Our Team

Mark Andrew became President of Friends of the Falls in October 2019. He is Founder and President of GreenMark Enterprises, LLC, a sustainability consultancy that brands sustainable improvements to high profile venues, and is Co-Founder and past President of GreenMark Solar, LLC.

Previously, Andrew was elected five times to the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners. As County Board Chair, Andrew initiated and authored the first dedicated urban hiking and biking trails in the Twin Cities (Midtown Greenway), was chief author of the state’s first and largest recycling ordinance, and was Chair of the transit authority that planned and selected the state’s first light rail transit line. He helped to lead the effort to acquire and preserve the Stone Arch Bridge and re-build the Hennepin Avenue Bridge. Andrew’s initiatives won more than a dozen Innovation Awards from the National Association of Counties.

In recent years Andrew has been a professional commentator for StarTribune.com; served on the Board of Thinc.Green, Minneapolis’ strategic sustainability initiative; and in 2017 was Chair of Save Our Minneapolis Parks, a non-profit group that successfully secured over $220 million for long-term capital improvements to the City’s park system. Andrew is immediate past Chair of the Board of Meet Minneapolis, the city’s tourism agency, and continues to be a sought-after resource for candidates and environmental and justice causes.

Robert became President and CEO of the Native American Community Development Institute (NACDI) in May of 2016, after serving as the chair of the organization’s board of directors since its founding in 2007. Robert is enrolled in the White Earth Ojibwe Nation. He served for 12 years as the Vice President of the Minneapolis City Council, the first Tribal member elected to public office in the City of Minneapolis.
In his professional, political and activist work, Robert emphasizes empowering historically disenfranchised people. Robert lives the asset-based community development vision of NACDI. He sees true community development as building individuals' capacity.

Robert was appointed to the Metropolitan Council in March of 2019 and is Vice Chair of the Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors (MUID), a regional leadership forum comprised of the executives of some three dozen Native organizations. He serves on a number of civic and public sector bodies, including the City of Minneapolis Truth and Reconciliation Workgroup, Meet Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Association, and the first Tribal member on the Metropolitan Council.

Robert has served on the boards of several nonprofits organizations. He is a housing developer, a transportation policy wonk, and a bicycle commuter. He lives in South Minneapolis with his husband, Steve.

Kjersti is the CEO of Duval Companies and founder of Studio Civic | Duval, which supports the unique development management and engagement needs of public interest projects and public private partnerships. Kjersti is committed to innovative planning & design methods that authentically engage audiences, implement iconic urban development, and enable creative place-making.

Kjersti’s career has spanned the U.S., Europe, and Asia and her work has moved seamlessly between policy, design, and planning. Her work has been published by AD Magazine, Architecture Minnesota Magazine, 306090 (Princeton Architectural Press), and the Urban Land Institute, among other outlets. Building on a background of hands-on urban design practice and real estate strategy consulting in her early career with global AEC firms EDAW and AECOM, she has learned from the ground up and is highly skilled in design & development management. She is an affiliate urban design researcher at the University of Minnesota Design Center, and teaches urban design at the College of Design.

Kjersti also brings expertise in legislative & government relations, rooted in a decade of direct experience shaping and passing federal, state, and municipal policies and appropriations. Kjersti served in municipal government as the Minneapolis Planning Director for three years.

Kjersti has participated in civic life through board and committee service with Minneapolis Downtown Council, the Center for Transportation Studies (UMN), Super Bowl LII (Technology Subcommittee), Meet Minneapolis, and the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board. She is currently an appointed Park Commissioner in the City of Orono, MN.

Kjersti holds two Masters degrees from Harvard Graduate School of Design, one in Urban Planning and one in Landscape Architecture.

Carrie Day Aspinwall, CDA Enterprises, has served her people, both on and off the reservation her entire life. Working with the City of Minneapolis Neighborhood and Community Relations Department and their seventy-one neighborhoods provided the opportunity to engage residents, stakeholders, institutions, tribal and local governments in the areas of community engagement, organizational development and capacity building have provided a path for equity to emerge.

The ability to facilitate across many discussions has provided a deeper understanding of the challenges and similarities that we all share. Collaborating with communities to understand those commonalities and setting realistic goals further opens this path for the greater good.

Carrie facilitates meetings of the Native Partnership Council and is an enrolled citizen of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe/Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.

Ed's professional experience includes twenty-seven years of educational, corporate, and administrative leadership. He has served as assistant professor at the University of Minnesota - Duluth where he taught strategic management, human resources, project management, and operations within the Master's of Tribal Administration and Governance program (MTAG). Ed holds a doctorate in Educational Policy and Administration from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, and currently serves as Chief Operations Officer at the Native American Community Development Institute in Minneapolis.

Mark Andrew became President of Friends of the Falls in October 2019. He is Founder and President of GreenMark Enterprises, LLC, a sustainability consultancy that brands sustainable improvements to high profile venues, and is Co-Founder and past President of GreenMark Solar, LLC.

