of the Emergency Response Team and coordinator of the Lake Superior Child Abduction Response Team (CART). During his career with the Sheriff’s Office, Sgt. Sathers has worked a wide variety of positions, including patrol, background investigations, general investigator, ICAC investigator and peer support team member. Sgt. Sathers earned his bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of Minnesota Duluth and his skills certificate from the Fond Du Lac Tribal and Community College. In 2021, Sgt. Sathers graduated from the Command and Staff Leadership program of the National Command and Staff College.

Lucy has over 20 years of experience in Emergency Management. Having started out as a volunteer with the American Red Cross doing anything and everything that needed doing, she was hired by the Dallas Chapter as a Bilingual Client Casework Manager in 2004. During Hurricane Katrina, she managed chapter operations singlehandedly and then was assigned to manage the Data Center for Client Casework. Because of her outstanding work, she was picked for a special project by National Headquarters as part of the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Act. After moving to the Twin Cities, she continued to work for both National and the Twin Cities Chapter in various capacities. She then moved to State government in 2008 as a “Terrorism Response Planner” aka the UASI coordinator for HSEM. As the UASI coordinator, she coordinated the Urban Area Securities Initiative grants along with the Non-profit and Transit Security grants. She brought structure and spreadsheets to the young grant program. While there she received the Chief’s Award of Merit from Metro Transit for her grant work. Due to her former experience with Red Cross, she was assigned additional duties as a Disaster Assessment liaison with FEMA and SBA looking at the disaster damages throughout the State when needed. In 2012, looking for more EM related duties, she went from State government to City government with the City of Saint Paul as an Emergency Management Coordinator focusing on grants and as a Mass Care liaison. Lucy served as the EOC manager during multiple flood events, windstorms and civil disturbances. In 2014, she led the disaster response and recovery efforts to, at the time, the 7th highest crest of the mighty Mississippi River in Saint Paul. At the City she has worked on various projects including climate resiliency, EMAP certification, EOC renovations and responded to Hurricane Sandy with the Red Cross. She served as Interim Director for 13 months. In total she has responded to over 2 dozen Presidential declarations in 14 different states. In her spare time, she enjoys making cards in the winters and can be found riding around Minnesota/Wisconsin on her Harley once the salt has left the roads. She is a Motorcycle Riding Instructor for the State and teaches the basic and intermediate courses in the Metro.

Jody Beauchane is the Emergency Manager, Evidence Technician and a UAS drone pilot for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Jody started working for Polk County in 2001 as an Engineering Technician and Bridge Construction Inspector for the Highway Department. From there he took the position as the Polk County Ag and Drainage Inspector. In 2013 he was appointed as the Polk County Emergency Manager.

Dewey Johnson is the Emergency Operations Manager for St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office. Dewey has been in Emergency Management for almost 7 years. Prior to Emergency Management he spent 13 years as a 9-1-1 dispatcher and 7 as a 9-1-1 supervisor. He also has a background in Fire/EMS and was a paramedic. Dewey is involved with his regional Emergency Management Association and is past president of AMEM.

A graduate from the Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison in 1987, Todd worked at the WI State Climatologist office and Weather Central, Inc., a private weather firm, before joining the National Weather Service in 1988. After stations in Midland, TX and St. Louis, MO, Todd became the Warning Coordination Meteorologist in La Crosse, WI in 1995 and remained in that role until December 2021 when he was named Meteorologist-in-Charge of the office. He has given presentations at American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association conferences, Governor's conferences in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and at hundreds of spotter and safety training sessions through the years. He has also performed many damage surveys and conducted operationally based research from time to time.

Kris’ educational background consists of a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and a Master’s degree in Public Health with an emphasis in Epidemiology. She is certified in Emergency Management and Business Continuity. Kris has spent her professional career working in the healthcare industry and has been leading emergency management programs since 2006. She has also served in leadership roles in the regional health and medical coalition and been activated for large scale events. In addition to leading emergency management programs, Kris has developed, implemented and led system-wide business continuity programs for healthcare organizations. Kris’ role in emergency management in a level 1 trauma center and a large statewide healthcare system required in-depth knowledge of all-hazards emergency operations planning and ICS, HICS, and NIMS concepts and frameworks, as well as integration of healthcare response plans with local, state, and federal response agencies and regional healthcare coalitions. Kris is currently serving as an Emergency Management and Business Continuity consultant for the COVID-19 response and is an instructor for FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness. Kris has responded to several hospital and regional/state incidents that include highly infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics, tornado touchdowns, supply chain disruption, work stoppage, and utility failures, as well as large scale, multi-jurisdictional events such as COVID-19 pandemic, bridge collapse, NFL Championship, and NCAA Final Four. For these incidents, Kris served as incident commander or on the incident command team for the healthcare system, the regional health and medical coalition incident management team, and the local emergency operations center. In addition, Kris has served on the Health Emergency Response Office team at the University of Minnesota during the COVID -19 pandemic.

Amy Card joined the Northwest Health Services Coalition in 2017 as the Lead Regional Healthcare Preparedness Coordinator. In this position she provides emergency preparedness planning, training and exercise opportunities for over 200 facilities, agencies and departments. Prior to this position, she was well known in the field of emergency management as a HSEM Regional Coordinator for over 17 years and a local emergency manager for 8 years. Some of her duties include assisting local agencies in major emergen