Meet MN SNAP’s Board of Directors

The MN SNAP Board of Directors is responsible for setting strategic direction, maximizing results and overseeing finances.

The Board is made up of individuals with a variety of backgrounds, and their common bond is a passion for pets and their people, and the MN SNAP mission.


Richard Carlson Gage

Director

Rick Gage is CEO and founder of YourMLSsearch. He helped develop the first branded property searches on the Internet in the late ’90s. He is a Director of Carlson Companies, a travel and hospitality giant and owner of Radisson and TGI Friday’s brands. Rick also works with several philanthropic and nonprofit organizations, including the Carlson Family Foundation, and World Childhood, a foundation focused on the elimination of child exploitation and trafficking. He has been instrumental in positioning MN SNAP for grant considerations by some of the most influential foundations in Minnesota. He graduated from Augsburg College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Art History.

Stephen Lundeen, M.Ed., CPCC

Director

Steve Lundeen is an Executive Consultant and Coach. He specializes in executive coaching, life coaching and leadership resourcefulness. Steve works with corporate professionals and individuals to maximize personal intention, purpose, growth and success. He has worked with many leaders in a variety of situations — individuals and entrepreneurs as well as organizations including Xerox, Denver International Airport and the University of Minnesota.

Steve earned both his B.A. and M.Ed. at the University of Minnesota and has held the senior HR position for more than 25 years with such companies as Eddie Bauer, Sunglass Hut International and Bath & Body Works. Steve left corporate America, got his coaching certification from the Coaches Training Institute and has enjoyed being an executive and life coach since 2004.

Doug Binning

Board Chair

Based in Minneapolis, Doug Binning is the Managing Partner of 21-Group, and he specializes in senior-level executive search, compensation and Board services in the high-tech, life sciences and manufacturing sectors.

Functionally, Doug focuses on senior-level projects with Boards, Chief Executive Officers, Presidents, and heads of sales, marketing, technology and finance. Before starting Upstart Solutions (dba 21-Group) in 1997, Doug was with Accenture’s Minneapolis venture group, where he was responsible for all recruitment and human resources activities for five new ventures and their related operations in six countries. Before joining Accenture, Mr. Binning was employed by Cray Research, where he spearheaded recruiting efforts in both Cray US and the Cray Super Server groups. Prior to his return to the Minneapolis area, Doug served as the Director of Human Resources for Office Depot’s expansion into Canada. And, before his move to Canada and for nearly seven years, Doug had the opportunity to work for Apple Computer in a variety of Human Resources roles in Silicon Valley, St. Louis and Minneapolis.


Catherine Chu

Director Emeritus

Cat Chu is the Sr. Director of Product Management for Virta Health.  In this role, she is responsible for bringing digital products to market to help reverse type 2 diabetes.

Prior to CVS Health, Cat was the Director of Product Management for CVS Health,  where she led digital apps for healthy behavior change.  Cat also led product management, marketing and engineering teams at Medtronic and Accenture Healthcare.

Cat lives in Minneapolis with her family. She is a graduate of University of Minnesota – College of Science and Engineering and received an MBA from University of Chicago – Booth School of Business.

Britt Gage

Director Emeritus
Coming Soon

Hannah Buckley

Director Emeritus
Coming Soon

Rick Diamond

Vice Chair

Rick Diamond is the founder and CEO of Breathe – Freedom from Nicotine and also serves as the Managing Partner of Doceo Solutions consulting services. At 24, Rick and his partner, Gary Cohen, founded ACI with just $4,000, and led it to its international scope. ACI had an annual growth rate that averaged 50 percent per year for 15 years. ACI completed its IPO on NASDAQ in 1996, and operated dozens of offices and employed more than 2,000 people across the U. S. and in three countries. Rick is a licensed attorney, and he has been involved in the founding or acquisition of several other businesses over the past 25 years, including insurance, protection services training for heads of state, travel, technology and office products dealerships. Rick’s other experiences include serving as a law clerk to Judge Chet Durda – MN 4th Judicial District, and editing the book, “Neither Madmen Nor Messiahs – A prescription for U.S. defense policies” by Senator Dave Durenberger.

Rick holds a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Juris Doctorate from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Mo. Rick also attended the University of London, and completed Harvard Business School’s OPM program.

Rick has also served as a Director of ThreeWire Inc., C-Tech Inc., IntelAccount, Non-Profit Partners, Animal Humane Society, the Alzheimer’s Association of Minnesota, and was President of the Harvard Business School Alumni Club of MN.

