Board, Staff & Reps

Board of Directors

OFFICERS

Since 1998, Mike and his wife Dawn have lived in East Isles, where they are raising two children. He enjoys cooking, time at the lake, skiing, riding his Harley and running; he completed his 20th Twin Cities Marathon in 2021.

Mike’s public affairs practice, Aurora Strategic Advisors, provides communications, government relations, and strategic counsel. Prior to Aurora, Mike served as: VP Communications, Public Affairs and Government Relations at SuperValu; Chief of Staff, U.S. Congressman Martin Sabo and State Chair, MN Democratic Party. 

Mike has appeared on national television and radio including NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, NPR and is a regular on KSTP’s At Issue. 

Mike also serves on the Minneapolis Capital Long-Range Improvement Committee, Hill & Lake Press and SteppingStone Theatre boards.

Ellen van Iwaarden loves living in the East Isles neighborhood where she can walk to so many places, garden, bike, and enjoy life in our amazing city.

She is grateful to live in a neighborhood filled with active and civic-minded neighbors and has met many friends through her neighborhood volunteer work. As the Chair of the East Isles Green Team, Ellen enjoys planning neighborhood events to protect our environment and lakes.

Ellen is a retired lawyer and nonprofit professional who started her career in securities law with a large law firm, clerked for the Minnesota Supreme Court, wrote the City of Minneapolis’s Ethics in Government Code and finished her career working for The Advocates for Human Rights.

She and her husband Jim have two daughters, two sons-in-law, and two grandchildren.

Brian has called East Isles home for over 30 years. He recently retired from full time work in management for a non-for-profit health system, but is busier than ever with volunteer assignments, travel, and trying to do all things he never got around to while working, like learning to play the guitar.

Brian values East Isles for its central location, mix of residents, architectural charm, nearby shops and restaurants, and walkability.  He also appreciates the lakes, bike trails, and other recreational opportunities right in our backyards.  You will often find him biking, running, or cross-country skiing with family or friends. He also volunteers with the Loppet Foundation, including playing a key role in the annual Luminary Loppet and grooming the trails on the Lake of the Isles.

As a board member, Brian wants to help East Isles again be a welcoming and safe place for all, preserve its natural amenities, and make our collective voices heard in decisions that impact our neighborhood.

Quinton is originally from Kansas City and now proudly calls Minneapolis and East Isles home. He joined the East Isles board in 2022.

He formerly served for twelve years as both a bilingual teacher and elementary school principal in New Jersey and Texas, but life changed course and he is now happily employed as a flight attendant and purser for a global airline.

He appreciates that East Isles has the perfect mix of historic architecture, proximity to parks and commerce, and density of residents and visitors. 

Quinton and his partner can often be found riding their bikes or walking around the lake and neighborhood with their old boxer. If you see us around, please say, “Hello!”

BOARD MEMBERS AT-LARGE

Debra has lived in East Isles since 2015, and at the encouragement of her neighbors, joined the East Isles Neighborhood Association Board in 2022.

Debra has two children and a dog that likes to escape to Triangle Park all too often. She is a real estate and development attorney with Ryan Companies.

Her favorite things about East Isles are the Ice Cream Social, ice skating rink, walkability to the lake, coffee, pharmacy, groceries, and of course, the Luminary Loppet.

Debra’s wish for the neighborhood is for all people to feel safe and confident again in city living. She would also like cars and traffic to remain on Hennepin and nearby thoroughfares to preserve the quiet and residential feel of our neighborhood.

Jonathan and his wife Elizabeth closed on their East Isles house just a couple of hours after Elizabeth gave birth to their first child, daughter Laura, now 10 years old. They've been in that house ever since, and son Torsten joined the family in 2016. They love the walkability, breadth of stores and amenities in East Isles, as well as the great neighbors we've met over the past decade.

