Office Hours
Open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday
Closed at 3:30 p.m. on Fridays, Memorial Day through Labor Day
3 Civic Center Plaza, Suite 310
Mankato, MN 56001
Phone Number: (507) 387-5643
Toll-Free: (800) 450-5643
Let us contact you, please fill out the form below and we will get back to you!
Contact Us
Staff Directory
For directions to Region Nine’s offices click here.
Administration
Nicole Griensewic Mickelson
Executive Director
See Biography
507-387-5643
nicole@rndc.org
Nicole Griensewic Mickelson
Nicole Griensewic Mickelson’s passion for public service is reflected in Region Nine’s accomplishments, including national innovation awards for transportation projects, communications and marketing, climate change, and flood mitigation. As executive director, Griensewic Mickelson has made it a priority to foster collaboration and engagement by sharing Region Nine’s story both regionally and globally. At the third Americas Competitiveness Exchange on Innovation and Entrepreneurship tour, Griensewic Mickelson was asked to present to leaders from 28 countries, highlighting efforts and best practices from Region Nine.
Griensewic Mickelson is an active board and committee member for multiple organizations throughout Minnesota. Currently, Griensewic Mickelson serves as president of the Greater Minnesota Partnership, and is an executive committee member for the University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies, where she serves as chair of the Governance Committee. Griensewic Mickelson also serves as secretary of Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota’s Governing Board of Directors and as chair of their Joint Governance Committee and serves as an advisory board member for South Central College’s Center for Agriculture. Lastly, she serves on the executive committee for the Minnesota Medical Manufacturing Partnership, as part of the EDA’s Investing in Manufacturing Communities Program.
Griensewic Mickelson is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Elizabeth Kearney Woman’s Leadership Institute. She received the 2017 Outstanding Recent Alumnus Award from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Her professional background includes extensive private sector and non-profit leadership experience.
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Peter Bode
Executive Assistant
See Biography
507-389-8864
peter@rndc.org
Peter Bode
Peter Bode is the executive assistant to the executive director of Region Nine. He recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Gustavus Adolphus College, minoring in Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies. He has worked with several presidential and regional political campaigns since 2012, managing a successful state legislative campaign in 2016. Peter values working towards the betterment of communities’ democratic infrastructure, social justice systems, and equitable human development.
Ashley Aukes
Communications Specialist
See Biography
507-389-8885
ashley@rndc.org
Ashley Aukes
Ashley Aukes is a Certified Public Communicator and has served as the communications specialist for Region Nine Development Commission since 2013. Within those four years, she has used her expertise in marketing, social media and design to enhance Region Nine’s brand presence. Through her communications work, Region Nine received the National Association of Development Organizations 2015 Innovation Award for Telling the Regional Government Story Differently.
Aukes is passionate about helping rural communities and entrepreneurs improve their marketing and communications. She has co-founded two Social Media Breakfast chapters in southern Minnesota and has also presented at numerous state and national conferences. Aukes serves on the board for the Minnesota Association of Government Communicators.
Finance
Lu Vanderwerf
Finance Director/Revolving Loan Fund Coordinator
See Biography
507-389-8878
luann@rndc.org
Lu Vanderwerf
For the past twelve years, LuAnn Vanderwerf has worked for Region Nine Development Commission as the organization’s finance director. Vanderwerf has administrated the Region Nine’s Revolving Loan Funds for the last nine years.
Vanderwerf enjoys seeing the new ideas that come through the loan funds and watching them take shape and become businesses. She appreciates being a part of an organization that helps communities grow through new businesses, added jobs, and needed services.
Vanderwerf was raised in the New Ulm area and attended St. Cloud State University and Mankato State University where she earned a degree in accounting. Prior to Region Nine, Vanderwerf worked in the private sector for MCG and Parker Hannifin in New Ulm. She also served as the corporate credit manager for Norwood in Sleepy Eye. She currently lives in New Ulm with her husband of 37 years.
