LEADERSHIP BIOS

 

 

Tamara Hauser, Executive Director, Minnesota Academy of Science

 

Tamara Hauser has 17 years of nonprofit management experience working as a program director, communications manager, grant maker, community affairs director and education director at the following organizations – Hancher Auditorium, Pennsylvania Stage Company, Actor’s Theatre, Fitzgerald Theatre, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Perpich Center for Arts Education and the Historic State and Orpheum Theatres. At these venues, she developed programs and events from the ground up that generated earned income, in-kind resources and sponsorship support. In 2001, she started her own consulting firm called Blue Sky Thinking, Inc. to provide program management, executive leadership, and event planning services to nonprofits. During her one-year tenure at the Minnesota Academy of Science, Hauser has provided strategic thinking with solid management infrastructure so that the organization has realized its goals in efficient, cost-effective and inspiring ways.

 

Gordon D. MacFarlane, Ph.D., Board Chair, Minnesota Academy of Science

 

Gordon D. MacFarlane, Ph.D., is Director of Research and Development at DiaSorin, Inc.  MacFarlane has more than 20 years experience in the management and direction of research and development activities in both academic and industrial settings.  Previous to this position he held multiple leadership positions in research and process improvement at DiaSorin Inc. and INCSTAR.  His product development experience includes international and domestic regulatory submissions of 510(k) and PMA products.  In an academic setting, MacFarlane’s seminal work on the mechanisms of refractory periodontal disease received the American Academy of Periodontology Clinical Research Award.  He also received the E.H. Hatton Research Award for his work in cell-cell communication via cell adhesion.  MacFarlane holds two US patents (#5,824,786; #5,650,288) and one European patent (EP 0753744A2).  Dr. MacFarlane received his BS and Ph.D. (Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and Genetics) from the University of Minnesota.  He is currently Chair of the Board of the Minnesota Academy of Science, a position he has held since 2002, and holds memberships in the Endocrine Society, the American Society for Cell Biology, the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, and the International Association for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and Clinical Toxicology. 

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Leadership Bios

Page 2

 

 

Kristi Gray Shepherd, State Fair Project Director, Minnesota Academy of Science

 

Kristi Gray Shepherd has been producing events and managing sponsorship development and public relations for a variety of events for over 15 years. She was the co-creator and producer for Firstar Capital New Year from its inception in 1996 through 2002, raising over $6 million in cash and in-kind resources for that event, recruiting 500 volunteers for each year, and generating over 50 million media impressions for the 2002 event, including being featured on ABC TV's New Year's Eve Special hosted by Peter Jennings. In addition to events and sponsorship development, Shepherd has extensive experience and expertise in volunteer program development and management, creating over 35 corporate retiree volunteer programs nationwide.  This is her first year managing the Minnesota Academy of Science State Fair.