Healthy LifeStars has an experienced, passionate and accountable Board and Leadership

Ruann F. Ernst
Chair

Ruann Ernst is former chairman and CEO of Digital Island, a managed hosting and internet services company that was acquired by Cable & Wireless PLC.

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Deb Kelly
Vice Chair

Deb has been a partner of Genesis, Inc. since 1995. Prior to that
she was VP of Business Development for the Gatorade business of The Quaker Oats Company after serving for 10 years as Quaker’s VP of IR and then Corporate Affairs.

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O. Kim Goheen
Treasurer and Chair of Finance Committee

MBA, CPA, ICD.D. Retired. Previous Senior VP and CFO of Cameco, one of the world’s largest uranium producers. Played a key role in building Cameco’s strong financial position and prudent approach to financial management.

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Shaunda VanWert
Secretary

Shaunda is a Principal M&A Deal Leader for Workday. Over the course of her career, she has supported more than 100 successful transactions, most of them with a global footprint and the complexities of labor relations and works councils.

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Jerre Stead
Chairmain, Stead Impact

Jerre Stead is passionate about combating childhood obesity and has been a long time friend of Healthy LifeStars. He continually presents as a wise advisor, strong cheerleader, coach and caring friend.

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Kurt Miller
Independent Consultant

Mr. Miller is an independent consultant and advisor to early stage healthcare companies and nonprofit organizations focused primarily in the Health and Wellness spaces.

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Melanie Russell
Doctorate of Medicine

Melanie Russell was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. She is a double alum from The Ohio State University, earning her Bachelors of Science in Biology in 2015 and Doctorate of Medicine in 2021.She is now completing her medical residency at the University of Cincinnati in the Department of Anesthesiology.

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Jan Ackmann
M.Ed. Curriculum & Instruction, MBA

Jan Ackmann, MBA, M.Ed. (Curriculum & Instruction) is the founder of GAME-SET-MATH LLC, based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Jan is a former kindergarten teacher and curriculum developer. GAME-SET-MATH® (GSM) was created for an early childhood math enrichment program as a hands-on STEM tool. 

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Julie Tschida Brown
Chief People & Culture Officer at Zayo

Julie Tschida Brown is a global human and financial capital executive who has focused her career partnering with Boards of Directors and C-suite colleagues to drive organizational growth, transformation, and culture.

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Guy Gunther
VP / GM Lumen Technologies

Guy is the VP / GM for residential and small business fiber at Lumen Technologies, where he leads marketing and sales and the end-to-end customer experience for the Quantum Fiber brand.

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Jesús Valdez
Independent Consultant

Jesús is a former educator and Teach For America alum, and veteran consumer and retail brand marketer with more than 20 years of experience leading some of the world’s largest brands

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Executive Leadership

Aaron Nicholson
Executive Director

Aaron has a passion for working with nonprofits and a keen understanding of the needs of others. With over 30 years of experience, he has led mission-critical work in organizational development and program design. Aaron is highly skilled in capacity building, management, community partnerships, fundraising, strategic planning, policy design, and program evaluation.

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Kimberly Gibson
National Events and Program Director

Kimberly Gibson was born and raised in Iowa where she obtained her degree in Psychology from the University of Iowa. She also earned a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from Arizona State University. She has spent the majority of her professional career in the nonprofit sector working with local, national and international NGOs on behalf of at-risk and underserved children.

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Vickie Miene
Iowa Director

Vickie Miene, MS, MA, LMHC is the Executive Director of the Iowa Institute of Public Health Research and Policy and an Assistant Adjunct Professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy, at the University of Iowa, College of Public Health. She is also the Director of the Iowa Healthy LifeStars program.

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Jeanie Bochenek
Ohio Director

Jeanie Bochenek, DNP, RN,NCSN, EBP-C is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Practice at The Ohio StateUniversity –
College of Nursing where she is a lead faculty in the School NurseCertificate program and Community Health Nursing- pre-licensure program. Dr. Bochenek is also the Director of the Ohio Chapter for Healthy LifeStars and is leading the expansion of spreading Healthy LifeStars programming through out the state.

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Josie Hentzen
Iowa Program Manager

Josie Hentzen is the Program Coordinator for Healthy LifeStars Iowa.  As the Program Coordinator she provides support to partner sites, coordinates student coaches, maintains community relationships, and assists with implementation of the program.

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Sofie Dollison
Iowa Assistant Coordinator & Coach

Sofie Dollison is the Assistant Program Coordinator for Healthy LifeStars Iowa. She recently graduated with her B.S. in Public Health with a certificate in nonprofit management, and she is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree.

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