Jodi Sandfort
Associate Professor, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota

Jodi Sandfort is an Associate Professor, Chair of the Management & Leadership Area at the Humphrey School, and co-academic director of the Center for Integrative Leadership. Her teaching and practice focus on improving the implementation of cross-sector programs and public policies. Her research focuses on policies designed to support low-income children and their families and, increasingly, civic engagement through on-line and face-to-face settings. Dr. Sandfort has recently worked as a Special Assistant to University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks, as a program development consultant with the Bush Foundation, and Senior Fellow at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.

Sandfort came to the School from the McKnight Foundation, where, as the Director of the Children & Families program, she managed a portfolio of $20 million in annual giving directed to Minnesota’s human service fields. She received her PhD from a multi-disciplinary program (University of Michigan, Political Science and Social Work). Dr. Sandfort also worked as a case manager for the AIDS Care Connection in Detroit, as a program assistant at the Children's Defense Fund in Washington, D.C., and as an assistant professor of public administration at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. She has worked as a consultant with national and state-wide foundations, think-tanks, and other nonprofit human service organizations. She also provides leadership coaching, executive development, and organizational development services to nonprofit, philanthropic, and public organizations.

Sandfort is the author of numerous academic articles, book chapters, and reports for policymakers and practitioners about nonprofit management, social welfare system design, organizational effectiveness, early childhood education, welfare reform, human service networks, and research methodology. Her dissertation was an in-depth examination of how front-line organizations in Michigan's welfare system implemented public policy. This study was followed by research on about local implementation of welfare reform, another study of early childhood programs blending childcare, Head Start, and state-sponsored preschool programs, and recent work on human service agencies formed in networks. Her current research examines facilitation techniques supporting cross-sector community conversations to grapple with challenging, diverse public problems.

Greg Lindsey
Professor, Humphrey School of Public Affairs

Greg Lindsey joined the Humphrey School of Public Affairs in 2008 as Associate Dean, served as Interim Dean in 2011, and served as Executive Associate Dean until September 2012. He is currently serving as acting co-academic director of the Center for Integrative Leadership.

Lindsey specializes in environmental planning, policy, and management. His current research involves non-motorized transportation systems, including bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and studies of relationships between the built environment and active transportation and physical activity. Lindsey previously has directed research projects on water infrastructure finance, greenway use, annexation policy, and erosion and sediment control programs. He has served on commissions for neighborhood development, park land acquisition, comprehensive plan implementation, tree preservation, groundwater protection, and soil and water conservation.

Lindsey teaches capstone and workshop courses in non-motorized transportation and the Humphrey School's CHANCE course, a course in which students do research with neighborhood organizations in the Cedar Riverside on issues of concern to local residents..

Lindsey has received a number of awards for his work to link research and practice. In 2008, he was named a Distinguished Hoosier by the Governor of Indiana and was recognized by the City-County Council of Indianapolis, Indiana for his contributions to the city. In 2004, he was named the inaugural recipient of the Chancellor's Faculty Award for Excellence in Civic Engagement at IUPUI. He was a Senior Fulbright Scholar in Viet Nam in 1999.

Myles Shaver
Professor in the Department of Strategic Management and Organization at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota and holds the Pond Family Chair in the Teaching and Advancement of Free Enterprise Principles

Myles Shaver is Professor of Strategic Management and Organization at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. He has received numerous teaching awards for MBA and executive education classes on Corporate Strategy, Multinational Business Management, and Corporate Responsibility; and Ph.D. classes on strategy and international business research. Myles’ research interests revolve around corporate strategy choices and their impact on performance. In particular, his research focuses on the management and economics of international expansion as well as corporate expansion through diversification and mergers and acquisitions. Myles’ work has been published in several leading academic publication and he has presented his research at numerous universities and conferences around the world. Myles is an Associate Editor of the Global Strategy Journal and Management Science and is on the Editorial Boards of the Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, Strategic Organization, and the Journal of International Business Education.

Myles makes frequent media appearances to discuss topical business issues and was awarded the Ross School of Business (University of Michigan) Distinguished PhD Alumni Award in 2010.

Laura Bloomberg
Executive Director

Associate Professor, Carlson School of Management Laura Bloomberg is the Executive Director of the Center for Integrative Leadership and a member of the Graduate Faculty at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs where she teachers courses on Leadership, Management, and Program Evaluation. Bloomberg has won several awards for teaching including the Humphrey students’ award for Instructor of the Year (2010 and 2011). She also received a University of Minnesota Outstanding Faculty Member Award from the Council of Graduate Students (2011).

Prior to joining the Humphrey School in 2007, Bloomberg was a school district administrator and principal of a K-12 urban magnet school. From 1990-1996 she was an instructor, researcher, and academic administrator in the College of Education, University of Minnesota. Bloomberg served as a school board member in Mahtomedi, Minnesota (1996-2004) and chaired the Association of Metropolitan School Districts. She is a founding partner of Full Circle Community Institute, a cross cultural organization that provides evaluation and leadership support to community-based organizations and indigenous tribal communities.

Bloomberg’s most recent research and policy work has focused on community leadership, youth development, cross-cultural dialogue and educational policy. She has done extensive work with public-private partnerships to design leadership models that support healthy community development

Bloomberg has authored several articles on program evaluation, policy development, cross-agency leadership and collaboration, and educational program analysis. She has worked on youth development policy with the provincial governments of Canada, tribal leaders of Indigenous Nations, and the island country of Cyprus. She has worked with several states, federal agencies, and the National Governors Association to develop improved civic leadership and education systems in this country.

Bloomberg holds a Bachelors degree in Special Education from St. Cloud State University, Master’s degrees in Measurement, Psychometrics, Evaluation, and Educational Psychology from Cornell University, Ithaca New York; and a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Administration from the University of Minnesota.

Read Laura's CV

Steve Kelley
Senior Fellow, Humphrey School, Interim Deputy Director, CIL

Steve Kelley is a senior fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and its Center for Science, Technology, and Public Policy. He served in the Minnesota Legislature for 14 years, chairing the Senate Education Committee for four years. Kelley’s current work focuses on issues relating to science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, information and communications technology policy, innovation policy and the role of design thinking in innovation and public engagement with science.

He has served on a number of boards and commissions, including the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Citizens League, Sierra Club North Star Chapter Executive Committee, SciMathMN and Playworks Twin Cities.

Kelley received his B.A. from Williams College in 1975 and his J.D. from the Columbia University School of Law in 1978.

CIL Staff

Merrie Benasutti
Associate Director, Student Initiatives

Merrie Benasutti is the Associate Director of the Center for Integrative Leadership at the University of MN. Merrie is responsible for student initiatives within the center, including the CIL Student Leadership Team, CommonGrounds, which brings together graduate students from multiple disciplines to work together on a public issue, and a collaborative, civic engagement project, CHANCE, which connects the university with the adjacent Cedar Riverside neighborhood. Merrie has over fifteen years experience working within higher education and is committed to campus/community collaboration, civic engagement, and promoting cross-cultural learning and interaction.

 

Leah Lundquist
Program Manager

As Program Manager for the University of Minnesota's Center for Integrative Leadership, Leah Lundquist develops and sustains community-University partnerships that practice and promote acts of leadership that cross traditional boundaries. Prior to joining CIL, Leah developed the organizational capacity of nonprofits and foundations through positions at Northwest Area Foundation, Fieldstone Alliance, and the Women's Funding Network. In addition, Leah currently serves as national liaison for the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of the Twin Cities. She has a B.A. in biology and English from Luther College and a Master of Public Policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs focused on public and nonprofit leadership and management.