The Board of Directors at Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity welcomes nine new board members this week. The new cohort joins as the organization continues its Build Forward Together strategic plan to expand homeownership opportunities, advance racial equity, and engage the community.
The organization is also gearing up to host the 2024 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project this fall, a global event that will bring together thousands of volunteers, celebrities, elected officials, and other VIPs to build homes and cast a spotlight on the importance of affordable housing. The Carter Work Project will launch Habitat’s construction efforts at The Heights on St. Paul's East Side, Twin Cities Habitat's largest-ever development.
Our newest board members are the following:
Nash Shaikh, Chief of Staff to the President & CEO at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, is serving as Board Chair. Shaikh leads an executive committee that includes:
Learn more about Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity's board leadership and see a complete list of the Board of Directors.
Cecilia Stanton Adams, The Diversity Institute
Cecilia Stanton Adams is an award-winning diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) researcher, strategist, and keynote speaker. Cecilia's advocacy for inclusion and equity is deeply personal. Her New York City roots and personal academic journey through predominantly white institutions have armed her with invaluable perspectives on power, privilege, and resilience. A first-generation college graduate, her educational pursuits include a BA in Psychology from Bloomfield College, a master’s in psychology from Lehigh University, and a master's in industrial psychology from Capella.
Cecilia is known for her growth mindset approach to DEI. Often described as bold, inspiring, and warm, she empowers leaders to critically and deeply consider their roles in forging inclusive and equitable spaces. Enriched by over twenty years of experience as a DEI leader and practitioner, Cecilia’s insights into what makes leadership effective are not only unique but tried and tested across an impressive roster of clients, including Fortune 100 companies, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and academic institutions. The Diversity Institute and Stanton Adams Consulting, under Cecilia's visionary leadership, have become synonymous with positive change, helping organizations not merely adapt, but flourish in a richly diverse world.
Steve Albrecht, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community
Steve Albrecht, P.E., has served as operations administrator and community engineer for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community since 2018. In this role, he is charged with leadership, budgeting, and planning for the Public Works, Property Services, and Land and Natural Resources Departments. The SMSC Department of Land and Natural Resources helps fulfill the tribe's commitment to environmental stewardship and planning seven generations ahead.
Previously, Steve served as the Director of Public Works for the City of Burnsville from 2011–2018. From 2004–2010, he served as public works director/city engineer for the City of Prior Lake. From 1994–2003, Steve worked as consulting engineering for a several municipalities and developers in Carver, Scott, Dakota, and Hennepin Counties. Steve received his bachelor’s degree in agricultural-water resource engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a licensed civil engineer in Minnesota.
Brian Durmaskin, Ecolab
Brian Durmaskin is Vice President & General Manager, North America Surgical, at Ecolab, Inc. In this role, he leads the creation of a surgically focused business unit, where he oversees top-line and bottom-line responsibility for a $200 million surgical healthcare business with 3,000+ employees for North America. He has also served Ecolab as Vice President, Healthcare Corporate Accounts & Customer Success, and Senior Marketing Director, North America Healthcare, where he built a high-performing sales and service team culture and developed a strategy to drive customer satisfaction and retention.
Prior to joining Ecolab in 2019, Brian was a Senior Marketing Manager at General Mills with successive brands where he owned P&L responsibility, managed the annual strategic plan for topline and bottom-line growth, and drove the evolution of marketing creative and a margin expansion roadmap. Brian received his MBA from Harvard Business School and his bachelor’s degree in business marketing & finance from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.
Lara Koza, Longevity Holdings
Lara Koza is the Chief Strategy and Product Officer at Longevity Holdings. In this role, she leads the exploration and development of new growth opportunities for the company and manages the current and future product portfolio iterations. Lara brings 11 years of diverse corporate strategy experience to Longevity including developing and executing both organic and inorganic growth initiatives in small, medium, and large organizations.
Prior to joining Longevity, she most recently served as the Chief Strategy Officer at Surest, a UnitedHealthcare company, where she built the strategy function and led the organization’s launch into new health insurance markets. She also previously worked at Optum (a UnitedHealth Group company) developing product strategy in numerous divisions of the business, Norwest Equity Partners evaluating new private equity investments and working with portfolio companies on strategic growth initiatives, and Piper Jaffray advising clients looking to raise capital or sell their business. Lara received her MBA from Harvard Business School and her bachelor’s degree in finance from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.