Previously, Andrew was elected five times to the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners. As County Board Chair, Andrew initiated and authored the first dedicated urban hiking and biking trails in the Twin Cities (Midtown Greenway), was chief author of the state’s first and largest recycling ordinance, and was Chair of the transit authority that planned and selected the state’s first light rail transit line. He helped to lead the effort to acquire and preserve the Stone Arch Bridge and re-build the Hennepin Avenue Bridge. Andrew’s initiatives won more than a dozen Innovation Awards from the National Association of Counties.

In recent years Andrew has been a professional commentator for StarTribune.com; served on the Board of Thinc.Green, Minneapolis’ strategic sustainability initiative; and in 2017 was Chair of Save Our Minneapolis Parks, a non-profit group that successfully secured over $220 million for long-term capital improvements to the City’s park system. Andrew is immediate past Chair of the Board of Meet Minneapolis, the city’s tourism agency, and continues to be a sought-after resource for candidates and environmental and justice causes.

Kevin J. Armstrong is General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer for Docupace Technologies. Armstrong is a high impact global financial services executive, regulatory attorney, and ethics expert who thinks broadly about his role as a trusted advisor. As an influential business leader, he has a consistent record of providing strategic and operational direction and support to drive growth. Kevin has a reputation of successfully collaborating across functional and business teams and effectively leverages his expertise in corporate governance, e-commerce, payments, digital, risk management and M&A to achieve business goals. With a focus on culture-building, he has been a vocal advocate for diversity, inclusion, and equity, and has held leadership roles on corporate affinity groups, and promoted actions to create and foster purpose driven/value-oriented corporate brands.

Edna Brazaitis, an attorney and riverfront champion, cofounded Friends of the Riverfront, a nonprofit whose mission is to protect and preserve the cultural and natural resources of the Central Mississippi Riverfront Regional Park. Since 2005, Friends of the Riverfront has advocated for riverfront parks. Edna is active on numerous boards and committees. In addition to Friends of the Falls, she serves as the Minnesota Historical Society appointee to the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board, and is on the board of Preserve Minneapolis. She previously served on the board of Mississippi Riverfront Partnership. Edna is also a member of the St. Anthony Falls Alliance. She has advised on numerous plans and initiatives related to parks, heritage, and riverfront development over decades. From riverfront and St. Anthony park planning by the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board to area planning by the City of Minneapolis to the Power of the Falls planning done by the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board, Edna has been an engaged and valued advisor.

Thomas Fisher is a Professor in the School of Architecture, Director of the Minnesota Design Center, and former Dean of the College of Design at the University of Minnesota. A graduate of Cornell University in architecture and Case Western Reserve University in intellectual history, he was the Editorial Director of Progressive Architecture magazine and was recognized in 2005 as the fifth most published architecture writer in the United States. He has written or edited 11 books, over 60 book chapters or introductions and over 450 articles in professional journals and major publications, and he serves on several nonprofit boards.

Peter Gove held executive positions in corporate communications and government relations with Control Data and St. Jude Medical. In the public sector, Peter was Governor Wendell R. Anderson’s environmental assistant, MPCA Commissioner, founding member of the Environmental Quality Board, U.S. Senate Legislative Director and Assistant Director of the National Park Service. He is the principal founder and board member of Friends of the Mississippi River, past chair of the St. Croix River Association, on The Trust for Public Land’s Minnesota Advisory Board and NPCA Upper Midwest Council, a trustee of Northland College and the Great Lakes Protection Fund, and an Episcopal Homes of Minnesota board member.

Lisa Hondros cofounded Friends of the Riverfront, a nonprofit whose mission is to protect and preserve the cultural and natural resources of the Central Mississippi Riverfront Regional Park. Since 2005, Friends of the Riverfront has advocated for riverfront parks. Over the years, Lisa has worked on political campaigns and been active in the community. She currently serves as Treasurer for the Nicollet Island East Bank Neighborhood Association Board and is a member of the Trust for Public Land Minnesota Advisory Board. Lisa received her undergraduate degree in history from Carleton College and a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She practiced law at Dorsey & Whitney from 1989-1992.

John Koepke is a Professor of Landscape Architecture in the College of Design at the University of Minnesota and the Department’s former Chair. Along with his responsibilities as a Full Professor he is a principle at the firm Urban Ecosystems LLC. Because of his Ojibwe heritage John has had significant interests in both Native American cultures and environmental science. This has led him to conduct landscape-based research on ancient Native American sites and work with tribal and other communities in pursuing teaching and design opportunities that focus on environmental education, ecological restoration and reclamation. He holds a 5-year professional Bachelor’s of Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Minnesota and a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Washington. He was recently elected as a Fellow of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture.

Senator Mary Kunesh (Standing Rock Lakota Sioux descendant) was elected to the MN House of Representatives, District 41B, in 2016 and elected to the Senate, District 41, in 2020. She is the first woman of Native descent to be elected as a Minnesota State Senator. Through her tenure, she has passed legislation to create the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women's (MMIW) Task Force and the Missing and Murder Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) Office. Senator Kunesh serves as an Assistant Minority Leader for the DFL Senate Caucus. As an educator, Mary retired, from her role, as a public-school library media specialist after 25 years of service.

