Speakers

The St. Paul Saints knew how important year number five was in their beautiful Lowertown ballpark, CHS Field.  With even more competition in the Twin Cities than ever before, the Saints knew they needed to step their game up to the next level.  They did that with attendance that continues to be well over capacity, a highly successful All-Star Game, a state-of-the-art City of Baseball Museum and brand new SPIRE Sun Deck, promotions that were talked about from coast-to-coast, and a ballpark that continues to be a destination for everything from the Saints to a Cat Video Festival.  One man has overseen it all and because of all that continued success Saints Executive Vice President/General Manager Derek Sharrer, along with Cleburne Railroaders Director of Operations Josh Robertson, was named American Association Executive of the Year for the fifth straight season.

During Sharrer’s tenure with the Saints they have consistently finished at, or near, the top of the league in attendance.  In 2006 the Saints were named the inaugural Baseball America Independent League Organization of the Year, for their history of excellence and role as trailblazers in the industry.  Additionally, Sharrer was named to the 2007 Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal Top 40 under Forty.  In 2018 Sharrer was included in Minnesota Magazine’s 500 Most Powerful Business Leaders and earlier this year he was named as one of Twin Cities Business Magazine’s “100 People You Should Know.”  

Kathy joined the Ed Fund Board in August 2015 and moved into the Executive Director in 2016. She was born and raised in Edina and after college in Indiana and a few years in the Chicago area, returned with her husband, Tyler, to raise their family. Kathy and Tyler have four kids, two Edina High School graduates who are attending the University of Minnesota and two current Edina High School students.

Professionally, Kathy has worked for multimillion dollar corporations in the areas of engineering, finance, marketing, and sales. She owned and operated her own small business in the Edina area, and she has held and continues to hold numerous volunteer and volunteer leadership roles both within Edina and the surrounding areas. Kathy has a bachelor of science in both Industrial Management and Industrial Engineering from Purdue University, and a Masters in Business Administration in Marketing and Finance from the Carlson School at the University of Minnesota.

“I am honored and excited to help serve the Edina community. Our children are truly our future, and their potential is outstanding. It thrills me to be part of an organization that supports their inherent gifts and assists them in letting their passion thrive.”

Leveraging the Power of Emotional Intelligence to Lead and Influence

Imagine an environment where people have really strong opinions, sometimes with opposing viewpoints. Now, imagine harnessing the power of emotional intelligence to communicate, influence and lead more effectively. This session will focus on leveraging EQ to improve relationships and impact, in your work and personal lives.

Jill Hauwiller is a professional coach and facilitator with more than 20 years of experience in leadership and high-potential development in the corporate, higher education, healthcare, and professional services industries. She has coached hundreds of professionals in the areas of leadership, emotional intelligence, career transition, and work-life integration. She is also certified in the EQ-i 2.0 emotional intelligence assessment, and is a credentialed executive coach with the International Coach Federation. In addition to coaching and facilitation, she speaks on career, leadership, inclusion, and talent development topics in executive education and at local and national conferences. She holds a Master’s degree in Communication with an emphasis in Emotional Intelligence.

Pam Stegora Axberg serves as Chief Executive Officer of Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities. Prior to joining the Mission, she held multiple executive leadership roles during her 14-year tenure at UnitedHealthcare, most recently as senior vice president of Network Operations, a role in which she led the transformation of healthcare system with service providers.

Stegora Axberg also served as Chief Operations Officer of Optum Behavioral Health and as Chief Operating Officer of Medicaid. As UnitedHealthcare’s culture facilitator, she led over 40 cultural workshops for more than 1,400 employees. Before joining UnitedHealthcare, she spent 20 years at Qwest Communications/US WEST, where she served as a senior vice president and officer.

Her lifelong commitment to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion have been demonstrated throughout her professional career as well as in her volunteer work. Stegora Axberg was recently elected as a councilmember of the New Brighton City Council, previously served as board chair of YWCA Minneapolis, and is currently the treasurer of the YWCA USA Board of Directors. For more than a decade, she has been a Girl Scouts troop leader and serves as an officer and board member for the Girl Scouts River Valley.  She also serves as a board member for Topline Credit Union.

Stegora Axberg’s professional activities also include Steering Committee Chair for the Network Reliability and Interoperability Council (NRIC) VI, the advisory committee to the Federal Communications Committee (FCC). She has received numerous honors for her contributions, including “2019 Mentor of the Year’’ from The Women’s Health Leadership TRUST. 

Stegora Axberg earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics at St. Catherine University, her Master of Business Administration from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, and is a Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs Policy Fellow. She and her husband make their home in New Brighton, Minnesota, and enjoys spending time at the cabin with their four grown children, training for the YWCA's Triathlon, and experimenting with new recipes (her family’s pierogi recipe won a blue-ribbon at the Minnesota State Fair).

Edina High School teacher Lindsey Smaka will introduce the Edina Global Scholars program, a project of Edina Rotary Club,