Extraordinary Women - Women's Fund

Established in 2002, the Women’s Fund provides grants to benefit programs that empower women and girls by building leadership skills, mentoring and developing self-esteem. The Women’s Fund also has a tradition of honoring women in our region who have been pioneers in their fields. This year we pay tribute to Sharon Wilsnack, Ph.D., UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences; Kate Kenna, Regional Director of Lake Region (Devils Lake) and Northeast (Grand Forks) Human Service Centers; and Kristi Hall-Jiran, Executive Director of the Community Violence Intervention Center.

Sharon Wilsnack, Ph.D. is presently Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor in the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, UND. Sharon and her husband, Richard Wilsnack, Ph.D. direct a 20-year longitudinal study of drinking behavior in women in the U.S. and coordinate an international collaborative research project on gender and alcohol which involves researchers from over 40 countries.

Kate Kenna has worked for the Department of Human Services for 27 years. The majority of Kate’s career has been in Child Welfare Services. Professionally, Kate’s love of networking on a local, state and national level has fostered many positive relationships leading to sharing of information and expertise. On a personal level Kate and her family have been foster parents.

Kristi Hall-Jiran, CVIC, is a community leader that has actively engaged individuals with varied backgrounds and experiences to find common ground and work together to make Greater Grand Forks a safer place. Throughout her professional, volunteer and family life, Kristi believes strongly in a balanced and healthy lifestyle, a holistic view of our community and world, and in always taking time to laugh!

As a reporter, feature writer, features editor and columnist, Marilyn Hagerty has in the past 45 years developed a wide acquaintance with readers in the area served by the Grand Forks Herald.

She started working in the early 1960s part time for the Herald and retired as Associate Editor/Features in 1983. In retirement, she continues to write five diversified columns a week.

Marilyn Hagerty won a series of Associated Press and North Dakota Newspaper Association awards during her career at the Herald. She was runner up in the national Golden Carnation Nutritional writing competition in 1989. She received the Liberty Bell Award for helping with understanding of government in respect for the law from the North Dakota Bar Association in 2004. Earlier, she was awarded honorary membership into the Grand Forks School Board for educational reporting. And she was chosen top 1995 communicator to receive North Dakota’s Tree Award from the North Dakota Centennial Trees commission.

Marilyn Hagerty is a member of boards including the Grand Forks County Historical Society and UND Sioux Boosters. She has served on boards of Red Cross and Prairie Harvest serving mentally ill clients. She is a former Girl Scout and Cub Scout leader and former president of Grand Forks YWCA. She serves on United Way committees.

In her diverse career as a reporter, she has had a meal with inmates at the State Penitentiary and traveled with a woman truck driver delivering fruit to Winnipeg. She has – in the name of fun – had a sewage lift station named in her honor in Grand Forks.

She combined a series of her Grand Forks Herald column in 1994 a book published by the Herald. It is entitled “Echoes” with proceeds dedicated to women studying journalism or playing basketball at the University of North Dakota.

Dr. Mary Wakefield is associate dean for rural health and director of the Center for Rural Health (the Center) at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, in Grand Forks, ND. She has served as Center Director since November 2001.

Dr. Wakefield has led successful efforts to compete nationally for federal health initiatives that are now based in North Dakota. Under Dr. Wakefield’s leadership, the Center has grown from a staff of seven (two of whom were women) and a budget of 2.1 million to a staff of 43 (36 of whom are women) a budget of 7.6 million and over 40 local to national health related initiatives.

Dr. Wakefield’s expertise is in quality and patient safety, rural health care, Medicare payment policy, workforce issues, and the public policy process. She has presented nationally and internationally on health care policy and strategies to influence the policymaking and political process. She has authored many articles and columns on health policy and she has served on editorial boards of a number of professional journals, including the editorial boards of Nursing Economics, and Annals of Family Medicine.

Dr. Wakefield is a member of many health-related advisory boards on the local, state, and national levels. Locally, she serves on the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota Board of Directors and chairs the Board’s Quality Committee. She is also a member of the local Rotary club. Under Dr. Wakefield’s leadership, she has brought significant national visibility to both the challenges and unique solutions found in rural health care, highlighting North Dakota’s successes and informing broader health care dialogue.

Prior to her current position she served as the director of the Center for Health Policy, Research and Ethics at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, and as chief of staff to two United States Senators, Senators Quentin Burdick and Kent Conrad. Dr. Wakefield was one of only two nurses who served as chiefs of staff to members of the Senate. Throughout her tenure on Capitol Hill, Dr. Wakefield advised on a range of public health policy issues, drafted legislative proposals, worked with interest groups and other Senate offices.

During her career, Dr. Wakefield has served as a mentor to scores of young women professionals on both Capitol Hill in Washington DC as well as in nursing and health care.

The second annual Women with Heart 2008 Gala honored three women, Madelyn Camrud, Rosemarie Myrdal, and the late Jean Kiesau for their work throughout the state and region.