Jonathan grew up in River Falls, WI, attended the U of MN studying chemistry, and used to park on these same streets to have fun and spend too much money at Cal-Surf, Gap, Urban Outfitters, and Cheapo records, never thinking he'd live here some day. After completing his PhD in analytical chemistry, Jonathan moved to California, then Chicago and Charlestown, MA with Elizabeth, who was finishing her medical residency. He currently works for Archer Science, an analytical chemistry instrumentation manufacturer based in Lake Elmo and Switzerland.

Jonathan and family enjoy paddling canoes or paddle boards on the chain of lakes, camping, traveling, and looking for birds throughout the year passing through MN on their migrations.

Julia has lived in the same 119-year-old four-square for 23% of the house’s life. She and her husband Harry have raised two boys, Zander, 26, and Jonah, 24, two dogs, two cats, three finches and one rabbit. 

Over the years, they’ve (all) slid down the slides at Triangle Park, represented the neighborhood in the now defunct Palio Parade, played ice hockey on the north arm, T-ball in Kenwood Park, biked, sailed, kayaked, and cleaned up the lakes, often from the bow or gunwales of their aptly named canoe, Mission Impossible.

Julia’s early careers were in advertising and journalism; she was the previous publisher and editor of The Phoenix Spirit newspaper and wrote parenting columns for various publications. A midlife career switch has Julia enjoying private practice as a Marriage and Family Therapist. 

Henry spent many of his formative years in the Twin Cities, and moved back to Minneapolis, along with his wife, Barbara, two years ago. They consider themselves lucky to have found their ideal house in their ideal neighborhood, the walkable and friendly East Isles.

Henry’s career spans decades and includes credits in television, feature animation, visual effects for film, and art direction for video games. He is an Emmy and BAFTA award winner, and an Academy Award nominee. His work has taken him and his family on a journey, living in New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Vancouver BC, San Francisco and London.

Lake of the Isles is Henry’s favorite. He enjoys kayaking, running, biking and skate skiing all year—yes, including the winter. He is fervently concerned about keeping the lake healthy and clean, picking up gallons of trash daily while out walking the dog. He is also actively looking toward long term innovations and solutions to insure the future health of this neighborhood treasure.

An East Coast native, Dan graduated from University of Virginia with a B.A. in English and spent his early career working across disciplines of consumer research, communications, marketing and brand strategy in Baltimore, Atlanta and New York. In 1999, Dan was recruited to the Twin Cities, for what he thought would be a 3–5 year tour before moving back East!

As Global Strategy Director for Fallon’s largest client, Citibank, as well as a leader of the Minneapolis Office management team, Dan played a key role in Fallon’s explosive growth worldwide. In 2004, he stepped off the agency fast-lane to spend more time with family—founding a boutique strategy consultancy. 19 years later, his firm continues to advise national brands on how to develop products, experiences and brands that play a more meaningful role in people’s lives.

Today, Dan considers East Isles home and together with his partner, Vilia Bloom, can hardly imagine living anywhere else (except in February). An avid cyclist and devoted gardener, he enjoys spending every possible minute outside—whether in the yard or around the lakes. He also feels incredibly fortunate to have raised all three of his sons in this remarkable community—where they’ve made countless memories with friends, neighbors and local business owners.

Dan served on the Board of NiceRide for six years, as well as the Vestry of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Linden Hills.

Staff

Representatives

Katie Cashman, Ward 7 Council Member, Minneapolis City Council
contact info + newsletter

Jacob Frey, Mayor, City of Minneapolis
contact info

Elizabeth Shaffer, District 4 Commissioner, Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board
contact info + newsletter

Jennifer Waisanen, 5th Precinct Crime Prevention Specialist, MPD
contact info + news alerts

Marion Greene, District 3 Commissioner, Hennepin Co. Board
contact info + newsletter

Frank Hornstein, Representative, MN House of Representatives
contact info + newsletter

Scott Dibble, Senator, MN Senate
contact info + newsletter

Tim Walz, Governor, State of MN
contact info