Events

Meet K. Neil Van Dine, founder of Haiti Outreach and a passionate advocate with over three decades of dedication to Haiti’s development. Since 1989, Neil has called Haiti home, working tirelessly to improve access to clean water and sanitation in developing nations. His ultimate goal is to ensure that every household has sustainable access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene.

Neil is the former President of the Rotary E-Club of WASH and a founding board member of the Rotary HANWASH initiative. He also served as the Board Chair of the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Rotary Action Group (WASH-RAG).

He continues to work closely with fellow Rotarians to develop and implement international tools that enable data-driven decision-making and effective tracking of Rotary WASH initiatives around the world.

Adam Kooyer joined the Uptown Rotary Club in August 2024 and has been actively contributing to the club's goals in many ways. He’s backed up the Program department and wrangled guests, jumped in on planning committees, and offered fresh ideas. He’s also volunteered at Ella Baker for Every Meal and Joyce Food Shelf.

Adam's first job (not working for his dad's insulation business) was as an Actor in a theater production put on by the Headwaters Society in northern Minnesota.  At one time he had aspirations to become an actor--until he learned he'd be broke most of the time. He began studying Communications and English in college eventually pivoting to technology when the IT industry was heating up in the mid-1990s. 

Adam's IT career began with "Project Gold" at Bell Atlantic Business Systems, supporting the brand-new Windows 95 operating system on Compaq computers. Over the years he's adapted to waves of  evolving technology and carved out a career path that led him to IDEMIA--an identity services company. Having spent a large portion of his career working for this company in its many iterations, Adam has had the opportunity to travel the world for many biometric and identity implementations and demonstrations.

He currently works as a Cloud Platform Engineer and Team Lead, building secure, scalable identity systems that help protect the identities of hundreds of thousands of people.

On the side, Adam enjoys traveling to Hawaii, listening to a wide variety of music, singing Karaoke, video games, and graphic design (including creating logos and products for small businesses and personal projects).  A longtime enthusiast of vintage coin operated games, he restores arcade and pinball machines and is the former producer and host of RcadeRadio, an arcade related podcast he produced for seven years.

Adam’s mix of creativity and technical experience is well-suited for his role as Public Image Relations Chair. While not a web designer by trade, he has spent years exploring web standards, modern design practices, and technologies. This hands-on curiosity has allowed him to contribute meaningfully to the Uptown Rotary Club’s digital presence, including the redesign of its website and content.

Bob Jacobson was appointed ​the 15th commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety by Gov. Tim Walz in January 2023. Prior to his appointment, Jacobson served as the interim deputy assistant commissioner in the Department of Human Services.

Previously, he served for more than 33 years in active law enforcement including 16 years as the director of public safety/chief of police for the City of New Brighton where he led their police, fire and emergency operations. He also served as interim police chief for the City of Stillwater during a leadership transition.

Jacobson also served as the interim inspector general for the Department of Human Services. He served as the professional development director for the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, coordinating and implementing statewide and regional training and con​ferences for the Association.

Jacobson has a B.A. from Bethel University in Organizational Leadership and attended the Senior Management Institute for Police conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum.​

Bob came highly recommended to the club by my step-dad, Harlan Johnson, who served as Executive Director for the Minnesota Chiefs of Police for many years.

Katherine is Executive Director of Mary's Pence, which was was founded by women to support women on the margins at a time when women-led social justice projects were overlooked and under-funded.

Katherine has led Mary's Pence for almost 17 years, managing the two programs - Mary's Pence Grants which are given across the US, and the ESPERA program in Central America and Mexico. During her time the programs have grown and expanded. Prior to working with Mary’s Pence she worked at Honeywell and Toro, in organization development roles where she gained skills in strategic planning, project management, training and facilitation. She has facilitated retreats on nonviolence, and served as a core team member founding the Minnesota Peace Team which was created to provide a nonpartisan presence during the Republican National Convention. She currently serves on the board of Ignatian Volunteer Corps.

Tricia Wright serves as the first Executive Director of Onward, stepping into the role in April 2022 after two years of board service. With 17 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, she has served as a strategic advisor, consultant, organizational leader, and board member—helping mission-driven organizations grow and strengthen their impact. Tricia holds an MBA from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, where she focused on organizational leadership and social entrepreneurship. A strategic and values-driven leader, she is passionate about driving community change and expanding opportunities for young adults.

We will hear from the students we've recently sponsored for Rotary Short Term Student Exchange -- Irene (daughter of Kwame and Alissa) and Johanna (who is here now from Germany). 

Mike Benz has been a member of the Minneapolis Uptown Rotary Club for over five years, after working many years with John Campobasso and Chris Dokken at Kraus-Anderson Construction Company.

Mike grew up outside of Buffalo New York, went to college in upstate New York, and came out to Minneapolis about 100 years ago to see a Bonnie Raitt concert, then decided to stay for graduate school. Originally studying elementary education, then MBA, and finally settling on computer science. Mike has always worked in information technology — first as a computer programmer, network engineer, project manager, strategic consultant, then moving into executive leadership positions.

Mike is a lifelong learner, recently earning two Master of Science degrees in Cybersecurity and the Management of Technology at the University of Minnesota. He has been studying French daily for the last 30 years and is getting pretty good at it. He and his wife LuAnn have an apartment in a small town in southern France where they live part-time.

Dr. Peter Kennedy is a Professor in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology at the University of Minnesota, where he studies the hidden world of fungi and their vital role in our forests and soils. His research focuses on how fungi interact with plants, microbes, and the environment, and how these interactions shape ecosystems from the North Woods of Minnesota to the tropical forests of South America. He has published widely on topics ranging from how fungi recycle nutrients to how climate change is altering underground communities. Beyond his research, Peter is also deeply involved in mentoring students and training the next generation of scientists, guiding both graduate and undergraduate projects in the lab and in the field.

In addition to his scientific work, Peter has served in leadership roles such as Associate Dean for Research in the College of Biological Sciences and as Interim Curator of Fungi at the Bell Museum of Natural History. He is a Fellow of the Mycological Society of America and has received several national and international awards for his research and teaching.