Mimi Pizzi

Director

Mimi Pizzi graduated from the University of Minnesota in Speech-Communication in 1980. She “cut her teeth” on several television talk shows at KSTP-TV before making the move to Boston for her career. She went from Boston to Los Angeles to Manhattan and back to L.A., where she spent the better part of 25 years working in network and syndicated television. She earned six National Daytime Emmy Awards for her work as a Producer on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” and “Dr. Oz.” She returned to her much-beloved Minneapolis in the fall of 2012 and has since become an Event Planner/Producer for various nonprofits.

Before joining the MN SNAP Board, Mimi served on the FRIENDS of the Minnesota Orchestra Board as a Director-At-Large and a Director of Membership; was a volunteer at the Whisker Whirl Gala for the Animal Humane Society and is currently tutoring children who temporarily reside at Mary’s Place. All of that; however, pales in comparison to the passion and commitment she feels to all animals, especially senior dogs. She was “mother” to a Corgi named Sherman for 13 years, rescued a senior Lhasa Apso named Clementine and a cat named Napoleon.

Susan Stiles

Treasurer

Susan Stiles is the founder of Stiles Financial Services, Inc., an independent financial consulting firm based in Edina, Minn. Her team of experienced financial professionals work with individuals, families and business owners, providing advice and tools to help build wealth and a legacy and delivering fiduciary oversight for plan sponsors on behalf of their 401(k) and pension plans. Susan has been serving her clients since 1993.

She is an active member of many industry associations, including Financial Planning Association of MN, the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA), Financial Services Institute, Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA), National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA), Investment Management Consultants Association, Midwest Pension Council, Edina Chamber of Commerce and Economic Club of Minnesota.

Susan has authored many columns and articles over the years, spoken at industry events and hosts regular educational events such as “Be in the Know,” a monthly forum for retirement plan participants and clients. She and her team also share an educational video every week called “Friday Flash,” where staff talk about hot topics in the financial industry and share other insights.

Susan is a MBA graduate of the Johnson School of Business, Cornell University with a concentration in finance and accounting and has a B.S. from the School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University. Her passion for animals and controlling overpopulation led her to join MN SNAP’s Board, where she is a Director and Treasurer Emeritus.

She also served as President and Treasurer of the Minnesota Cornell Club, has volunteered for the Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network (CAAAN) for 25 years, and currently sits on her graduating class Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, where they are driving an initiative to foster, attract and increase the Black student population at the University’s Hotel School. Susan was a member of the Rotary Club of Minneapolis, where she was President of the Club’s Foundation Board. She is a current member of the Rotary Club of Edina, where she most recently served as Director of the Edina Rotary Foundation. She also participated in the Club’s previous two service trips to Guatemala, working on water and sanitation projects and improving the Hospital Regional de Escuintla, Guatemala.

Fluent in Spanish, Susan loves to travel, is an avid cook, entertainer, wine collector and patron of the arts. She resides in Edina with her husband, Jeffrey Robbins, and their three dogs. They have four married, adult children and two grandchildren.


Shaylee Russ

Director

Shaylee Russ graduated from the University of St. Thomas in 2015 with a degree in Marketing and Communications.

She began her time in the veterinary industry working as Marketing Manager for a local clinic. Shaylee later moved into a role with Embrace Pet Insurance in San Diego, Cali. During her time in California, she worked with Helen Woodward Animal Center and Animal Friends of the Valley as a sponsorship partner. They had great successes fundraising and raising awareness for pet care with low-income families.

Currently, Shaylee works for Patterson Veterinary Supply, where she focuses on consulting veterinary clinics to improve and grow their businesses.

Shaylee has a passion for animals and believes it is very important to give back. She does this by serving as the volunteer Board Secretary for MN SNAP. She brings knowledge of the veterinary industry to MN SNAP to help move forward the mission and vision. She also serves on the Governance Committee.

Shaylee has a rescue dog and a long history of working with rescue animals to find homes and spaying/neutering feral/barn cats.

Nicole Newville

Director

Nicole’s spent more than 15 years harnessing the power of digital marketing for her clients. After serving as Vice President of Strategy and Media at space150 for five years, she left the agency to found Kose Digital. Now she focuses on leveraging digital data to drive sustained long-term growth for her clients.

Nicole received her MBA from the Carlson School of Business and an undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota.


Stacy Mays

Secretary

Stacy Mays brings more than 30 years of executive-level strategy and operations experience to MN SNAP’s Board. She has spent her career building diverse and high-performing teams in the healthcare industry. Her experience includes leadership of a variety of healthcare ventures, including clinics, health systems and insurance companies. After serving as the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at PreferredOne Insurance Company, she recently joined Capital Blue Cross in Harrisburg, Pa. as their Executive Vice President.

Stacy earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of Georgia and both an MBA in Marketing and a Master’s of Health Administration from Georgia State University.

Stacy is a passionate animal advocate and lives on small farm west of the Twin Cities with her three goats, two dogs and a cat. She is honored to serve on MN SNAP’s Board and to support its life-saving mission.