Leadership

Sally Anderson, Honorary Member, Mesquite, TX
Occupation: Retired

Sally is the great-great-granddaughter of Elizabeth Bixby Sherrard, Children’s Home Society’s founder, and as such holds an honorary seat on the Children’s Home Society Board of Directors.

Matt Benne, Rapid City, SD
Occupation: Owner/Manager, Buffalo Wild Wings

Matt’s hometown is Rapid City. He and his wife Sarah have three children: Ezra, Lane, and Reagan. Matt graduated from Augustana University with a degree in Business Administration and has volunteered with Special Olympics. His hobbies include spending time with family and friends, golfing, skiing, and anything in the outdoors.

Jim Berman, Sioux Falls
Occupation: President/General Manager, Dakota News Now

Jim’s hometown is New York, NY. He and his wife, Theresa, currently reside in Sioux Falls and have two children, Claire and David. Jim enjoys running, working out, coaching/mentoring, sports and spending time with his family.

Jim received an English degree from Rutgers University. He has also served on the Board of Directors for Make-A-Wish, Junior Achievement and Family Services.

Helen Boer, Lyons
Occupation: Retired Rosenbauer Firefighting Technology

Helen also serves on the board of West Side Lutheran Church.

Darla Crown, Rapid City

Darla is originally from Wall. She received her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from Black Hills State University and her Masters of Education and Masters of Science in Guidance Counseling and Human Resource Development from South Dakota State University. Darla is retired from the South Dakota Army National Guard and the US Army. She is married to Douglas and they live in Rapid City.

Darla belongs to Rushmore Rotary, Women’s Veterans of the Black Hills and American Legion #246. She serves on the Central States Fair Foundation Board, Veteran’s Court, Rushmore Rotary Board, the ESGR (Employer Support of Guard and Reserve) and on the Liturgy Committee at Blessed Sacrament Church..

Paulette Davidson, Rapid City
Occupation: President/CEO, Monument Health

Paulette’s hometown is Waukegan, IL. Paulette and her husband, Dru, live in Rapid City with their three children: Alanna, Payton and Alyssa. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a BS in Business Administration, and earned her MBA from the University of Notre Dame. She is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a Certifi ed Member of the American College of Medical Practice Executives. Paulette also serves on the boards of Elevate Rapid City, South Dakota Chamber of Commerce, South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations and Monument Health Systems. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, horseback riding and fly fishing.

Tim Dougherty, Sioux Falls
Occupation: Lawyer, Dougherty & Dougherty, LLP

Tim Dougherty is a lifelong resident of Sioux Falls. He graduated from the University of South Dakota. In 1984, he received a law degree from the University of South Dakota School of Law. He is a partner in the law firm of Dougherty & Dougherty, LLP. His practice includes lobbying, business and real estate transactions, wills and trusts, probate and family law. Tim is a member of the Board of Bar Commissioners of the State Bar of South Dakota and serves on the board of managers of Dougherty Trust Company LLC. He formerly served on the boards of Avera at Home LLC, Friends of South Dakota Public Broadcasting, South Dakota Art Museum, Wegner Arboretum Society, Washington Pavilion of Arts Sciences, Senior Citizen Services Inc, and Sioux Empire Fair Association. He also served as a member of the South Dakota Transportation Commission, the Governor’s Commission on Child Support and the Sioux Falls Board of Adjustment. Tim is married to Federal District Court Judge Karen E. Schreier.

Mick Gibbs, Sioux Falls
Occupation:President/CEO, Avera Heart Hospital

Mick’s hometown is Minot, ND. He attended the University of North Dakota, University of Minnesota, and Case Western Reserve University, and earned a BA, MA and MHA. He and his wife, Michelle, have three children: Abbie, Ava, and Claire. Mick’s hobbies include baseball, hunting, woodworking and kids’ activities. Mick belongs to the American College of Healthcare Executives and South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations.

Tim Hamel, Sioux Falls
Occupation: Retired, US Bank

Tim’s hometown is Dodge, NE. He attended the University of Nebraska, Omaha and Creighton University School of Law. He received his Bachelor in Criminal Justice and has a Law Degree. He and his wife, Somboon, have two children and one grandchild. Tim’s hobbies include golf and biking.

Gina Hopkins, Sioux Falls
Occupation: Facilities Manager, CorTrust Bank

Gina’s hometown is Mitchell and she has a degree in Tailoring and Textiles from Minnesota West. She and her husband, Jack, have three children and one grandchild. Gina enjoys biking, reading, sewing and spending time with family.

