ASI Elects New Members to its Board of Trustees

MINNEAPOLIS — The American Swedish Institute (ASI) recently announced the election of three new members to its Board of Trustees: Lynnea Atlas-Ingebretson, Barbara Linell Glaser, Ed.D., and Lenor Scheffler.

The following Board Officers were also approved: Brad Engdahl was named Board Chair, Dr. Maggi Adamek as Vice Chair, Laurie Jacobi as Secretary and Elizabeth Olson as Treasurer. ASI Trustees serve three-year terms and contribute significant knowledge and expertise as part of the leadership team. The elections took place during ASI’s Annual Meeting in June 2021.

ASI is a Minneapolis museum and cultural center encompassing the historic Turnblad Mansion and the contemporary Nelson Cultural Center as well as the ASI Museum Store and the critically acclaimed FIKA Café. Founded by Swedish immigrant and newspaper publisher Swan J. Turnblad in 1929, can celebrating 90 years of service, ASI has grown to engage more than 200,000 people annually through innovative art exhibitions, public events, community and school programs including Story Swap with Wellstone International High School, language classes and Nordic handcraft and Nordic food-related workshops. The Wall Street Journal called ASI “[a] model of how a small institution can draw visitors through exciting programming.”.

New Members of the ASI Board of Trustees:

These candidates, nominated by ASI’s Governance and Nominations Committee, were confirmed to begin three-year terms:

• Lynnea Atlas-Ingebretson, Golden Valley, MN, is Chief of Staff at World Savvy, a national nonprofit that works to educate, engage and inspire the next generation of changemakers. She also serves on the Metropolitan Council representing District 6.
• Barbara Linell Glaser, Ed.D., Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and Minneapolis, was the founding Director of Great Camp Sagamore, a National Historic Site and education facility in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. She is a past trustee and previous chair of the ASI Board.
• Lenor Scheffler, Naytahwaush, MN. A graduate of St. Olaf College, Scheffler was most recently the General Counsel for the Lower Sioux Indian Community and currently serves as Chief Judge of the Upper Sioux Community Tribal Court.

Other Nominees and Acknowledgments: Five trustees who completed their first three-year terms of office were nominated to serve second three-year terms: Margaret (Maggi) Adamek, Ph.D., Aimee Richcreek Baxter, Mary Dee Hicks, Ph.D., Dr. John Litell and Elizabeth Olson.

ASI thanks four trustees who completed six years of service: Dr. Philip Anderson, Diane Hofstede, Laurie Holmquist and Ted Johnson

AMERICAN SWEDISH INSTITUTE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Members of the Board (2020-21)

Officers: Brad Engdahl (Chair), Dr. Maggi Adamek (Vice Chair), Elizabeth Olson (Treasurer), Laurie Jacobi (Secretary);

Trustees: Lynnea Atlas-Ingebretson, Aimee Richcreek Baxter, Carline Bengtsson, Karl Benson, Michael Bjornberg, Brenda Butler, Dr. Mary Dee Hicks, Barbara Linell Glaser, Ed.D, Dr. John Litell, Marco Molinari, Mohamud Mumin, Andrea Oseland, Lenor Scheffler, David Sorensen, Linda Wallenberg, William ‘Bill’ Weiler and Andreas Örnberg

New Board Members – Longer Bios

Lynnea Atlas-Ingebretson lives in Golden Valley and is the Chief of Staff at World Savvy, a nonprofit that works to educate, engage and inspire the next generation of changemakers so that the K-12 education system ensures all students can thrive in our complex, global future. She serves on the Metropolitan Council and represents District 6, which includes the cities of Crystal, Golden Valley, New Hope, St. Louis Park and a portion of Minneapolis. She was a founding member of the Minnesota Parks and Trails Legacy Advisory Committee and was its inaugural chair for two years. She has also served as Director of Family and Partnerships for Minneapolis Public Schools, Director of Programs for the Charities Review Council and Communications and Advancement Officer at Youthprise. Atlas-Ingebretson received her bachelor’s degree in nonprofit administration and multicultural communication from Metropolitan State University of Denver. She and her family are longtime and active members of ASI.

Lenor Scheffler is a licensed attorney and most recently served as General Counsel for the Lower Sioux Indian Community. She currently is Chief Judge of the Upper Sioux Community Tribal Court and is a volunteer on the Lower Sioux Tribal Land Mapping Committee. Previously, she served the following organizations as a member, a committee member or on the board: Minnesota American Indian Bar Association, Minnesota Women Lawyers, Minnesota Parks and Trails Council, Minnesota Private Colleges Council, Minnesota American Indian Chamber of Commerce, Division of Indian Work, Minnesota Judicial Selection Commission, and U.S. Department of Treasury Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities. Scheffler received her B.A. from St. Olaf College and J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law. In 1997, she was named one of The Business Journal’s “Forty Under Forty” leaders.

Barbara Linell Glaser, Ed.D. A native of Minnesota, Linell Glaser has a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Minnesota and a Doctorate in Family and Community Education from Columbia University. She was the founding Director of Great Camp Sagamore, a National Historic Site and education facility in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. She has worked in community education, historic preservation and land conservation through her private company Linell Lands, and by serving on the boards of the Adirondack Council, the Adirondack Land Trust, Saratoga PLAN, the Saratoga Institute, the Nordlys Foundation, the Community Foundation for the Greater Capitol Region and the Pitney Meadows Community Farm. She is a lifetime ASI member and splits her time between Minneapolis and Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

AMERICAN SWEDISH INSTITUTE is a museum and cultural center that is a gathering place for all people to share experiences around themes of culture, migration, the environment and the arts, informed by enduring ties to Sweden. ASI is located at 2600 Park Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55418. For more information, visit www.ASImn.org or call 612-871-4907.