Linda Wallace
Senior Financial Accountant/ Revolving Loan Fund Assistant
See Biography
507-389-8889
ljwall@rndc.org
Linda Wallace
Linda Wallace is the Senior Financial Accountant/RLF Assistant at Region Nine Development Commission. Wallace graduated from Minnesota State University Mankato, Mankato, with a Bachelor of Science in accounting and business administration along with a minor in business law. She enjoys doing Region Nine’s annual audit and financial reports for the grant programs.
Community & Economic Development
Jessica O’Brien
Community Engagement Manager
See Biography
507-389-8870
jessica@rndc.org
Jessica O’Brien
Jessica O’Brien is community engagement manager at Region Nine. Her primary role is to coordinate community engagement sessions, planning activities and resource development within the region. Jessica has over 18 years of experience in public service initiatives, development of cross-sector teams and diverse partnerships, non-profit leadership, and project design and implementation. She works with state and federal grants, community convening and education, cross-cultural communications, and community development projects. Jessica previously served for five years as the Associate Director for Mankato Refugee Services at the Minnesota Council of Churches.
José William Castellanos
Community Development Planner
See Biography
507-389-8871
jose@rndc.org
José William Castellanos
José William Castellanos joined Region Nine in February 2018 as a community development planner. His primary role with the organization is to assist in developing, planning, researching, implementing and managing diverse programs and provide grant writing assistance for local units of government and others applying to state and federal programs.
José is passionate about his work, curious to find solutions for locally identified issues, and is greatly motivated by working on a diverse portfolio. He has led local, regional, national, and international public health, health promotion and prevention initiatives to improve access to health care services. He has planned, designed, implemented and evaluated multiple award-winning community-based participatory research projects and initiatives and was recognized by the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health with the 2006 Community Partner Star Award. José holds a M.D. degree from the National University of Colombia and earned a Ph.D. degree from the University of Minnesota.
Kathryn Hansing-McDonald
Regional Planner
See Biography
507-389-8863
kate@rndc.org
Kathryn Hansing-McDonald
Kathryn Taylor Hansing-McDonald joined Region Nine in June 2018 as a regional planner. Kate has experience in both the private and public sector of urban planning. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Urban Studies and a Master’s of Arts in Urban Planning from Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Kristian Braekkan
Senior Regional Planner
See Biography
507-389-8862
kristian@rndc.org
Kristian Braekkan
Kristian Braekkan joined Region Nine as a senior regional planner in February 2018. His work relates to resource development, economic development, and coordinating community engagement activities.
Kristian taught and conducted research at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN from 2010-2018, following the completion of his Ph.D. at Virginia Tech. His research on industrial relations investigated employment conditions and labor relations and spanned a wide variety of contexts, such as steel, coal, health care, manufacturing, and service industries. He has presented and published his research domestically and internationally. Kristian enjoys engaging with stakeholders on issues of changing employment, economic and demographic conditions.
Sam Parker
Community Development Planner with a Transportation Emphasis
See Biography
507-389-8886
sam@rndc.org
Sam Parker
Sam Parker specializes in transportation planning services in the area’s nine counties and 72 cities. He oversees Region Nine Development Commission’s partnership with MnDOT by connecting local stakeholders to regional and statewide transportation programs, and serves as lead facilitator for MnDOT-sponsored Safe Routes to School plans in the planning area. Parker has extensive experience assisting rural communities with comprehensive planning, GIS mapping services, updating city zoning ordinances, and securing state and federal grants. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Community and Regional Planning from Iowa State University and a Master’s of Public Administration from Drake University.
Sam Smith
Medical Device Supply Chain Planner
See Biography
507-387-5643 x1006
ssmith@rndc.org
Sam Smith
Sam Smith joined Region Nine in March 2018 to help support medical and pharmaceutical manufacturers in the area and identify innovative ways to expand these high-growth, high-wage industries.
Smith has worked in rural business development and nonprofit leadership throughout southern Minnesota since 2010 after a five-year career as an award-winning newspaper reporter. He has supported growth at organizations as large as Mayo Clinic and as small as a corner grocery store. Throughout, his interests have focused on the intersection of entrepreneurship and sustainable development. He holds a B.A. in English, pre-medicine from University of Illinois and an M.S. in journalism from the same.
