­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Board of Directors’ Bios
as of 12/6/11

Bill Clapp

Bill is long-time member of the St. Croix River Association and cabin-owner in Scandia. Until retirement, he was employed by the Minnesota Attorney General, with his client being the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, specializing in shoreland and wetland protection and conservation easements.  Bill has served on the board of directors of Standing Cedars Community Land Conservancy since 1994, several of those years as chair.  He served as commissioner of the Minnesota Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission, and was active in the St Croix Scenic Coalition.

Jerry Dorff

Jerry is co-owner/operator of Wild River Outfitters in Grantsburg, Wisconsin, which provides canoe and kayak rental and shuttle service in addition to a campground and gift shop.  For over 20 years, he and his business have served paddlers on over 150 miles of the Upper St. Croix and Namekagon Rivers.  He is past board member of the Siren Tourism Commission and has served as a board member and Secretary of the Grantsburg Chamber of Commerce.  He is a member and Treasurer of the Burnett County Democratic Club Board of Directors. Jerry is an avid student of the geologic and cultural history along the river way, enjoys informing people about this resource and enjoys speaking to groups about the riverway.

Brian Elwood

Brian has worked for 15 years in communications/marketing/community relations for Xcel Energy, the last 8 years based in Hudson, Wisconsin. Brian’s role involves a close partnership with Xcel’s staff in government relations and community affairs and so he has a good understanding of the “on-the-ground” interaction between citizen groups, planners, regulators, legislators and other locally elected officials.  Brian foresees an important role for the River Association in educating citizens about the St. Croix as an important natural asset and providing opportunities for reasonable voices to be heard about river issues.

Randy Ferrin

Randy was Vice-President of the St. Croix River Association in 2005 and President in 2007. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Standing Cedars Community Land Conservancy, and as a Commissioner on the Washington County Parks and Open Space Commission.  He is retired after nearly 33 years of service with the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service.  His last assignment was the Chief of the Natural Resources Division for the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, where he worked from 1994 to 2005.  While in this position he chaired the interagency St. Croix Basin Water Resources Planning Team from 1995 until his retirement and he continues his involvement with the Basin Team today.

Dave Ferris

Dave is the County Conservationist for Burnett County. Dave has been a part of the Land and Water Conservation Department for 25+ years, first as a Conservation Technician, and then as the County Conservationist.  Dave represents the Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Assoc (WLWCA) on the WI DNR Forest Stewardship Committee, has represented northwest Wisconsin on the Wisconsin Assoc of land Conservation Employees (WALCE) Executive Board for several terms.   Dave has been a member of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress for over fifteen years and has been the chair for the Burnett County delegation for many of those years.

Peter Gove [Chair][Executive Committee Chair]

Peter L. Gove held executive position in communications and public policy with St. Jude Medical, Inc. and Control Data Corp. before retiring in 2005.  Peter was Minnesota Governor Wendell R. Anderson’s environmental assistant, Executive Director of the Pollution Control Agency and a founding member of the Environmental Quality Board before joining Anderson’s U.S. Senate staff as Legislative Director.  He was then Chief, Office of Legislation for the U.S. National Park Service.  Peter was the first chairman of the Mississippi River Commission appointed by the

Secretary of the Interior to develop a comprehensive general management plan for the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA).  He founded Friends of the Mississippi River in 1993 and is the current FMR board chair.  Peter is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota and Trust for Public Land Advisory Board.   He has served on the SCRA board since 2007 and is a past chair.

David Griffith [Development Committee Chair]

David retired in 2008 after 8 years as president of the St. Croix Valley Community Foundation which serves the people and programs in the five Minnesota and Wisconsin counties that border the St. Croix River. He spent more than 35 years in higher education, work with non-profit organizations and involvement with communities. He moved to Minnesota in 1989 where he served as the vice president for advancement at Macalester College through 1994. During his 12 years in Idaho, David served as the vice chair of the Blaine County school board, was a director of the Idaho chapter of the Nature Conservancy and was a candidate for a seat in the Idaho legislature.

He and his wife, Katherine, live in St. Paul and have three adult children. Among his interests are fly fishing, canoeing and cycling.

Karen Ciegler Hansen [Vice-Chair][Nominating Committee Chair]

Karen is an attorney with over 25 years of experience concentrating in estate planning and estate administration. She is a partner with the law firm of Felhaber, Larson, Fenlon & Vogt, working in both their St. Paul and Minneapolis offices, and is the chair of the firm s Estate Planning and Probate Section. Karen has long been active with including Family Means, the St. Croix Valley Community Foundation and the Partnership Plan. She is a frequent speaker on the topics of estate planning and charitable giving, and recently authored the chapter on estate planning in the book, Mapping Your Retirement.

