Citizens League

Andy Brown* is an attorney at Dorsey & Whitney LLP, focusing on environmental law. He is the former chair of the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Environment and Natural Resources Section. Mr. Brown served on the Citizens League Board of Directors from 1996-2002 and a one-year term in 2004. In 2002, he co-chaired the Citizens League Study Committee on Electricity Reliability for Minnesota. Mr. Brown currently serves as a director of the Minnesota Environmental Initiative.  Mr. Brown studied history at Stanford University, received his law degree from Duke University, and received his masters degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Carl “Buzz” Cummins* is president of the Workers' Compensation Reinsurance Association.  He is a past-president of the Citizens League, has served several terms on the League's Board of Directors, and has chaired a number of League studies.  He most recently served as a member of the League's Higher Education Study Commission. 

Steve Dornfeld is the Director of Public Affairs at the Metropolitan Council. Before joining the Met Council, Mr. Dornfeld spent more than 20 years at the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the last dozen on the opinion pages as a writer, columnist and editor. Previously, Mr. Dornfeld worked for 10 years as a state Capitol and political reporter for the Minneapolis Tribune. Mr. Dornfeld earned a bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota and later held a mid-career fellowship at the University of Michigan. He is a past national president of the Society of Professional Journalists, a past president of the Minnesota News Council and a board member of the St. Paul chapter of the American Red Cross. Mr. Dornfeld lives in Woodbury.

Tanessa Greene is an independent consultant providing management and technical assistance to Twin Cities nonprofits. Ms. Greene has served as Executive Director of Minneapolis Way to Grow, Operations and Program Director at Pilot City Neighborhood Services and held management positions at PCS Health Systems, Ernst & Young, General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) and Opus Northwest Management. Ms. Greene has established a track record as a visionary leader and strategist. She is known for her ability to quickly identify and diagnose growth impediments and develop successful turnaround strategies that improve services, cost efficiency and organizational capacity. She serves on the Board of Directors at Ascension Academy, a college prep high school in Minneapolis, and as an Advisory Board member to NdCAD, a literacy program that targets underserved children of color.

Thomas F. Horner* is president of Himle Horner Inc., a Minnesota-based public relations/public affairs firm. Previously, he was vice president and general manager in the Minnesota office of Hill and Knowlton and served as Chief of Staff to former U.S. Senator Dave Durenberger. Mr. Horner was managing editor of Sun Newspapers, Inc., where he supervised the editorial content and production of 16 suburban newspapers. He is a native of Minneapolis and a graduate of the University of St. Thomas. He teaches courses in corporate communications and public affairs at the University of St. Thomas and is a regular commentator for Minnesota Public Radio and other news media. Mr. Horner has served on the Citizens League board since 2003 and is a member of the board of the Minnesota Commission on National and Community Service. He also serves on the Premack Board and the board of the Children’s Theatre Company.

Kevin Janicki* is a senior associate with the investment banking firm Goldsmith Agio Helms. Mr. Janicki earned a bachelors degree in economics and government from the University of Notre Dame and a masters degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He has served on the Citizens League board since 2003. Mr. Janicki was raised in Burlington, Connecticut and now resides in Hugo with his wife, two daughters and brand-new baby boy (born 10/8/04).

Mary Pickard* is president of the St. Paul Travelers Foundation, where she is responsible for the overall leadership and management of the company’s community and civic affairs. Pickard earned her B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Minnesota and worked as a newspaper reporter before joining St. Paul Travelers. Ms. Pickard serves on the Local Advisory Committee for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, The Saint Paul Foundation’s Anti-Racism Task Force, the advisory committee for the School of Human Ecology at the University of Minnesota, and the capital campaign committee for Chicanos Latinos Unidos en Servicio. In addition, Pickard has served on the national board of the Council on Foundations and chaired the Minnesota Council’s Board of Directors. Pickard lives with her family in St. Paul.

Jack Uldrich is the president of The NanoVeritas Group, an international leadership and technology consultancy that focuses on helping organizations navigate through technological change. Uldrich is the author of The Next Big Thing is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business and Into the Unknown: Leadership Lessons from Lewis and Clark’s Daring Westward Adventure. He is a former naval intelligence officer and Defense Department official and served as the Deputy Director of the Minnesota Office of Strategic and Long Range Planning under Governor Jesse Ventura. From 2001-2003, Uldrich served as the chair of the Independence Party of Minnesota. He is a graduate of Drake University, received his MA from the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota and lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Cindy, and their two children, Meghan and Sean.

Rebecca Wallin is the Director of the Wallin Scholarship Program, which provides college scholarships to Minneapolis Public Schools students with financial need. Rebecca holds a Ph.D. in sociology from Northwestern University, an M.B.A. from The Wharton School, and an A.B. in History from Brown University. She has teaching and research experience at the college level in topics relating to work and occupations, education, and social stratification. She also has corporate business experience in staffing, compensation, and employee relations at Wells Fargo, Sprint, and Pepsico. She and her husband have three children and are the oldest parents they know.