Events

Steve has been a member of TCO Speaks Toastmaster Club for 6 years. He has served as VP-PR and this year serves as the Club President.

Steve is a longtime healthcare consultant, working for companies such as Ernst & Young and IBM. He also co-founded Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, a private high school in south Minneapolis that serves students from low-income families in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He served as the school's Director of the Hire4Ed program, an innovative approach to education that blended academics with real-life work experience in major corporations.

Steve holds a B.A. in Psychology from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA and a master's in Healthcare Administration from the George Washington University in Washington D.C. He lives in Minneapolis.

Dean Penk is a founding member of the Golden Valley Community Foundation, serving as Board Chair since its inception in 2011. Dean and his wife Julie have enjoyed living in the North Tyrol neighborhood since 1986 with multiple 4-legged kids over the years. Dean is an avid golfer, landscaper, and developer of ideas and of things. He and Julie currently enjoy traveling North America after having had the opportunity to travel globally for years.

Tim Connelly is a member of the Lake Minnetonka-Excelsior (Morning) Rotary Club and a newly-minted ShelterBox Ambassador for District 5950. In his role as ShelterBox Ambassador, Tim travels the highways and byways of our district sharing the ShelterBox story with Rotary Clubs, churches, schools, and community groups.

ShelterBox is the official, and only, project partner of Rotary International in disaster relief. They work to improve the physical and psychological well-being of families displaced by natural disaster and conflict. Warmth and dignity is offered to families left desperate and homeless. Through the provision of tented shelter and other lifesaving aid, families get back on their feet and regain a feeling of safety and security.

Robyn Coquyt is Executive Director, long-time supporter, volunteer, and Board Officer of Africa Classroom Connection (ACC). Robyn is passionate about community involvement and volunteerism, actively and enthusiastically giving her time and talents to many nonprofit organizations. Robyn has over 20 years of experience as a global leader at Medtronic, an international healthcare solutions company. She very effectively built relationships across geographies with both external and internal partners while leading large multi-cultural teams and programs. Her positive leadership style with demonstrated success in people management, project management and strategic planning drove a culture of continuous improvement. She is skilled in cultural agility and accepted assignments in the Netherlands, Japan, and in India where she was a Global Innovation Fellow. Robyn also served as a long-time Philanthropy Liaison, promoting employee volunteerism and giving programs, and selecting community Health Access Grant recipients focused on expanding access to underserved populations.

Wyayn Rasmussen is the Executive Director for Academy of Whole Learning (AOWL). Under the AOWL umbrella is a K-12 school, a mental and behavioral health clinic, an adult education program and an enrichment program for afterschool and summer activities for children. The K-12 school is a nationally recognized School of Excellence, provides personalized learning paths, integrating academic, social and life skills for qualified students with autism spectrum disorder and related learning differences, serving students in the Twin Cities metro area and beyond. AOWL’s clinical services include therapy services such as Psychotherapy, Intensive Behavior Intervention, Testing and Assessments, and Support Groups. AOWL offers therapy services to all age groups and is not limited to individuals diagnosed with ASD. AOWL is located on a large beautiful wooded campus located conveniently in Golden Valley.

www.aowl.org

Wyayn received her undergraduate degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Oklahoma where she graduated as the Outstanding Senior in the College of Allied Health. She received a master’s degree in Organizational Management from Concordia University St. Paul with an emphasis in strategic planning for non-profit organizations. With a career change to education, Wyayn received her master’s degree in Education and her doctorate in Educational Leadership from Bethel University.

Wyayn taught in the Robbinsdale and Osseo School Districts for 10 years. Prior to moving into education, Wyayn worked in the field of physical rehabilitation. She was the Director of Rehabilitation with Children’s Hospitals of Minnesota. She developed comprehensive solutions to combine Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses into one system. Prior to Children’s Hospital, she was the Director of Outreach Services for Camelia Rose Care Center in Coon Rapids, MN.