The membership elects the officers and directors to two-year terms at a state-wide convention. All officers and directors are blind. The Board meets at least quarterly.
President - Jennifer Dunnam, Minneapolis
612-929-2353
jennifer.dunnam@earthlink.net
Jennifer grew up in Louisiana, graduating from Louisiana Tech University
with a double major in French and Spanish and a minor in
political science. She moved to Minnesota after college and for
several years worked as an instructor at Blindness Learning in New Dimensions
(BLIND), alternately teaching braille, white-cane travel, and
administering the Buddy Program for children. Then, for nine
years, she worked at the University of Minnesota, coordinating
the production of materials in braille, audio, and electronic
formats and, for a short while administered a student-testing
center. Currently, under contract with the National Library
Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, she coordinates
the administration of all of the courses leading to Library of
Congress certification in braille transcribing and proofreading.
She joined the National Federation of the Blind as the age of
fourteen, after meeting successful blind adult role models. She
has held several offices in the NFB of Minnesota, and was elected
president in 2007.
Vice-President - Steve Jacobson, Edina
952-927-7694
steve.jacobson@visi.com
Steve has been employed by the 3M Company for more than thirty years and
is currently a Lead Computer Analyst. He graduated from the Minnesota Braille
and Sight Saving School and received a Bachelor's degree in mathematics
from Augsburg College. Steve joined the NFB of Minnesota in 1971, has served
as an officer of the student division, Metro Chapter president,
and secretary of the NFB of Minnesota. He is also heavily involved in
technology and is currently vice-president of the national NFB computer
science division.
Secretary - Judy Sanders, Minneapolis
612-375-1625
jsanders.nfb@comcast.net
Judy is a graduate of the University of Colorado, where she obtained her
teaching certificate. She discovered that blind people are not always
judged by their capabilities; Denver Public Schools refused to hire
any blind person, no matter their qualifications. It was through the NFB
that she solved that problem. She has been employed as a teacher,
a Congressional staffer and has worked in rehabilitation of the blind.
She currently serves as president of the national NFB Senior Division.
Her hobbies include reading fiction, playing cards and going to movies.
Treasurer - Tom Scanlan, Minneapolis
612-920-0959
tom.scanlan@earthlink.net
Tom is a retired information technology manager, having held key
management positions in the State of Minnesota's Office of
Enterprise Technology. He grew up in Rochester, graduated from
the Minnesota Braille and Sight Saving School, and earned a
degree in business administration from the University of St.
Thomas. He joined the NFB of Minnesota in 1969, served two terms
as president of the student division, and was first elected
Treasurer in 1974. His business education and management
experience have served him well in his duties as treasurer.
Pat Barrett, Minneapolis
612-866-6878
patrick.a.barrett@msn.com
Pat earned a B.A. degree in Communications-English with Journalism emphasis from Boise State University in 1975. While living in Idaho, he served as president of two chapters of the NFB of Idaho, and as second vice-president on the state board. Since 1997, he has worked as a systems change analyst in the Information Technology department at Express Scripts, Inc. in Minnesota. He works hard to support his family, is a local leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, active in Toastmasters, and loves to read braille books, bowl, and play harmonica and sing.
Pat is also president of the NFB of Minnesota Metro Chapter.
Jan Bailey, Rochester
507-288-5335
jb021951@charter.net
Jan was born in St. Paul, and she and her family left Minnesota when she was
three years old. They lived in several western states, finally settling in
the state of Washington. Her family moved back to Minnesota when she was 12,
and she graduated from Bethlehem Academy High School in Faribault.
She received a Bachelor's Degree from Southwest Minnesota State University in
1973, and then moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where she worked as a nursing home
social worker for five years. When she returned to Minnesota in 1978, she
began work as a rehabilitation teacher at Minnesota State Services for the blind.
She became a rehabilitation counselor in 1982, and continues to work at State
Services for the Blind in the Rochester office. She loves cooking, reading and
finding things on the internet. Jan is also president of the NFB of Minnesota
Rochester Chapter.
Charlene Childrey, New Ulm
507-354-2250
childrey@newulmtel.net
Charlene is also president of the NFB of Minnesota Riverbend Chapter.
Joyce Scanlan, Minneapolis
612-920-0959
joyce.scanlan@earthlink.net
Joyce grew up in the Fargo-Moorhead area, graduated from the
North Dakota School for the Blind, and earned B.A. and M.A.
degrees in English from the University of North Dakota with
minors in Social Studies, Latin, Education, and History. She
taught high school English, Latin, and History in North Dakota
and Montana before moving to Minnesota. She joined the NFB of
Minnesota in 1970, and was first elected its president in 1973.
In 1974, she was elected to the national NFB board of directors,
where she served until 2006, including the offices of secretary
and first vice-president. In 1986, she founded Blindness: Learning in New Dimensions
(BLIND), and served as its executive director from 1987 to
2003. She was elected president of the NFB of Minnesota every two
years from 1974 until her retirement from that position in
2007.
Jeff Thompson, Fridley
763-571-3031
JThompson6835@comcast.net