Steve Hobbs

Steve has been involved in land and water conservation work for more than 25 years throughout the country. He was the principle architect of large-scale sustainable conservation efforts in Virginia and Nevada while working for The Nature Conservancy. Steve was also a principle designer of the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act, which was the first-of-its-kind federal legislation creating a land conservation and mitigation paradigm for Las Vegas, then the fastest growing city in the United States. More recently and more locally, Steve was responsible for designing the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District conservation program and he continues to assist other local units of government develop conservation strategies. Most recently Steve was heavily involved in developing the constitutional amendment that passed in November 2008 that dedicates sales tax revenue for conservation. Steve became Executive Director of the Belwin Conservancy in 2007 to guide their successful transition from a private foundation to a public non-profit organization focusing on conserving some of the best sites in the Lower St. Croix Valley. Steve now works for The Conservation Fund as their Minnesota Project Director.

Jean Hoffman

Jean Hoffman lives on the St. Croix River in Somerset with her husband Mark, and they have two adult sons. Before coming to the St. Croix Valley to work as an educator, she attended the University of Wisconsin-Stout and graduated from the University of Minnesota. Jean makes it a priority to spend as much time on the St. Croix and Apple Rivers as possible, and that not only gives her reason to celebrate, but also strengthens her desire to protect what should never be taken for granted.    Jean serves on the Town of Somerset Parks and Recreation Committee, is an Apple River Association board member, and she is involved with other groups that encourage appropriate land use, environmentally responsible practices, and wildlife preservation.

Steve Johnson

Steve Johnson has served as Associate Executive Director of the Minnesota-Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission from 1977 to 1987, where his role was to advocate for environmental protection of the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers.  From 1987 to 2004, he was River Management Supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, where he was responsible for natural resource management of the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers, and for other rivers throughout the state.  He led the interagency process from 1995 to 2002 that developed a new management plan for the Lower St. Croix.  From 2004 to 2010 he was Chief of Resource Management for the National Park Service’s Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.  He retired in August 2010.

He is a former member of the board of the St. Croix Scenic Coalition, and is currently President of the River Management Society. He has served on the River Management Society board since 2003.

He has lived in the St. Croix Valley since 1979—11 of those years in Hudson and the last 21 in West Lakeland Township.  He has been a member of the St. Croix River Association since 1977.

Melanie Kleiss Boerger [Volunteer Sub-committee Chair]

Melanie lives in St. Croix Falls and currently co-owns and manages Kleiss Gears, a  mechanical engineering business in Grantsburg, Wisconsin.   From the University of Minnesota she has a BA degree degree in biology, a MS degree in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy, and a law degree. Her practical experience includes dealing with land protection and water quality issues involved with numerous river protection projects in the Washington, D.C. area.  She has also worked as a bird bander, water tester for the Chippewa River Watershed Project, and educator at the Minnesota Science Museum and Bell Museum of Natural History.  In the past, she volunteered for EarthJustice, Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, among numerous other organizations. Melanie looks forward to volunteer work that will expand public awareness of the “whole watershed” concept as well as helping to develop more ways to involve watershed communities in protecting the St. Croix.

Verna Kragnes [Land and Water Chair]

Verna is co-founder of Philadelphia Community Farm and Standing Cedars Community Land Conservancy. She has degrees in Home Economics from North Dakota State University and in School Administration from the University of Minnesota. Verna completed a year-long Reflective Leadership Seminar at the Humphrey Institute and a two-year Face to Face Seminar in Child Development and Curative Education offered by the Camphill Special Schools at Beaver Run, PA.  She has worked in early childhood education, as a high school teacher and administrator, as director of a shelter for homeless young men, as a CSA farmer and with the Land Stewardship Project as a Farm Education specialist.

Sally Leider

A career educator with four decades of teaching experience, Sally was a pioneer in the Open School movement. With a Master’s degree in Experiential Education, she was involved in the design and implementation of four innovative schools in Minneapolis.

Sally teaches Watershed Wisdom programs in local schools in the St. Croix Valley. She brings her specialized training and knowledge in ecological literacy, watershed studies, and biodiversity issues to her work as a watershed educator. Her involvement in the Bioneers movement, the Natural Step, the Leopold Education Project and Service Learning initiatives has shaped her teaching and coaching.

Sally is a certified Somatic Coach. Through her coaching practice, Wild Indigo, she coaches women and girls through life choices and changes using challenges such as rock climbing, canoeing, aikido and dance.

A native of the St. Croix River Valley, she has served on the boards of Friends of Warner Nature Center, Arcola Mills, and the River Market Co-op.  Currently she is on the board of Morning Earth, the St. Croix River Association, and the Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix Watershed District Citizens Advisory Council.

