Our Leadership

Staff

Board of Directors

Staff Bios

  Susan Haigh, President & CEO

Susan Haigh has led Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity as its CEO and President since February 2005. Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity is one of the most successful Habitat affiliates in the United States serving the entire seven county Twin Cities region. Along with working for Habitat, Haigh serves as the Metropolitan Council Chair. She has served on the Minnesota Housing Partnership Board, the Minnesota Housing Commissioner’s Resource Advisory Committee, Habitat for Humanity U.S. Council’s Finance Committee, Park Bank Board, and the Macalester College Board of Trustees. She is also a member of the International Women’s Foundation and the New Century Club.

Haigh brings an extensive background in community service and leadership to Habitat for Humanity serving ten years as a Ramsey County Commissioner and twelve years as a chief deputy county attorney. Her past community service includes service on the boards of the Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, St. Paul YWCA, Regions Hospital, Landmark Center, St. Paul Riverfront Corporation, Metropolitan Counties Light Rail Transit, Metropolitan Counties Solid Waste Management, Association of Minnesota Counties, and Minnesota County Attorney’s Association. She has received the Spurgeon Award from the Boy Scouts and the Distinguished Citizen Award from Macalester College for her community service. Susan is a passionate advocate for affordable housing and has led successful efforts to create housing endowment funds with her congregation and with Ramsey County. Susan has a BA in Political Science from Macalester College and a JD from William Mitchell College of Law. She is married to the Honorable Gregg E. Johnson and they reside in St. Paul with their four daughters.

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Mary Schumacher, Chief Operating Officer

Mary Schumacher has extensive business and community leadership experience. She was a long-time volunteer with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity and served on its Board of Directors before taking her position as Chief Operating Officer with the organization in January 2011. Before joining Habitat, Schumacher worked at Andersen Corporation for eight years, first as the Chief Technical Officer and later as a Senior Vice President and General Manager. She also worked for 10 years at Ecolab Inc. and 12 years at The Pillsbury Company. Schumacher served two terms on the Board of Directors for the Science Museum of Minnesota from 1997 to 2003.

She earned a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and completed extensive executive training at Harvard, Penn State, and the Center for Creative Leadership. She is also a guest lecturer for the University of St. Thomas MBA program.

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Nancy Brady, Vice President, Resource Development & Communications

Nancy Brady has over 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience including overseeing capital campaigns, corporate relations, special events management, donor cultivation, grassroots fundraising and strategic marketing, including leading successful capital campaigns for Neighborhood House and the Minnesota Children’s Museum. Prior to moving to Minnesota in 2000, Brady spent ten years at the March of Dimes, where, as the national director of strategic marketing, she helped establish and promote the organization’s brand identity and develop an organization-wide relationship marketing strategy.

Brady was also a team manager at Greenwich Associates, a business strategy consulting firm, based in Greenwich, Connecticut, where she managed the development of annual syndicated market research projects in the domestic and international banking industry. Brady holds an MBA from New York University and a BA in Psychology from the University of Illinois.

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Kristin Beckmann, Vice President Programs & Services

Kristin works with the six TCHFH programs that partner with community members to end poverty housing. The programs include Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention, A Brush With Kindness, Homeownership, ReStore, Advocacy and Global Engagement. Kristin came to TCHFH in 2009 after years of work in the public affairs arena where she was Executive Director of a small non profit. She has worked with the State Legislature for the MN Department of Health, the Office of the State Auditor and the SEIU MN State Council. In addition to being the lead lobbyist for SEIU for six years, Kristin ran the labor union’s State PAC and voter contact program. She graduated from Macalester College and earned her Master of Public Affairs with a focus on non profit managment from the Humphrey Institute. She lives in St. Paul with her husband and two children.

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Chad Bouley, Director of Homebuilding

Chad Bouley’s involvement with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity began in 1996 as a volunteer. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Management Chad became a Project Manager building office, retail, and warehouse and industrial facilities. Chad made the leap to become a staff member at Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity in 2003 to make a difference for those less fortunate. Chad and his wife Lynda spend most of their free time volunteering at their church, girl scouts, and raising their five young children.

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Deqa Essa, Director of Human Resources

Deqa is responsible for the overall provision of Human Resources services; policies, recruitment programs, staff development, training, compensation, benefits, performance management to policies and procedures development for the entire TCHFH. She has over 18 years of progressive experience working in for- profit and non-profit organizations. She holds a Master’s Degree in Human Resources Management from Saint Mary’s University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Holy Names University. Deqa is one of the founders of “Somali Women Without Borders” which empowers Somali women all over the world. She is also one of the founders of Rochester Math and Science Academy in MN and a past board treasurer.

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Brian Juntti, Director of Marketing & Communications

As the Director of Marketing and Communications, Brian Juntti is responsible for Habitat’s marketing communications activities (including communications planning, promotions, events, publications and marketing materials), media relations, and online presence (including social media and websites). He first became involved with Habitat as a work site volunteer, and in 2003 produced a video for the Hard Hat and Black Tie Gala about the new homeowners moving into Habitat’s Aspen Grove development in Burnsville. Before he worked at Habitat, Brian was a producer for Blue Earth Pictures. He is a member of the American Marketing Association and has been involved in the sponsorship committee of the Minnesota chapter. Brian has a BA in Theater Arts and Film & Media Studies from Hamline University, and an MBA with emphasis in Marketing & Entrepreneurship from the University of St. Thomas’s Opus College of Business.

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Kate Loe, Senior Manager, Corporate & Volunteer Development

As Senior Manager, Kate Loe oversees volunteer programs and constituent management, which includes Habitat’s partnerships with corporate, faith-based, youth and education groups. Before joining the Habitat team in 2008, she spent more than eight years managing national client accounts for a survey research company. Kate holds a BA in communications from Gustavus Adolphus College. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two children.