Board of Directors

Tom Bader
Stillwater, MN

Tom grew up near St. Croix Falls and often camped and canoed with his family and friends on the Namekagon and St. Croix. He worked at the local canoe rental and on riverboats in high school. He spent two summers after high school working for the NPS on the Upper St. Croix and Namekagon rivers. Tom lives in Stillwater where he and his wife, Meg raised their four children in the same restored home, for nearly 40 years. As a regional manager for Stantec, his role as a leader in the community was based on participating in the development of significant community design and planning, environmental management, and architectural and infrastructure projects that make communities better places to live. He also was responsible for the company’s regional philanthropic community engagement program.

Nancy Beiersdorf (Treasurer)
Grant Township, MN

Nancy is the founder of EcoTransform Partners LLC, where she drives sustainability and conservation through innovation and strategic planning. After 26 years at Medtronic, leading digital transformation and strategic initiatives, she now combines her expertise with a passion for protecting ecosystems. As Treasurer for both the Wild Rivers Conservancy and the Gateway – Browns Creek Trail Association (GBCTA), Nancy applies her financial and organizational skills to support nonprofit efforts. An avid outdoor enthusiast, she enjoys camping, biking, and exploring the St. Croix River. Her travels to 25+ National Parks have deepened her commitment to environmental stewardship, aligning with the Wild Rivers Conservancy’s mission to preserve the St. Croix and Namekagon Riverway for future generations.

Doug Blanke
Stillwater, MN

Doug’s love of the St. Croix is one of the things that brought him to Minnesota more than forty years ago.  As a Minnesota Assistant Attorney General, he helped defend the constitutionality of Minnesota statutes, including the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, enforced the state’s consumer protection laws, and fought the tobacco industry. Today, he leads the Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, helping community leaders advance health equity and strengthen the nation's laws to reduce tobacco use, promote healthier diets, and encourage more active lives. He likes to slip his kayak into the river in downtown Stillwater early in the morning when no one is looking.

Deborah Borek, M.D.
Osceola, WI

Debbie is a retired pathologist who first saw the St. Croix River 5 1/2 years ago when her fiancé Dave Wiseman brought her to his home on River Street in Osceola. She fell in love with the river and has since spent many hours hiking, kayaking, canoeing, and birding on the St. Croix and Namekagon. She has served on numerous hospital committees and a couple of medical Boards. Debbie has a long-standing interest in prairie conservation and has obtained a conservation easement on a small native prairie she owns in Kansas. She and Dave divide their time between Osceola and Kansas City.

Douglas Clapp
Washington D.C.

Doug grew up on Puget Sound and often visited his grandparents on the St. Croix River. He now owns part of the same St. Croix property that has been in his family for more than 100 years. Doug is a retired U.S. congressional staffer, with over eight years in House and Senate offices and 18 years on the Senate Appropriations Committee. His focus was on energy, water, and public land issues.

Clay Diggins
Afton, MN

Bio coming soon

Loralee DiLorenzo (Chair)
Marine on St Croix, MN

Loralee DiLorenzo feels fortunate to live on the bluffs of the St Croix River in Marine on St Croix, which has enhanced her family's quality of life immeasurably. She is an inveterate volunteer, focusing more on volunteer opportunities in the St Croix River Valley recently. She enjoys being on the river on her pontoon, paddle-board, canoe, skis and feet. Loralee has experience in grant-writing, strategic planning, communications, governance, leadership development and fundraising.

Dawn Georgieff
St. Paul, MN

Dawn has enjoyed many years of canoeing and sailing on the St Croix and Namekagon rivers. She is particularly knowledgeable about the river geography around the Arcola sandbar where they own a place. Dawn has been involved with research on the mussels and the algae in the St Croix and is knowledgeable about the bird life. She is also trained in aquatic invasive species detection. Dawn is a current member of the Sierra Club Clean Energy Team    and serves on the Conservancy Land and Water Committee.