Lafawn Janis, Rapid City
Occupation: Business Development Specialist, Bluebird Consulting

Lafawn is a seventh generation member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, born on the Pine Ridge Reservation and a long time resident of Rapid City where she lives with her two sons, Dominic and Greyson.

She attended Black Hills State University and graduated with a BS in Education. Lafawn serves on the Sanford Labs Cultural Advisory Committee and Monument Health Community Advisory Committee. Her hobbies include mountain biking, hiking and skiing. She enjoys spending time with friends and family, especially over dinner.

Lafawn stated that she is “honored and excited to help at Children’s Home in whatever ways I am capable!”

Laura Johnson, Board President, Reva
Occupation: Retired from Harding County Schools, Rancher, Instruction Manager with Apex

Laura’s hometown is Sturgis. She attended college in the Black Hills where she received a BA in Education and later received an MA in Administration at Grand Canyon. Laura and her husband, Bill, have four children: Robin, Keri, Katie, and Brad and 12 grandchildren. Laura is a nationally registered EMT and her hobbies include reading, walking and sports.

Laura belongs to the National Association of Music Educators and National EMT.

Melissa Johnson, Sioux Falls
Occupation: Founder/CEO, Oh My Cupcakes!

Melissa is a member of SME, CQ (a high level women’s professional development group), and the South Dakota Retailers Association. She also serves on the VOA Foundation Board and Avera Philanthropy Council. She is a writer and a public speaker who facilitates professional development for teams of all sizes.

Melissa’s hometown is Larchwood, IA. She has four children: Randi, 26; Emily, 23; Brandon, 18, and Lyric, 9, and one grandson, Elias, who is six months old. She enjoys writing, reading and hiking.

Amy Koenig, Rapid City
Occupation: VP - Governance, Corporate Secretary and Deputy General Counsel, Black Hills Corporation

Amy’s hometown is Yankton. She earned a BS in ChemE at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, and a JD from the University of South Dakota School of Law. Amy is a board member of Dakota Territory Resource Corporation and South Dakota Mines CARA. She is a member of the Society of Corporate Governance, South Dakota Bar, Wyoming Bar, National Association of Corporate Directors, EEI and AGA.

Amy has two children: Mason, 11, and Ellie, 9. Her hobbies include biking, running and hot room exercise. She also enjoys reading and wine.

Deanna Larson, Brandon
Occupation: CEO, Avel eCARE

Deanna and her husband, Dan, live in Brandon where they raised their three children: Mandy, Kelly and Matt, and are now enjoying their fi ve grandchildren—all under six years of age! Family camping, cribbage and card night are among her interests.

Deanna received an ADN from Dakota Wesleyan, a BSN from Presentation College and a Certifi cate of Public Health from the University of Minnesota. She serves on the American Telehealth Association and American Board of Telehealth, NALC.

Luke Lindberg, Harrisburg, SD
Occupation: Principal at E. Pluribus Unum, LLC

Luke lives with his wife, Brittany, and two children in Harrisburg on a couple of country acres. He previously served as the Chief of Staff and Chief Strategy Officer at the Export-Import Bank of the United States in Washington DC and is a national leader in trade and export policy. In his free time, he enjoys reading, writing and a good dinner party with friends. Luke has an MBA and a MPP, both from the University of Maryland. He also serves on the boards of the South Dakota District Export Council and the National Association of District Export Councils.

Dustin Morrison, Rapid City
Occupation: Lieutenant Pennington County Sheriff’s Office

Dustin resides in Rapid City with his wife, Sarah, and their youngest child. Dustin enjoys golfing, hunting, fishing, boating, coaching his children’s athletic teams and spending time with his family. Dustin says the work done by CHS is something he is very passionate about.

John Rozell, Sioux Falls
Occupation: Retired Businessman

John’s hometown is Rapid City. He graduated with a BA in Sociology from the University of South Dakota. He also attended the University of Colorado and University of Oklahoma three-year banking courses. John and his wife, Kay, have one adult daughter, Katy. She is married to Joe Gaspar and has two sons, Drew and Alex. Hobbies include biking, fly fishing, reading and music. He serves on the Lifescape Board of Directors and the Mount Rushmore Society. John is a CHS Director Emeritus who served as President of both the Foundation and Society Boards.

Greg Schweiss, Rapid City
Occupation: Chief Risk Officer, Pete Lien & Sons, Inc.

Greg’s hometown is Watertown. He attended the University of South Dakota and graduated with a BS in Business Administration. Greg and his wife, Melissa, have three children: Erin, Jamie and Nathan. Greg’s hobbies include kids’ activities, hunting, fi shing and outdoor activities.

Greg belongs to the American Institute of Certifi ed Public Accountants and South Dakota CPA Society. Other boards he serves on include Blessed Sacrament Church, Western South Dakota Catholic Foundation and Youth & Family Services.

