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Bush Leadership Fellows Program Names 2008 Fellows

April 29, 2008—

When the first four Bush Leadership Fellows were named in 1965, it was a step toward supporting founder Archibald Bush’s conviction that if his foundation gave smart people with good ideas money, they would grow as leaders and have a positive impact on their communities. Forty-three years and more than 1,300 leadership fellows later, the Bush Foundation announces 19 new fellows whose breadth of experience, motivation and goals would astound even the unflappable Mr. Bush.

The 2008 Bush Leadership Fellows are a wide-ranging group—12 women and seven men; two from North Dakota, two from South Dakota, five from Greater Minnesota and 10 from the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. These fellows will use their grants to learn how to improve their communities in diverse ways—reducing teen pregnancy rates among African American adolescents, strengthening the use of nonpartisan policy research by policymakers, establishing an owl education center in rural southeastern Minnesota as a tool of economic development, reducing health disparities and improving well-being on Indian reservations and in less-privileged communities, and increasing literacy rates across all ethnicities in schools.

The 2008 fellowships will support full-time academic or self-designed study in a wide range of fields including educational policy and leadership, immigrant business development, public health, ecological education and improvement, and Native American culture and language preservation. The fellows include a naturalist, educators, linguists, ecologists, health professionals, a product developer and a Minnesota state legislator.

Specific information about each fellow follows; individual photos of the fellows can be viewed on this site.

In North Dakota: Karrie L. Azure, Bismarck — As the administrator of a federal grant aimed at curbing alcohol and substance abuse among Native Americans in North Dakota, Azure understands the need for collaboration among the five Indian tribes in that state to address the need for culturally appropriate treatment of methamphetamine abuse. She will study at the University of Mary to achieve her MBA in health care with supporting classes in addiction counseling. Azure is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and works for United Tribes Technical College.

Melanie A. Nadeau, Rolla — As a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, Nadeau is aware of the effects of disease on her people and that conventional methods of promoting health changes do not always work within her culture. She plans to obtain a master’s degree in public health at the University of Minnesota so she can develop interventions that respect native ways and reduce health disparities in her community. She is currently a research technician at Turtle Mountain Community College.

In South Dakota: A.S. Elkhader, Aberdeen — A professor of mathematics at Northern State University, Elkhader has a passion for supporting minority students who wish to enter science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields of study. Through the Management Development Program at Harvard he plans to gain the knowledge needed to become influential in the higher education community so as to increase outreach to and support for minority STEM students.

Christine D. McCart, Spearfish — As an instructor in and coordinator of the outdoor education program at Black Hills State University, McCart daily experiences the benefits of the outdoors. She hopes to promote outdoor education practices across a broad array of settings, including bolstering ecotourism. To accomplish this, McCart will pursue a Ph.D. in experiential/outdoor education at the University of New Hampshire.

In Greater Minnesota: Renee M. Gurneau, Shevlin — Gurneau will be among the first cohort to study in the world’s only master’s program in Anishinaabe philosophy, offered by the Seven Generations Education Institute. In addition to becoming fluent in the Ojibwe language, she will work toward creating an institution that preserves Indigenous knowledge and operates using Anishinaabe values. Gurneau is an independent consultant working most recently with the Indigenous Women’s Mercury Project on the Red Lake Reservation.

Karla Kinstler, Houston — A childhood spent roaming Minnesota’s fields and forests and the opportunity to adopt a permanently injured great horned owl named Alice united to form Kinstler’s goal of creating a nationally recognized owl education center that will serve as an economic stimulus in her small southeast Minnesota hometown. Through a self-directed program of study, she will learn from naturalists and administrators across the country the skills needed to achieve her goal. Kinstler is currently the director and naturalist of the Houston Nature Center.

Frank R. Moe, Bemidji — Moe finds time outdoors vital in his life, and he works in his role as Minnesota legislator to ensure that other Minnesotans have access to quality outdoor experiences. He will obtain a Ph.D. in recreation, park and leisure studies at the University of Minnesota and use that knowledge and credential to influence state policy toward preserving natural resources for citizen enjoyment.