Madelyn has lived all but nine months of her life in North Dakota. She received degrees in visual arts and creative writing at the University of North Dakota, and taught in the English Department before taking a position at the ND Museum of Art where she served as Director of Audience Development. For several years following she served as curator of the Museum’s auctions. Madelyn’s poems have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. She is the author of This House Is Filled with Cracks (1994). Two of these poems were chosen to air on Garrison Keillor’s Writers Almanac. She has received several awards, and won the New Rivers Press Minnesota Voices Competition in l994. In spring of 2005, Larry Woiwode named her an Associate Poet Laureate of North Dakota. The Light We Go After was published in 2006. She continues to write and enjoys painting.

Madelyn and her husband, Ted, have four grown children and five grandchildren. They live in Grand Forks. She says: “I love this town for its river, its trees, its history, and the seasons, but, mostly, I love it for the people.”

Warren Strandell, in “The Home of Economy Story”, called Jean Kiesau ‘a modest and remarkable person’. Born in Arvilla, but spending most of her life with husband, Bob, and her family in East Grand Forks, Minnesota, Jean was both. She served as President of Home of Economy, which operates six stores in North Dakota and employs 395 people. 48% of their employees are women (190). Jean received many awards through the years, including the prestigious Business and Industrial Development award from the Greater North Dakota Chamber of Commerce. She was the first women president of the GF Chamber of Commerce in 1984-1985, and, in 1986 was elected to serve as the first woman President of the North Dakota Retailers Association. She was a member of Eastern Star, Federated Women’s Club, belonged to L’etudier, and sang in the Mendenhall Church Choir for 66 years.

Jean’s advice to young entrepreneurs comes from a cigar box which served as Bob and Jean’s first cash register. She liked to remind us that the money in the cigar box isn’t ours until all the bills are paid.

Please note: Jean was a Founder of the Women’s Fund, and Member Emerita of the Women’s Fund Advisory Committee. She will be greatly missed.

Rosemarie Lohse was born in Minot, grew up in Fargo and graduated from NDSU. She married husband, John Myrdal, and moved to Pembina County in North Dakota, where they farmed and raised two daughters and three sons. She taught in Park River and Edinburg public schools, and served as Edinburg School Business Manager. She has been elected to the Edinburg School Board, the North Dakota House of Representatives (1985-1992), and Lieutenant Governor of the State of North Dakota (1992-2000).

Rosemarie has served throughout her community and region, was instrumental in the preservation effort to save rural churches, and currently serves on several state boards, including the State Library Council, ND Community Foundation and International Peace Gardens.

A quilter, Colleen Carlson, dedicated a “Patchwork of Possibilities” quilt to her, which included a church, representing ‘not only her faith, but her community involvement and her involvement in preserving rural churches in North Dakota.’

Judy was born in Grand Forks, was Valedictorian of her high school class, and Valedictorian of the University of North Dakota, where she received the Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. In l973, she received the Masters of Education degree from the University of Washington. Judy served as North Dakota State Representative (District 17-18 from 1982 – 1992) and Senator (District 18 from 1992 – 2000). She has served on local, state and national committees and boards, has presented extensively in her area of expertise, and is published many times over. Judy is the recipient of many awards, including the North Dakota Nurses Association Hall of Fame Award in 2002; the Friend of Medicine Award given by the North Dakota Medical Association in l999, Woman of the Year from UND’s Law Women’s Caucus, to name a few. Ms. DeMers presently serves as Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Admissions, University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Ethel Stone was no stranger to barriers. An ace pilot, and owner of Torreson Oil Company, Ethel was pumping gas in the days when it was improper for a woman to do so. She believed customer service was extremely valuable, and had a history of dealing shrewdly but gracefully in the very competitive gas station industry.

She was born in Ross, North Dakota (west of Minot) on September 10, 1912 while William Howard Taft was president of the United States, and two years before the start of World War I. Her parents moved to East Grand Forks, Minnesota in the spring of 1922 when Ethel was 10 and in the fourth grade. Ethel graduated from East Grand Forks High School in 1929, and enrolled in the University of North Dakota to study journalism, marketing and advertising during the Great Depression. She received her private pilot's license in 1947 and flew the Cessna 172, Piper Cub, Aeronica and Taylor Craft. She joined the Civil Air Patrol in 1943 when it was established, and achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. She established the Ethel Stone Aviation Endowment in 2001 within the UND Foundation to support priority needs with the UND Center for Aerospace Sciences. In 2005 Ethel Stone provided for the Ethel Torreson Stone Entrepreneur Endowment at the UND Center for Innovation to support women entrepreneurs. Ethel was an active member of Business & Professional Women, serving in many offices as well as State BPW president, was a 50-year member of Quota Club, a life-time member of the Country Club, and served on boards of directors of community organizations until her death in 2007 at the age of 94.