Speakers

On June 1, 2023, Susan Rundell Singer became St. Olaf College’s 12th president. A prolific STEM scholar and educator, she leads with a compassionate, people-first approach and emphasizes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Previously, she served as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at Rollins College; was recruited to lead the Division of Undergraduate Education at the National Science Foundation (NSF); and served as the Laurence McKinley Gould Professor of Biology at Carleton College, where she directed the Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching.

As a dedicated mother and President of the Chamber of Commerce, Jane Bartho has proudly called Northfield home for 25 years, nurturing her family and contributing to our vibrant community. With a background in social work and healthcare sales, Jane has had the privilege of serving others both professionally and through her work at St. Dominic School, where her children received their education. Jane has successfully managed a home-based small business, embodying the spirit of entrepreneurship and community engagement.

John Harris worked for over 20 years at the Washington Post covering politics and the White House before leaving in 2006 to co-found Politico, an political journalism media company, and become its editor-in-chief, a post he held until 2019. Politico delivers its message mainly via its website, Politico.com, but also through its popular daily email 'Playbook' and a print version paper in the Washington DC area. As John puts it, he stumbled into journalism during his freshman year at Carleton College by writing a few articles for the student newspaper, The Carletonian. He was hooked. Currently John still writes a regular article for the Politico Magazine called "Altitude" which provides a perspective on politics in a moment of radical disruption. You can find the series of articles online here: www.politico.com/tag/altitude John will talk to the club on a timely political topic (very likely election related!) and answer questions.  Hosted by Bent Nystrom

Meleah Follen is the Network Impact Director for Healthy Community Initiative (HCI).  She has worked for HCI since 2014 in a variety of roles but her primary focus has been on finding avenues for youth to engage in their community as a means for social, emotional and educational growth.  As part of her current role, Meleah oversees the Northfield Community College Collaborative (NCCC) which provides an accessible local community college option with wraparound support services that empower all students in Northfield to reach their post-secondary potential.  

Anna Thill discovered in college that her life's journey would include working on a macro level to improve people's lives.  In that endeavor, she has followed a coule of career paths and now serves as Community Relations Manager for Xcel Energy where she has been supporting customers in much of Southern Minnesota since April 2022.  he lives in Mankato with her husband and two teenage boys who often hear about, or are ask to participate in, her volunteer work with several nonprofits in the region.

Jeff Molby is a Rotarian from Caro, Michigan where he's been volunteering for the American Cancer Society through Relay For Life for the last few years. On October 10th, 2023, he added his love of traveling and cycling to his fight against cancer as he set off on a multi-year bike tour around the country in order to help people get to their chemo appointments.

Although Ken Pankow has live in Northfield since 2018, he was born in Illinois and has lived in Minnesota for most of his life.  Ken is married with two children.  In his free time, Ken likes to golf, go for motorcycle rides and walking around town with his wife.  Ken recently opened the new, very successful, Gong Loco restaurant on Hwy 3 in Northfield.