Speakers

Amanda Ottman is the Global Connections Officer for American Refugee Committee. She has worked in international organizations and non-profits in the US, Latin American, and Europe. Ottman has a B.A. from the University of Minnesota in Global Studies and a M.A. from the Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She began her Rotary journey as a Rotary Youth Exchange Student to Argentina in 2000. In 2011-12, Amanda served as a Rotary World Peace Fellow, completing her Master’s studies in International Relations at the Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, Argentina and interning with Save the Children in Spain. Amanda is a member of the Eden Prairie Noon Rotary.

Jaime Belden is from Robbinsdale, Minnesota but starting at a young age has pursued every opportunity possible to travel internationally. Her passion for understanding other cultures led her to Hamline University where she earned a BA in Global Studies, minoring in Political Science and Spanish. She became highly experienced in teaching the fundamental skills necessary to read in Spanish while working with the underprivileged, malnourished, and neglected students in the Twin Cities. Jaime currently dedicates herself to improving the education system in Nicaragua by providing teacher trainings focusing on literacy, creativity, and music.

Ron is a City Attorney at the Minneapolis City Attorney’s Office, where he specializes in litigation as a criminal prosecutor and in information privacy as the city data privacy liaison. As an on-call fire fighter for Golden Valley, Ron serves residents and businesses as an emergency responder to fire and medical events. Ron is also a Planning Commissioner for the City of Golden Valley where he regularly reviews and recommends action to the Golden Valley City Council on proposed land use. As a Branch Manager at Tree Trust he promotes, attends, and leads groups in community tree plantings and subsidized tree promotions across Hennepin County. Being active in the community has always been very important to Ron. Ron’s civic, community, and professional leadership activities have been varied and extensive, including serving as a board member and participant in his local Boys and Girls Club, county domestic violence taskforce, county young professionals organization, local food shelf, and organizations promoting alternatives to incarceration and youth substance abuse prevention. Ron now serves Golden Valley neighbors as a board member of the Golden Valley Community Foundation, but you will also see him as a grass roots volunteer at various events that GVCF sponsors each year. Ron Blum and his wife Susan fell in love with Golden Valley when they decided to raise their family here in 2013. Ron enjoys taking advantage of all that Golden Valley has to offer, from the parks and trails to local neighborhood events, and is finding it a wonderful place for his son, Ari.

Rediscovering U was founded by Barb Greenberg, a divorce transition expert who excels in educating, empowering and inspiring women to move through divorce and into a new life. After reeling from her own divorce, Barb created a compassionate approach to provide education and guidance to help women thrive. She is living proof that there is hope in the most difficult of situations and they often serves as opportunities to reclaim your life.

Barb has written two books: “Hope Grew Round Me” and “After the Ball: A Woman’s Tale of Reclaiming Happily Ever After.” She is also a sought-after speaker on hope, change and finding the sweetness in difficult life transitions.

A true Renaissance attorney, Barbara J. Gislason has a diverse range of talents and interests, and is considered a pioneer in several legal areas. She enjoys a strong track record of success. A trusted advocate for her clients, Barbara is committed to achieving optimal results in every case. Known for being both a skilled negotiator and tenacious litigator, Barbara does not shy away from the courtroom when her clients' best interests are most effectively pursued at trial. Barbara has been named a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. She was also chosen by Mpls St. Paul Magazine as one of the top 50 Women Lawyers in Minnesota. Additionally, Barbara was included on the Minnesota Super Lawyers list, a distinction enjoyed by only 5 percent of lawyers in the state.

Rotary members will gather for a service project: a backpack assembly for The Bridge for Youth. Backpacks will be filled with school supplies and then given to The Bridge for Youth for distribution.

National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Minnesota State Director Mike Hickey is a lobbyist who has represented NFIB for many years and has worked with several different governors and their administrations. NFIB/Minnesota lobbies tenaciously at the capitol and is also active with the press. Hickey's work with NFIB includes the landmark workers' compensation reform of 1995 that may have reduced workers' compensation premiums for small business more dramatically than any other in the history of our country, with some businesses receiving net 75 percent premium reductions. Other recent work includes lobbying for the state's largest tax cut and a land rights case, banning amortization. NFIB is the only group that solely represents small business in Minnesota and does not need to juggle the interests of corporate America along with those of small business.

Amanda LaGrange is the CEO of Tech Dump and Tech Discounts, the linked e-waste recycling, refurbishing, and retail social enterprise that creates jobs for people with barriers to employment. Amanda helped to found Tech Dump as a board member in 2010 while she worked at General Mills in Corporate Finance. Grounded in her belief that business can be a solution for poverty and injustice, she joined the Tech Dump leadership team as the Director of Marketing in 2013 and created awareness that drove double digit annual growth and established Tech Dump as an award-winning top electronics recycler in Minnesota and a leader nationwide in its commitment to the environment and job creation. When she became CEO in 2015, Amanda operationalized a strategy to increase revenue that included portable cell-phone collection bins, the successful launch of the retail brand Tech Discounts and a second stand-alone location for store. Amanda has testified before the Minnesota Legislature on the Right to Repair and has been recognized by The Minneapolis - Saint Paul Business Journal as a Top 50 Women in Business and as a Titan of Tech. Amanda is an Indiana native who graduated from Indiana University.