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.
(Term ends 2011)
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.
(Term ends 2010)
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.
(Term ends 2011)
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.
(Term ends 2010)
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, worked at State Services for the Blind in the Rochester office for a little over 31 years, and retired from that job in December of 2009. She now plans to start her own business and work as a contract vendor for the State of Minnesota as a rehabilitation teacher. She loves cooking, reading and finding things on the Internet. Jan is also
president of the NFB of Minnesota Rochester Chapter.
(Term ends 2011)
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.
(Term ends 2010)
Charlene Guggisberg, Minneapolis
507-316-0827
charmg@comcast.net
Charlene grew up on a farm in rural Minnesota. Her parents and
older brothers expected her to help with farm and household
chores and not use blindness be an excuse for getting out of
work. She attended the St. Mary's campus college of St.
Catherine's where she received a degree as a Certified
Occupational Therapy Assistant. She has also done coarse work at
St. Catherine's campus in St. Paul, Minnesota University
Duluth, and Mankato state University. After working for seven
years as an occupational therapy assistant at New Ulm Medical
center in both the Physical Medicine and Behavioral Health units,
she worked as a rehabilitation instructor in many capacities for
Blindness: Learning in New Dimensions
(BLIND) as well as an independent contract worker for
State Services for the Blind.
The age groups she worked with ranged from children through
seniors. She has worked with soldiers from both the United States
and Colombia who were coping with vision loss. She is the mother
of two children and enjoys a variety of hobbies, including
reading and cross country skiing.
(Term ends 2011)
Sheila Koenig, Minneapolis
612-977-9110
shekoenig@comcast.net
Sheila grew up and attended college in Wisconsin. After
graduating from college, Sheila taught 7th grade English and 8th
grade Spanish in Springfield, Missouri. She moved to Minnesota in
2000 and teaches 9th grade English at South View Middle School in
Edina. Sheila earned her Bachelor's degree in Education from
Cardinal Stritch College and her Master’s degree in
Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Minnesota. She
is a graduate of Blindness:
Learning in New Dimensions (BLIND), where she
developed the skills and attitude to be a successful blind
teacher. In 2007 she was awarded the “Blind Educator of the
Year” award from the National Federation of the Blind.
Sheila also serves as President of the National Organization of Blind
Educators and first vice-president of the NFB of Minnesota
Metro Chapter.
(Term ends 2011)
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.
(Term ends 2010)