Jamie McCarty, Dorsey
Jamie McCarty is a partner at Dorsey and Whitney, LLP. Jamie counsels clients in the healthcare industry in connection with complex business transactions as well as regulatory compliance issues. Jamie represents health systems, physician groups, other providers, and payors in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and other strategic partnerships. Jamie also advises clients on a breadth of regulatory issues, including state and federal licensing requirements, corporate practice of medicine, Stark Law, state and federal anti-kickback statutes, and HIPAA.
Jamie serves as co-chair of Dorsey's Minneapolis office and the Minneapolis Women Attorneys’ Resource Group. Jamie also maintains an active pro bono practice advocating for reproductive rights, including providing regulatory support for Just the Pill, a non-profit organization working to bring telehealth and mobile reproductive healthcare to patients across the nation regardless of their ability to pay. Prior to joining Dorsey, Jamie worked in the health group of another national law firm. Jamie earned a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School and a B.B.A from Loyola University Chicago.
Tariq Malik, Securian
As Second Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at Securian Financial, Tariq Malik leads diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), associate engagement, and community strategies which include the Securian Foundation, corporate giving, and volunteerism. Prior to joining Securian Financial in 2023, Tariq worked at Target Corporation for 16 years in positions of increasing responsibility in diversity and human resources.
He served as Target’s director of DEI, where he managed a team of consultants across analytics, operations, communications, and research in support of their DEI strategy and goals. Prior to his time at Target, Tariq worked for several nonprofits including Teach for America, AmeriCorps, and The President’s Summit for America’s Future. Tariq serves on the Board of Directors for Emma Norton Services, a St. Paul organization that is dedicated to providing healing and recovery from homelessness. He served as Board Chair from 2020-2022. Tariq earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from The George Washington University.
Tara Norgard, Carlson Caspers
Tara Norgard focuses on high-stakes patent, trade secret, trademark, and business litigation. In addition to her IP practice, Tara routinely serves as an appointee of the Federal Court in various capacities. Tara previously worked for a global consulting firm before becoming a lawyer. Prior to joining Carlson Caspers, Tara clerked for the Honorable Donald P. Lay of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and practiced with Sidley, an international law firm headquartered in Chicago.
Tara is the firm's chief marketing partner and co-founder and co-chair of its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Beyond the firm, Tara is a widely recognized national leader advancing DE&I in the legal profession and is a frequent speaker on these topics. At the national level, she founded and chairs the FBA's DE&I Committee. Tara works with Friends of FANA, Minnesota, a non-profit organization established to unite Colombian children of all ages with adoptive families. She also has served on the Board of Trustees for Sunny Hollow Montessori. Tara has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Marquette University and a JD from the University of Minnesota Law School.
Rich Rubenstein, General Mills
Rich Rubenstein is Vice President, Data and Analytics, at General Mills. In this role, he is the global leader for data and analytics across all segments and functions for General Mills. Rich leads a team of more than 250 building and deploying a modern cloud-based data foundation, ingesting and managing 1st/2nd/3rd party data, building industry-leading tech capabilities in data science, process automation, and more.
He develops General Mills digital factory and deploys agile business + tech teams to accelerate tech development and embed analytics across the enterprise. He was previously Vice President, Strategic Revenue Management, at General Mills, where he led a team of revenue management / IT resources to build and drive best-in-class strategies, analytics, execution, systems, and sustainable financial impact at enterprise scale. Prior to joining General Mills, Rich was VP of Revenue Management and Spend Optimization at Diageo, a global beverage company. Rich earned an AB in physics and English from Amherst College and a PhD in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Jonathan Sage-Martinson, Amplio Economic Development Corporation
Jonathan is the CEO of Amplio Economic Development Corporation, a non-profit certified development company whose mission is to provide innovative financing for small businesses in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Amplio works with banks and credit unions, small businesses, and the U.S. Small Business Administration to provide SBA 504 loans. These loans typically range from $100,000 to $5.5 million and help small business owners access affordable financing to purchase real estate, buildings, or equipment. Founded in 1981, Amplio has originated over 1,200 loans totaling over $600 million, creating or preserving more than 28,000 jobs.
Prior to joining Amplio, Jonathan served as the Director of the Department of Planning and Economic Development and Executive Director of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority for the City of Saint Paul. He also previously led the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative and has also served in several additional nonprofit community development roles. Jonathan earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and German and an MPA in nonprofit management and community economic development from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.
Learn more about Build Forward Together, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity’s five-year strategic plan designed to expand homeownership opportunities, advance racial equity, and engage the community to strengthen our foundation.
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