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Leadership
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Kent Whitworth
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Brian Juntti
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Avi Viswanathan
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David Kelliher
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Ben Leonard
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Kevin Maijala
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Jack Matheson
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Fred Neher
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Jennifer Pogatchnik
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Brenda Raney
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Nicole Tuescher, JD
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Electrifying Minnesota
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Leadership

Leadership team

Avi Viswanathan

Executive Vice President, Mission Delivery

As a fierce advocate of the Minnesota Historical Society’s mission to create powerful engagement with history, Avi Viswanathan provides executive leadership to the areas that bring  that mission to life: Library, Research & Collections; Education & Interpretation; Historic Sites Network & Operations; and Inclusion, Outreach & Community Engagement. Avi has been with MNHS since the spring of 2020, serving as Director of Community Engagement and Senior Vice President of Inclusion, Outreach, and Community Engagement.  

Avi’s commitment to community engagement extends across and beyond MNHS. He developed the curriculum and currently teaches a course in community-based leadership in the Master’s Degree in Professional Studies in Civic Engagement program at the University of Minnesota. During his time at MNHS, Avi has connected with colleagues across the country to build community engagement practices in the field. Avi has presented at the American Association of State and Local History Annual Conference in both 2021 and 2023, and in 2022, Avi was approached by the New Jersey Historical Commission to support the launch of a new grant program.

Prior to joining MNHS, Avi held positions in the nonprofit, public, and academic sectors. Most recently, he served as the director of the Community Engagement Institute at Nexus Community Partners in St. Paul, where he supported the creation of community engagement plans and structures in government agencies across the country. He has served as a fellow at the Bush Foundation, the Alliance for Metropolitan Stability, and the office of former Senator Al Franken and chaired the boards of the Headwaters Foundation for Justice and the Dayton’s Bluff Community Council.

Avi earned a B.S. from Georgia Institute of Technology in Computer Science and a law degree from Suffolk University Law School in Boston. He also received certifications from Cornell University for Diversity and Inclusion and from The London School of Economics and Political Science in Strategic Decision Making.

Governing board

Officers

  • Peter M. Reyes, Jr., President
  • Thomas M. Forsythe, Vice President, Treasurer
  • David R. Hakensen, Immediate Past President
  • Kent Whitworth, Secretary

Executive council

  • Ford W. Bell
  • Jesse Bethke Gomez
  • Linda Brekke Mona
  • M. Mitchell Davis
  • Elizabeth Driscoll Hlavka
  • Joanell M. Dyrstad
  • Richard E. Engebretson
  • Carolyn M. Essig
  • Stephanie L. Fehr
  • Thomas M. Forsythe
  • David R. Hakensen
  • Dustin B. Heckman
  • Bridget A. Larson-Lindner
  • Jennifer J. Murray

  • Richard C. Nash
  • Krista E. O’Malley
  • John Pacheco Jr.
  • Peter M. Reyes Jr.
  • Sharon Sayles Belton
  • Daniel J. Schmechel
  • Diana L. Schutter
  • Daniel W. Shogren
  • Roger J. Sit
  • Anton S. Treuer
  • John R. Tunheim
  • Noelle P. Turner
  • Kyle R. Ward
  • Gwen N. Westerman
  • Kent Whitworth (Nonvoting, Director & CEO)

 

Ex Officio

  • Tim Walz, Governor
  • Julie Blaha, State Auditor
  • Keith Ellison, Attorney General

  • Steve Simon, Secretary of State
  • Peggy Flanagan, Lieutenant Governor

Emeritus council

  • Nina M. Archabal+
  • Charles W. Arnason+
  • Annette Atkins+
  • Sharon Avent+
  • Bruce W. Bean+
  • Gretchen U. Beito+
  • Diane Berthel
  • Kathleen Blatz
  • Suzanne Blue
  • Robert Bruininks
  • Barbara E. Burwell
  • Judith S. Corson
  • Grant W. Davis
  • Mark Davis+
  • Michael J. Davis
  • Charlton Dietz+
  • D. Stephen Elliott
  • Michael B. Farnell

  • Harold A. Frederick
  • Ram Gada+
  • Phyllis Rawls Goff+
  • William Green
  • James T. Hale
  • MayKao Y. Hang
  • Stanley S. Hubbard
  • Karen A. Humphrey+
  • Ruth S. Huss
  • Lucy R. Jones+
  • Sylvia Kaplan+ 
  • Dennis L. Lamkin
  • Jean M. Larson
  • Monica Little
  • Elizabeth S. MacMillan+
  • Charles Mahar
  • Susan B. McCarthy
  • William C. Melton+

  • Joseph S. Micallef+
  • Dean M. Nelson
  • Richard H. Nicholson
  • Elizabeth M. Nordlie
  • Peter R. Reis
  • Mark Ritchie
  • Kennon V. Rothchild+
  • Susan Kenny Stevens
  • William R. Stoeri+
  • Edward C. Stringer
  • Bo Thao-Urabe
  • Karen Wilson Thissen
  • Missy Staples Thompson
  • Kathy H. Tunheim
  • Benjamin Vander Kooi
  • Eleanor C. Winston
  • Warren J. Zaccaro

Honorary council

  • Lowell C. Anderson
  • Marvin R. Anderson
  • Nina M. Archabal+
  • Charles W. Arnason+
  • Annette Atkins+
  • Sharon Avent+
  • Bruce W. Bean+
  • Gretchen U. Beito+
  • Ford W. Bell
  • S. K. Dash
  • Mark Davis+
  • Charlton Dietz+
  • Elizabeth S. Driscoll
  • Dennis Dvorak
  • Richard L. Ferrell
  • Michael J. Fox

  • Ram Gada+
  • Phyllis Rawls Goff+
  • Karen A. Humphrey+
  • John Huss
  • Ruth Huss+
  • Lucy R. Jones+
  • Sylvia Kaplan+
  • Colles Larkin
  • Robert C. Mack
  • Elizabeth S. MacMillan+
  • Terry McGibbon
  • Peg Meier
  • William C. Melton+
  • Joseph S. Micallef+
  • Richard Moe
  • Stephen Nelson
  • Larry G. Osnes
  • Donald G. Patton
  • Fred Perez
  • Mark Peterson
  • Kennon V. Rothchild+
  • Ramedo J. Saucedo
  • Jeff Savage
  • Barbara W. Sommer
  • William R. Stoeri+
  • Gerald Vizenor
  • Vernell Wabasha
  • Jeanette E. Warner
  • Annette M. Whaley
  • Mary Lethert Wingerd

    + Emeritus and Honorary
    Council Member