2021-22 LITV Steering Committee

I am a registered nurse and the owner of Smart Start Childcare and Learning Center. At Smart Start I have combined my love for family, my connection with children and my interest in health and wellness to create a unique childcare center that focuses on quality through safety, education and health and wellness. I live in Stillwater with my husband, Ryan, and two daughters, Taylor and Jordan.

Robin serves as the Executive Director of the Greater Stillwater Chamber of Commerce since 2016. Prior to that she worked twelve years in local and state government, 8 years in global consulting, and 6 years as a small business owner buiding a business from the ground up. She is a self-starter and team-player fostering collaboration, ability to multi-task, and to successfully work in face-paced organizations. She has a passion for the community and has lived in Stillwater for over 25 years.

With a degree in Marketing and Communications from the College of Saint Catherine and over 10 years’ experience in client focused, service and administrative positions; I thrive in high-pressure, fast paced environments. I support honesty, dependability, communication and community at the center of all my work. It is always my goal to work hard and always continue learning, while upholding myself to a high ethical standard. Outside of work I am a creative, artsy, outgoing individual and mother of three. Both individually and as a family I volunteer my time in the efforts of feeding the homeless and ending diseases. Seasonally; I sing Second Soprano with the River City Chorale. 

When I moved to the Valley to go to SAHS, I had no idea how living here would impact my life. I came to find that this place and the people who lived here were my community. I developed life long friendships from my time at SAHS. I left the Valley in 2003. Although there were times of temporarily moving back here, I did not return to live here permanently until 2010 when I found a job at DiaSorin, Inc. When this happened, I came back to the community I called home and started my eldest son into the Stillwater School system at Withrow Elementary. Now both of my sons are in the Stillwater school system (Rutherford and Stillwater Middle School) and the schools continue to astonish me with their high quality staff and constant opportunity. The Valley is the place I live, work, shop, promote, entertain, play, you name it!

Jen Bertsch is a dynamic leadership coach, founder of Moxy Coaching and developer of the successful LeadWell® program. For more than a decade, she has taught leaders to integrate coaching skills into their lives to drive intentional action and empower their teams to reach new levels of success. 

Chris Eng currently serves as the Director of Economic Development for Washington County, MN.  He has over 25 years’ experience in community and economic development working with the State of Minnesota, regional and at the city and county levels.  Previously, Chris served as the Director of Business & Economic Development for the City of Duluth, Executive Director of the Duluth Economic Development Authority and as the Executive Director of the Chisago County HRA/EDA.  Chris has also served a Vice President of Public Finance with Northland Securities.  He is a certified economic development finance professional and belongs to many organizations that seek to promote and further economic development opportunities in Minnesota.

Stuart Glaser has been with the Stillwater Fire Department for over 33 years, the last fourteen of which he has served as fire chief. Chief Glaser has extensive emergency response experience through the fire service and as an emergency manager. In addition, Chief Glaser actively represents the City of Stillwater on a number of professional organizations.

Entrepreneur 360 Award Recipient from Entrepreneur Magazine as a technology leader known for innovation and web product development expertise with deep experience in Compliance, Security, Amazon Web Services & Cloud technologies, along with DevOps and Agile methodologies.

I am a Certified Public Accountant and Partner with Forward Accounting. Forward Accounting is a tax and accounting firm with offices in Stillwater, MN, Centuria, WI and Frederic, WI. Our firm provides tax compliance, planning, accounting, bookkeeping and payroll services for both businesses and individuals. Prior to launching Forward Accounting, I worked for two other public accounting firms - Foley Kalseim, Ltd. in Lake Elmo and Grant Thornton, LLP in Minneapolis. Prior to my accounting career, I spent 10 years managing a small specialty sporting goods store in White Bear Lake. Additionally, I am an adjunct faculty member at Metropolitan State University, teaching accounting in the school’s College of Management.

Bob Manning serves as one of the new Career Pathways Coordinator for Stillwater High School. Until this year, he spent his 26 years in education teaching Global Studies and AP Human Geography in Stillwater. He has lived in Stillwater for 20 years with his wife, Chris (who teaches 2nd grade in Centennial School District), and sons Jack (23), Luke (21) and Joe (17). Bob spent over 15 years as a volunteer hockey and soccer coach in Stillwater and still enjoys watching, maybe as much as he enjoys playing golf. He and Chris are also owners of The Passport Club, a geography enrichment program for elementary and middle schools.