Dorothy Goldie (Vice Chair)
St. Paul, MN and Deer Lake, WI

Dorothy is the retired Director of Institutional Advancement at St Paul Academy and Summit School. Previously she was the Executive Director of Minnesota Center for Book Arts, and before that held a variety of corporate marketing positions. She is an experienced board member with a passion for the St Croix Valley and the surrounding watershed. Beyond support for our mission, she has experience in nonprofit management, fundraising, board governance, community leadership, and access to donors. A short list of the boards she has served on includes the YWCA of St Paul, Shir Tikvah Congregation, St Paul Academy and Summit School, Open Book, and Franconia Sculpture Park.

Craig Hamer
Lakeland, MN

Craig is a recent retiree from 3M where he was a Corporate Scientist and Carlton Society inductee. During his career, he was a leader in commercialization of novel processes, with an emphasis on solvent elimination and sustainability. He lives on the St Croix river and appreciates the value of such a remarkable natural asset. As a board member, Craig is leveraging on his corporate experience in myriad ways: to enhance scope and reach, build team and community cohesion, grow and preserve our resources, and improve communication and education. He also serves on the board of Open Door Community Theatre, which serves the east Twin Cities metro area. Craig and his wife Monica greatly appreciate all that the rivers have to offer, especially sailing and boating on the St Croix.

Lindsie Herzog
St. Paul, MN

Mark Holloway
Minneapolis, MN

Mark loves the St. Croix River. His great-grandfather purchased land on the St. Croix in 1934 and his family still has a cabin there, it's the first place he ever swam. Mark's work in remote places on expeditions ingrained in him a deep connection and comfort to wild places and instilled a desire to treasure, protect and serve these wild places. He was a NOLS instructor, a Widjiwagan counselor and currently is a River Expedition trainer for Widji's advanced staff. Mark is passionate about his ownership and employment at Terra Firma Building and Remodeling Cooperative where he works as a Project Developer.

Sarah Lovegreen
Minneapolis, MN

Sarah started her career as a prairie horticulturist, and environmental scientist working in waste management and sustainable systems infrastructure for the government, and then moved on to brownfield and superfund remediation and redevelopment in the private sector, and is currently a practicing environmental and real estate attorney. Sarah participates in ongoing volunteer legal work, has experience in environmental education, working with the MPCA and Minnesota Zoo, and a strong water quality interest.

Mike Madigan
Woodbury, MN

A founding member of Madigan, Dahl & Harlan, Mike recently retired after 44 years practicing law.  An avid fisherman, canoeist, and hiker, throughout his career, he has pursued his commitment to public service and environmental protection through pro bono representation and board service on many civic organizations and nonprofits, including Minnesota Trout Unlimited (June 2019 – present), the South Washington Watershed Board (2007 - Present), Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (1990 – 2002), Woodbury City Council ((1999 - 2006), and the Metropolitan Airports Commission (2011 – 2019).  Mike and his wife, Kay, own a small cabin on the headwaters of the Namekagon and he has fished and canoed the upper river for over 35 years.

Jennifer Mason, Ed.D.
Hudson, WI

Jennifer is an experienced learning and development professional with expertise in adult learning, program development and evaluation, project and change management, and continuous improvement. After 17-years in higher education, she transitioned to a role with the YMCA of the North that supports organizational wide transformation. An outdoor enthusiast, she moved to the woods in St. Joseph Township in 2018 with her husband and two dogs and is blessed to share riverfront property on the St. Croix with her neighbors; the river is special to Jennifer and she wants to help preserve it for generations to come.

Marla Stack
Minneapolis, MN

Bio coming soon

Brian Van Abel
Scandia, MN

Brian is the Chief Financial Officer at Xcel Energy, which has a long history of supporting the Conservancy. He is an expert on financial matters as he has spent the last ten years at Xcel Energy in various financial roles including Treasurer and Senior Vice President of Finance. Brian grew up visiting the St. Croix River with his family and is now in a position to give back to the river that his two daughters (7 and 5) enjoy very much. He also serves on the board of Avivo, a Minneapolis-based non-profit focused on providing job training, mental health, and recovery services, and ending homelessness.

Natalie Warren
Minneapolis, MN

Bio coming soon