Elizabeth A. Swenson, Brainerd — Swenson is on the front lines of literacy, working as the literacy collaborative district trainer for Brainerd ISD #181. She will pursue a Ph.D. in education with an emphasis in training and performance improvement at Capella University. Swenson’s goals are to teach adults the importance of childhood literacy and to develop literacy tools that decrease the number of special education students.

Anton S. Treuer, Bemidji — As an associate professor at Bemidji State University, Treuer speaks Ojibwe every day to his students, while at the same time only 15 elderly native speakers remain in his informant group. He will use his Bush fellowship to pursue a self-directed study of the language and to write the first pedagogical grammar book of Ojibwe. (Treuer has also recently received two additional fellowships for this work from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. )

In the Twin Cities and suburbs: Mohamed M. Alabari, Woodbury — Alabari is an English Language Learner (ELL) specialist in the Minneapolis Public Schools. He will obtain a master’s degree in public affairs at the University of Minnesota. Alabari’s future interests lie in influencing the development of educational policies that benefit all students, regardless of ethnicity.

Angelique M. Brown, Minneapolis — Brown is the chief compliance officer at NorthPoint Health and Wellness Center. Her goal is to improve the health and socioeconomic outcomes for African American adolescent girls by creating holistic healthcare delivery systems that reduce rates of teen pregnancy. Brown plans to earn an MBA with a specialization in healthcare administration from Baylor University.

Angie Eilers, St. Louis Park — Eilers is the research and policy director at Growth & Justice, a nonprofit economic think tank. She will use a fellowship to study a new policymaking framework that uses evidence-based research and cost analysis in the decision-making process. Her long-term goal is to bring veracity to the policy-making process with evidenced-based research.

Feben T. Gobena, New Brighton — Gobena is employed by 3M as a commercialization leader, which involves bringing products from the idea stage to market. She intends to earn an MBA and use it to work with the African immigrant community to grow opportunities for trade between the U.S. and the immigrants’ home countries, including her home country of Ethiopia.

David E. Gundale, St. Paul — Gundale’s goal is to become an expert in integrating science, technology and mathematics through engineering invention projects while inspiring Minnesota students in the process, especially students of color. He is a teacher on special assignment with St. Paul Public Schools and will pursue a doctorate in education at Hamline University.

Shalini Gupta, Minneapolis — Gupta is a senior energy associate with the Izaak Walton League. She plans to work to transform the current energy system to be cleaner, more decentralized and more inclusive in its decision-making process. Gupta will pursue a self-directed study program that will take her to alternative renewable energy research sites across the United States and in India and Korea.

Kris Johnson, Minneapolis — With plans to complete a Ph.D. in conservation biology at the University of Minnesota, Johnson hopes to improve the sustainability of food and energy production. He is currently a program coordinator with the Ecosystem Science and Sustainability Initiative at the University of Minnesota.

Don L. Kriens, Oakdale — Kriens will pursue a master’s degree in environment health management at Harvard University toward the goal of reducing the risk of environmental contaminants on the Minnesota public. He is principal engineer at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Fardin Oliaei, North Oaks — As a scientist focused on protecting Minnesotans from pollution, Oliaei will pair her previous science training with a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Her ultimate goal is to push for public policy that increases responsiveness and protects at-risk and less-privileged communities. Oliaei is a self-employed environmental consultant.

Kimberly C. Strand — Strand will pursue a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Minnesota to bolster her efforts to reduce economic disparities for American Indians through improved access to economic and business development opportunities. She owns her own consulting firm, Strand Communications.

The Bush Leadership Fellows Program is dedicated to the development of leadership skills in people with high potential and was initiated by one of the original executives of the 3M Corporation, Archibald G. Bush, who in 1953 created the Bush Foundation with his wife Edyth. In addition to the Leadership Fellows Program, the Bush Foundation provides fellowships to artists and physicians.

The Bush Foundation is a private grantmaking organization that made grants of approximately $40 million in 2007 to support programs and efforts to sustain communities in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. With a mission to improve the quality of life in this region, the Foundation aims to be a catalyst to shape vibrant communities by investing in courageous and effective leadership that significantly strengthens and improves the well-being of the region’s people.

For additional information contact: Victoria Tirrel, Communications, 651-379-2238