Dan McGuiness [Secretary]

Dan has worked on the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers for more than 40 years. From 1998 until May of 2008, he served as Director of Conservation Policy on the Mississippi River for the National Audubon Society. Prior to joining Audubon, Dan served for nine years as the Director of the Minnesota-Wisconsin Boundary Area Commission based in Hudson, Wisconsin. He currently is on the board of directors  of the St. Paul Riverfront Corporation, the Upper Mississippi Waterway Association and a member of the Lower Phalen Creek Project Steering Committee. He is a founding board member of the Standing Cedars Community Land Conservancy based in Osceola, Wisconsin. Dan is the Owner of Dan McGuiness and Associates, established in 2008 to provide conservation, communication and collaboration assistance to agencies, organizations and individuals.  He writres, and is a frequent speaker throughout the region, about the political history of rivers and our relationships to them.

Gary Noren [CEO Chair]

Gary lives in St. Croix Falls, also his birthplace, with his wife Martha Harding. They are minutes away from the river and adjacent to Interstate Park. This gives them many unique opportunities to play in and around the river. Gary has canoed the entire river, he’s cross country skied throughout the St. Croix watershed (he co-authored “Ski Minnesota, A Cross Country Skier’s Guide to MN and Western WI”), he’s a Friend of Wild River State Park, the Sunrise River, and Interstate Park, and he enjoys adding to his collection of all-season photographs of the riverway. Gary has taught mathematics, established community recycling and waste reduction programs, and is a lifelong environmental educator, having served 9 years on the MN Environmental Education Advisory Board. He has three children and two grandchildren – all living in the Twin Cities. Current Board involvement includes the Communications, Education, and Outreach Committee (chair), development and coordination of the annual Photo Contest, and the SCRA Paddle.

Mike Prichard [Treasurer][Finance Committee Chair]

Mike and his wife Lyne reside in St. Paul, and have a second home in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin.  Mike currently serves as Treasurer of the St. Croix River Association, was a member of the Design Team involved with its restructuring and was instrumental in beginning the St. Croix Conservation Collaborative.  Since (and before) retiring as a partner of the Dorsey & Whitney law firm twelve years ago, Mike has been actively engaged with several non-profit organizations in Minnesota and Wisconsin including Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota, where he currently serves as chair of its Land Acquisition Committee and on its executive committee.  He recently retired as a state director of the Ice Age Trail Alliance after serving six years.

Tom Triplett

Tom is an attorney and consultant with substantial experience with nonprofit and government structure issues.  For the past ten years, he has focused his consulting and legal work on helping nonprofits develop more diversified and sustainable revenue streams.   He does this through group training and individual consulting.

Tom has served as CEO of four Minnesota nonprofits; prior to that he was commissioner of three Minnesota state government agencies:  Finance, Revenue and Planning.  He was also an attorney with two of the state’s largest law firms and with the Minnesota Attorney General’s office.  He is on the adjunct faculty of the Opus College of Business at the University of St. Thomas where he teaches courses relating to nonprofit management and finance.  He is a commissioner of the Washington County Housing and Redevelopment Authority, the founder of Friends of Scandia Parks and Trails, and is a board member of the national Social Enterprise Alliance.

He has a B.A. from Grinnell College and a J.D. from Duke University.  He lives on six acres of trees near the St. Croix River in eastern Minnesota.

John Velin

From high school successes in athletics, choir and student government, John served two years as an Army officer, and then earned a Master’s degree with concentration in Public and Business Administration. John directed the manpower programs at Dakota county , followed by  a 12 year stint as assistant director for what is now called the Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources,(LCCMR) essentially, managing money and projects that help the environment. As part of an overhaul in Ramsey County government, John assisted the County Manager as director of legislative affairs for the county board and numerous management analysis tasks. John finished the last 20 years of his career as Director of the LCCMR, winning many accolades for effective and efficient administration and leadership, while managing over a half billion dollars in state money directed to specific management needs.

Dan Willius

Dan grew up spending his summers in the small river community of Franconia from 1950 to 1994 when he and his wife Ruth Ann became year-round residents of Scandia. During a long career with IDS (now known as Ameriprise) Dan’ s roles included Director of Staffing & Employee Relations and Director of Community Relations & Corporate Communications.

Now retired, he has extensive experience in non-profit governance having served on the boards of the Ripon Society, Business Economic Education Foundation, Hennepin County Personnel Board, Courage Center (board chair 1990 – 1992), YMCA Camp Widjiwagan, St. Croix Scenic Coalition and St. Croix Valley Foundation.  Dan has been a SCRA board member from 1998 to the present, serving as Stewardship Chair from 1998 to 2007 and Vice Chair from 2007 to May 2009 when he was elected to serve as the Board Chair.