Greg Lais is a successful entrepreneur, avid outdoorsman, and longtime adventurer. He founded Wilderness Inquiry in 1978 after a trip to the Boundary Waters involving people with disabilities. Now, 40 years later, the belief that people of all abilities can enjoy and benefit from the outdoors continues to be at the heart of Wilderness Inquiry’s mission. Greg’s passion for connecting people to each other and the natural world is truly inspirational. As Executive Director of Wilderness Inquiry, Greg Lais directed the organization’s growth and development, collaborating with cross-sector partners to build a world-class organization that directly serves more than 40,000 people annually. In addition to his role as chief architect of Wilderness Inquiry’s mission, vision and programming, Greg has personally led more than 400 outdoor adventure experiences throughout the world, successfully integrating people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. Greg Lais recognizes people’s personal, socio-economic, and cultural differences, but he focuses on their common humanity and connects with everyone. Today, Greg Lais is Wilderness Inquiry’s Director of Strategic initiatives, guiding the organization to success over the next 40 years. He also serves on the Metropolitan State University Foundation Board of Directors as well as Governor Walz’s Outdoor Recreation Task Force.

Maggie Lorenz is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe and descends from Spirit Lake Dakota Nation. Maggie serves as executive director at Lower Phalen Creek Project, a Native-led environmental conservation non-profit on Saint Paul's east side. Maggie has spent her professional career in the fields of education, cultural resiliency and healing, and environmental justice.

In addition to the Friends of the Falls Board, Maggie serves on the board of directors for the F. R. Bigelow Foundation, Tiwahe Foundation, and the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, American Indian Advisory Board. She obtained her Bachelors’ degree from Metropolitan State University in 2010.

Paul Reyelts was the Chief Financial Officer of The Valspar Corporation from 1982 until 2008 and retired in 2009 to pursue his interest in design. He received a Bachelor of Arts in architecture from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Paul is a director of Winmark Corporation and Schafer Richardson Development, a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Minnesota College of Design and serves on the Boards of Directors of The Minneapolis Foundation, MacPhail Center for Music, The Minneapolis Parks Foundation and Gold Medal Park Conservancy. He is currently chair of the RiverFirst Capital Campaign and is co-founder and Chair of the Board of Friends of the Falls.

Kit Richardson is a founding Principal and owner of Schafer Richardson, LLC, a Minneapolis based real estate development firm. A registered Architect, Kit began his professional career working in the office of famed Minneapolis Architect, Ralph Rapson, before forming his own architectural firm with another partner. After spending a number of years practicing architecture, and later working in the real estate investment brokerage industry, he co-founded Schafer Richardson, LLC in 1995. Kit spends the majority of his time at SR in conceptual design, entitlement, and construction review of virtually all of SR’s projects, with a special interest in historic properties.

A lineal descendant of the Wahpeton-Sisseton and Mdewakanton Dakota tribes and lifetime Minnesota native, Dana Thompson has worked for nearly a decade within the food sovereignty movement. As co-owner and chief operating officer of The Sioux Chef, she manages all business development strategies for the company. She has traveled extensively throughout tribal communities, engaging in critical ways to improve food access and implementing strategies to do the most possible good as a social entrepreneur.

In 2018, Dana jointly founded the non-profit NĀTIFS (North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems) for which she is executive director. Through this entity, she focuses her expertise on addressing and treating ancestral trauma through decolonized perspectives of honoring and leveraging Indigenous wisdom. In 2021, Dana and her business partner Chef Sean Sherman opened Owamni by The Sioux Chef, Minnesota’s first full service Indigenous restaurant, featuring healthy Indigenous food and drinks.

Prior to her work with The Sioux Chef and NĀTIFS, Dana worked for over twenty years as a lead marketing specialist — overseeing product merchandising, marketing, special events, talent management, media relations, and project management in diverse industries and settings.

An acclaimed jazz and Americana vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and music producer, Dana has released seven albums.

Image credit: Heidi Ehalt.

Angela Two Stars is a public artist and curator. She is the director of All My Relations Arts, a project of the Native American Community Development Institute in Minneapolis, MN. Angela is an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and received her BFA from Kendall College of Art and Design. Angela 's professional arts career began at All My Relations Arts gallery as an exhibiting artist, which then led to further opportunities including her first curatorial role for the exhibition titled, Bring Her Home, Stolen Daughters of Turtle Island, a powerful exhibition highlighting the ongoing epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Angela 's public art graces the shores of Bde Maka Ska and honors the Dakota people of Mni Sota. Angela was selected as the finalist for the Walker Art Center’s Indigenous Public Art Commission; her sculpture Okciyapi (Help Each Other) was unveiled in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden in fall 2021.

Mark Wilson is of counsel with the Minneapolis law firm of Henson Efron and focuses on commercial real estate development and business transactions. He is a board member of Winmark Corporation, The Goodman Group, Gold Medal Park Conservancy and past board member of The St. Paul Foundation (chair), Minnesota Community Foundation (chair) and GiveMn.org. Mr. Wilson enjoys whitewater rafting and skiing, and is a cum laude graduate of Carleton College and the University of Minnesota Law School.