| Inaugural Edition |
I. Kathryn Close Up
After receiving a B.A. in psychology from the University of Minnesota,
Kathryn earned a master’s degree in special education from Mankato State
University and a Ph.D. in educational
administration from the University of
Minnesota.
She’s known throughout the state as a "builder" and a "reformer." As commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, she took over the department and cut its caseload backlog by half. When she was just 34 years old, Governor Rudy Perpich tabbed her to direct the Minnesota Zoo, which at the time, verged on closing its doors. When she moved on from the zoo 12 years later, attendance had reached an all-time high that stands today, revenues doubled and the zoo had made approximately $50 million in capital improvements. Talk about transformation!
Following the zoo turnaround, Kathryn became vice president of community philanthropy for one of America’s largest foundations – the Minneapolis Foundation. There she directed a $30 million annual grant program. At the same time, Governor Jesse Ventura appointed her to chair the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, which owns and operates the Metrodome. Under her leadership the Commission sued Major League Baseball to keep it from folding the Minnesota Twins. She has done all of this while raising her 17-year-old daughter Alex with her husband Jim in Stillwater.
Kathryn, when you were growing up what did you want to be? President and CEO of an organization called Ecumen, right?
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".....'mission' and 'contribution' are what drive me." |
I
was not one of those lucky people who always knew what they were going to do
‘when they grew up.’ I really had no clue what I was going to do. However, as I
entered the work world, I knew I wanted to be in an environment that had a
direct and positive impact on people. I wanted to feel a very real sense of
accomplishment. I found early on that "mission" and "contribution" are what
drive me. It’s not making the most plastic bags or wooden widgets that motivates
me. I like to help build things that ultimately make this a better place. That’s
really been the common connector through my work in government, at the Minnesota
Zoo, at the Minneapolis Foundation and, now more than ever, today.
If it were Monday morning, and you could do anything else besides coming to work, what would it be?
You would find me gardening at home. I have both flower and vegetable gardens. It’s become my personal challenge to keep the deer, rabbits, and bears from overtaking them. A couple of weeks ago, I looked out the back window and there were three black bears – a mom and her two cubs – lying on our back lawn. They weren’t just passing through, they were lying in the grass. – I heard this "woof," "woof." Our basset hound was in the back yard. I quickly scooped him up and got in the house. Our dog would have been just one bite for the bears. We live in the woods in Stillwater and there are about four families of bears that migrate up from the St. Croix River. So it’s a pretty wild place, literally.
Who do you feel has had a particularly strong influence in your life?
My parents had a direct influence. They were service oriented and into
knowing what was going on in the world. My mom was a pediatric nurse and my dad
worked for Honeywell. We always had and still have lively conversations around
the dinner table about current events
and politics. I also am a child of the
60s. I learned a great deal from former Governor Elmer Andersen. We met when we
served together on a commission to study the future of post-secondary education
in Minnesota. He was a big picture thinker regarding the role of public service.
He was particularly encouraging of women in leadership positions.
Another big influence was Governor Rudy Perpich. I did not know him well, but he provided a number of opportunities for me to grow. I was originally appointed by Governor Al Quie, a Republican, to help lead organizational change in state government. Governor Perpich, a Democrat, came in as the new Governor and could have made a change. He stayed with me and provided a variety of fascinating challenges and opportunities for me – from reorganizing the Department of Human Rights to reducing state unemployment while also reducing the number of people receiving public assistance to turning around the Zoo.
What do you enjoy doing for fun outside of the office?
I like to garden. I like yoga. I like to knit. I enjoy going to my daughter’s horse shows. She competes as a hunter jumper, meaning she rides the horse and jumps over fences. I’ve become quite the horse groom. I also love to read. I just finished "Tears of the Giraffe," a novel about a woman detective in Botswanna. Now I’m reading a hilarious book called "Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia". It’s about former Genesis drummer Chris Stewart’s travel experience to an isolated farmhouse without running water and electricity in Granada, Spain. I enjoy jumping around to different subjects.
Tell us one thing that everyone at Ecumen would be completely surprised to know about you.
Every Monday night I’m standing on my head in yoga class or hanging upside down on the rope wall. I’m also trying hard to be able to do hand stands. I’ve been doing yoga for about three years. It is so hard. I find it much more difficult than any other workout I’ve done. You cannot be thinking about your grocery list like you can when you’re lifting weights. It’s so much about balance and strength and focus. My vision of yoga was that you simply go in, sit with your legs crossed, meditate and relax. Not the case. It wipes you out.
Another thing that might surprise people – and this comes from the déjà vu category – as a kid, I used to babysit at a number of houses that are directly behind the Ecumen Home Office.