Sharon Mason is the Business, IT, and Law Enforcement Program Manager within Century College's CECT division. She has more than 25 years experince in education and educational sales and currently focuses on leadership development, business industry training, and grant initiatives. Sharon and her husband Mark reside in Woodbury but spend a great deal of leisure time in the St. Croix Valley.

Lori Mueller is a Human Resources Leader who is passionate about employee engagement and development. She has a Master’s Degree in Human Resources from Concordia University and is currently employed as a HR Manager at DiaSorin in Stillwater. Professional accomplishments include developing successful internship programs, implementing career development paths, and identifying creative strategies to enhance employee engagement. Lori and her husband Brian feel very fortunate to work in the beautiful community in which they live and raise their 5 children. In her personal time, Lori enjoys attending her children's many activities, volunteering at the local schools, church, and participating in community events.

I was born and raised in South Dakota, graduating with my Bachelors Degree in Microbiology from South Dakota State University. I started my healthcare career in the Laboratory at the VA Medical Center in Hot Springs, SD. My leadership journey began to flourish with opportunities to; create and operate a mobile laboratory, develop leadership positions in Quality and Infection Control and finally, advancing to a Healthcare System Leadership position as Chief of Diagnostics Services. After a few years I found myself at Lakeview Hospital where I have the pleasure to lead a highly engaged team in Ancillary Services. My wife, Donnie and I have settled into the St. Croix Valley, enjoying everything it has to offer, from the magic of the St. Croix River to the diversity of the Twin Cities and surrounding communities.

Annette Sallman is the Director of Community Education for Stillwater Area Public Schools.  She has more than 25 years of experience in education. After joining the Stillwater school district in 2004, Annette served in several roles before assuming the director’s position in 2014.  Although she does not live in Stillwater she considers this her community.  Beyond her work for the school district, she is a board member for United Way Washington County East, serves on the Lakeview Health Foundation Health and Well-Being Advisory Committee and is an active chamber member. 

Nora Slawik is the Executive Director of the Century College Foundation overseeing development, alumni, private foundation grants and fundraising for scholarships funds for the college.   She has more than 30 years of experience in nonprofit and government organizations leading development and policy decisions. 

After 30+ years in a variety of leadership roles in the corporate world Margaret founded UXL. A career coach, author and workshop facilitator, she works with individuals and teams to accelerate their career and overcome challenges.
Margaret is also a licensed practitioner for Insights Discovery, a self assessment tool that helps her clients identify their strengths, motivators and management style to enable their ultimate effectiveness. Margaret and her husband, Marlay, raised their two boys in Stillwater and continue to reside in this historic town.

Rachel Steil is a 22+ veteran English teacher at Stillwater Area High School. She has taught a variety of English courses, including Enriched 10, English 11, and the award-winning Newspaper Journalism class. Rachel has been named Minnesota Teacher of the Year in 2015 and 2020 and Minnesota Journalism Advisor of the Year in 2018. Prior to teaching, Rachel interned at the local NBC KARE 11 and ABC's "Nightline with Ted Koppel." Rachel has served as the Communications Chair for the St. Croix Education Association for 17 years. Four years ago, Rachel began working with the high school Innovations team, which is now connected with the Career Pathways program. She is one of two Career Pathways Coordinators, who are building a new, innovative program for students to explore their passions and interests in order to better determine long-term college and career planning.

I have been working as the Development Director of the Zephyr Theatre for a little over a year now. Before that, I worked for the nonprofit Heart of Dance for three years as a teaching artist, educational liaison and was part of the opening of the Rochester branch. I also facilitated in fundraising and some community awareness. During the last six years, since I received my MFA in Performing Arts, I have worked in the Twin Cities as a fight director, vocal performer, actor, director, dance choreographer and professor. I'm very passionate about the arts and what they contribute to the human experience. I believe that every person and community not only needs, but deserves to have access to the arts for a truly fulfilled life.

Sheila-Marie Untiedt has been very active in the community and the St. Croix Valley. She works as a Mediator Neutral in her practice Clean Slate Mediation assisting clients to resolve disputes in a collaborative method. She volunteers at Minneapolis Institute of Arts as a docent guide and also performs in local theater. Sheila-Marie has been an elected Town Board Supervisor for 25 years. She is married to Jim Untiedt, lives in Stillwater Township and has two daughters, one a senior at Gustavus Adolphus College and the second a junior at St. Croix Preparatory Academy.

After obtaining my undergraduate degree in Community Development from St. Cloud State University, I practiced rural planning and development in historic communities in Oregon and Colorado. I returned to my home state of Minnesota to serve as the Stillwater City Planner about seven years ago. In 2019 I obtained my Master in Public Administration from Metropolitan State University.