Scott Scofield, Sioux Falls
Occupation:Owner, Scofield & Associates, LLC

Scott’s hometown is Sioux Falls. He attended the University of South Dakota and has served on the boards of Dakota State University, Great Plains Zoo, South Dakota Symphony, Ottertail Energy Services, ANZA, Inc. and The Dolphin Group. Scott also has nine grandchildren!.

Chirag Shukla, Sioux Falls
Occupation: Chief Information & Technology Officer, Risk Administration Services, Inc.

Chirag graduated from South Dakota State University with an MS in Engineering. He has over 25 years of experience in IT across various sectors such as fi nance, insurance, manufacturing, health care, public safety and academia. He mentors young talent in Sioux Falls and worldwide through well-known sites like Udacity and StackOverfl ow. His connection to CHS began seven years ago when his wife served as a volunteer..

Scott Sletten, Sioux Falls
Occupation: President/CEO, JDS Industries, Inc.

Scott’s hometown is Sioux Falls. He received a BS in Business from the University of South Dakota and an MBA from Arizona State University. Scott and his wife, Ronna, have two children: Nathan and Melissa. Scott’s hobby is coin collecting. He serves on the University of South Dakota Foundation Board of Trustees as well as the University of South Dakota Beacom School of Business Dean’s advisory board.

Carolynn Stavenger, Sioux Falls
Occupation: Retired, Education

Carolynn’s hometown is Sioux Falls from the third grade on. She attended Iowa State, South Dakota State Univeristy and Augustana University where she earned a degree in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education. Carolynn and her husband, Jim, have three married children and six grandchildren who live in South Dakota and Colorado. She says, “They are the light of my life!” Carolynn enjoys bridge, mahjongg, baking, travel, wines, needlepoint, spending time with her grandchildren and relaxing at their home in the Black Hills.

Carolynn has been a CASA Advocate for 14 years and belongs to the Junior League of Sioux Falls. She has volunteered at Children’s Inn for 18 years and continues to do this weekly. Carolynn also mentors former CASA and CHS little buddies.

Michelle Lavallee, Chief Executive Officer, Sioux Falls

Prior to assuming the CEO role at CHS, Michelle held executive level positions with Avera, the University of South Dakota (USD) and Raven Industries. She attended Northwestern University in Chicago where she received both her BS and MBA.

Michelle is currently board president of the SD Hall of Fame, serves on the Board of RAS and Sioux Falls Development Foundation, past president of the SD Symphony, past president of Downtown Sioux Falls Rotary, past board member of Ronald McDonald House, Washington Pavilion and the USD Foundation.

Shannon Clark, Chief Financial Officer, Sioux Falls
Prior to assuming the CFO role at CHS, Shannon was with the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society in the finance department. She earned a master’s degree in professional accountancy from the University of South Dakota.

Joe Herdina, Chief Financial Officer, Sioux Falls

Prior to assuming the CFO role at CHS, Joe worked decades with The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society in various roles focused on accounting, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, debt capital financing, treasury, investments, supply chain and risk management functions.

Prior to his work with Good Samaritan, Joe spent eight years as a licensed CPA in public accounting in Rapid City and Sioux Falls with his auditing focused almost exclusively on long-term care, senior living, acute care and school districts. Joe attended the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology and graduated with a BS in business administration – accounting from the University of South Dakota. He holds a a CPA – inactive license.

Karl Jegeris, Chief Operations Officer Rapid City

Prior to joining the CHS team, Karl worked in various positions with the Rapid City Police Department for over 24 years, including six years as chief of police. He attended Minnesota State University, Mankato for his undergraduate degree and St. Cloud State University where he received a master's degree in public safety executive leadership.

Karl is a past board member of the Salvation Army of Rapid City and WAVI (Working Against Violence Inc) and has been a classroom volunteer for Junior Achievement for the past 20 years. He recently became a member of the Rushmore Rotary in Rapid City.

Jon Mammenga, Chief Philanthropy Officer Sioux Falls
Prior to joining Children’s Home Foundation, Jon was the associate vice president for development at Augustana University. He also held a variety of positions at the University of South Dakota Foundation. Jon is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) and earned a Certificate in Fundraising Management from Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. He graduated from the University of South Dakota with a Master of Public Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.

Mark Niemeyer, Chief Human Resources Officer Sioux Falls

Prior to assuming the CPO role at CHS, Mark held leadership positions with Elanco Animal Health (Eli Lilly), Novartis Animal Health and Marsh & McClennan Agencies. He attended Dordt University where he received his BA degree and the University of Sioux Falls, where he received his MBA.