Achieve Services, Inc.
>Staff Leadership
>Message from CEO
>Board of Directors
>Meeting Minutes
>Policies & Procedures
>Staff Leadership Team
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Tom Weaver, CEO |
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Carol Donahoe, program director cdonahoe@achieveservices.org |
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Jim Rooker, program manager jrooker@achieveservices.org |
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Katie Friary, human resource manager kfriary@achieveservices.org |
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Tina Stofferahn, program manager tstofferahn@achieveservices.org |
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Change is in the wind
Message from Tom Weaver, Achieve CEO
As Minnesotans, the one thing we know for sure about the weather is that it’s always about to change. Change is in the wind for Achieve Services as well. Throughout our 47-year history, we’ve dealt with and adapted to change on various levels. The program began as a daytime activity center for children with disabilities and later evolved into a program for adults. Along the way we went from being a county-run program to a free-standing non-profit. As we look to the future, however, it is clear that we’ll have to be more proactive in anticipating change, and much more nimble in adapting to it.
To that end, our Board of Directors and senior staff have been engaged in a Strategic Planning process over the past few months. That process involves reexamining our mission, vision and values in light of the challenges we face today and the challenges we expect to face over the next several years. The new strategic plan will essentially outline the next chapter in the story of Achieve.
So what, specifically, is likely to change, and what will remain constant? Well, we generally agree that our mission still rings true:
By creating innovative opportunities that inspire people with disabilities, Achieve
will enable every participant to lead a meaningful and self-determined life.
As we pursue our mission, we need to ensure that our programs and services are sustainable over the long term. In other words, our programs and services must be focused and operated efficiently to ensure that our costs do not exceed our revenues.
Revenues, we know, are changing. Historically we have received the vast majority of our revenues from government sources, mostly in the form of medical assistance payments. Last session, the legislature cut medical assistance for our services. While the cut was relatively modest, we expect the ongoing pressures on government budgets will yield additional cuts down the road.
Moreover, we know that our rate structure will be modified beginning in 2013. While we currently receive the same basic rate for each participant, the new rates will be more closely tied to the actual needs of each participant. While the new structure certainly makes sense in theory, we don’t
yet know how it will affect our revenue stream.
With that in mind, the draft of our new strategic plan emphasizes the need to diversify our revenue sources, primarily by enhancing our employment and business opportunities. This could include either contracting with or hiring a “business development director.” The BDD would be responsible for developing two or three new participant-staffed small businesses, and could also enhance our community-based employment and on-site production programs.
The new strategic plan also calls for expanding our board of directors, developing a “pipeline” between the school districts and Achieve, more collaboration with other providers and enhancing our network with employers – among other things. Achieve’s Board of Directors will take formal action on the plan at its Annual Meeting in November.
Achieve is entering a new season. We will work to meet our new challenges in ways that create opportunities and growth for the people we serve. We will continue in our mission to inspire and enable each participant to lead a meaningful and self-determined life.
There’s no denying that the wind is picking up and the weather is shifting; the air around us is charged with energy. Change is on the horizon. We strive to meet it head on.
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>Board of Directors
Natalie Steffen - Chair
Natalie is a former Anoka County Commissioner and former Commissioner of the Department of Human Services. She currently is on the Metro Council. She resides in Ramsey.
Susan Holden - Secretary
Susan M. Holden, a partner in the law firm of Sieben, Grose, Von Holtum & Carey, LTD, has distinguished herself representing injured people through a practice focused in the areas of wrongful death, catastrophic injury, product liability, dram shop liability, construction site and automobile accident insurance litigation.
Susan has served as President of the Minnesota State Bar Association, received the President's Award from the MSBA and Member of the Year award from the Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association. She has served on the Board of Governors of the Minnesota Association for Justice, the Advisory Board of the Minnesota Women Lawyers, the Board of Directors of Minnesota Continuing Legal Education, the Hennepin County Bar Association and Lakeland Public Television. She was recently appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice to chair the Special Master Panel that administers compensation for survivors of the I-35W bridge collapse. She is a frequent author and lecturer and a respected leader in her field.
Heidi Nelson - Treasurer
Heidi Nelson currently serves as the assistant city administrator for the City of Ramsey. She holds a master's degree in public administration from Hamline University in St. Paul. She is an active Rotary member, serving as Ramsey Rotary president in 2007-2008. Mrs. Nelson also is a small business owner with husband, Rob and a proud mother of three little girls.
Mike Bisbing
Mike has been employed by the Anoka-Hennepin school district since February of 1992 and currently serves in the capacity of vocational coordinator. He lives in Vadnais Heights with his wife, Diane, and two children, Jordan and Mikayla. His hobbies include anything having to do with the outdoors especially hunting, fishing and dog training. Mike enjoys reading and spending time with his family at their cabin in northern Minnesota.
Sandy Crawford
Sandra Morgan Crawford, CPA, is a graduate of the University of North Dakota, which explains why her son, Jameson can be seen wearing a Fighting Sioux hockey jersey to work at Achieve on the days when UND is playing the UM Gophers. Sandy currently is employed as the executive vice president of Mead Metals, Inc. in Shoreview. Her background includes public accounting and banking, most recently with M&I Business Credit, LLC in Minneapolis. She lives with her husband, Tod, and two children, Jameson and MacKenzie, in Forest Lake, and enjoys being on the water with her favorite captain at the wheel.
John LeTourneau
John LeTourneau, father of a son with disabilities and executive leadership coach wih CO2 Partners, brings a dual perspective the Achieve board. As the father, John sees this position as an opportunity to advocate for people with disabilities. In addition, his business acumen is a benefit as Achieve moves forward in strategic plans for the future. John has a BS degree in management and finance St. Cloud State University. John understands challenges and how to create opportunities from those challenges. He is married to wife, Patti. They have two sons, Miles and
Mitchell.
Cindy O'Connor
Cindy began working at Achieve in 2004. She keeps busy working at different community- based job sites as well as in-house at Achieve. She works hard, and looks forward to getting her paychecks. She is the chair of the Participant Involvement Committee and as such, the participant representative of the Achieve Services Board of Directors. In her spare time, Cindy loves to do arts and crafts, traveling and having fun.
John Sprague
For the last 30 years, John's career has been in public sector human resources. Currently, he works with Anoka County as the assistant director of human resources. John is a proud parent of two, one of whom is a 12-year-old with disabilities. He feels having a child with disabilities has provided him with many opportunities to gain experience in learning how to advocate for medical, educational and social needs. John is interested in using computer-assisted technology to help individuals with disabilities become more independent. He resdies in Big Lake with his family and enjoys gardening, landscaping, reading and home improvement projects.
Mara Staiger
Mara works at Minnesota Life. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire with a B.A. in German and Spanish. She has a sister with developmental disabilities. Mara has been a member of Arc for more than 30 years. She enjoys international travel and going to the gym.
Kathy Svanda
Kathy Svanda worked for the State of Minnesota for over 30 years in the environmental field at the Pollution Control Agency and the Department of Health. She is retired and enjoys outdoor activities, especially fly fishing and skiing. Kathy's daughter, Kristina, has participated in the Achieve program since 1979 and currently works at the Anoka County Government Center.
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>Meeting Minutes (.doc files) (listed here soon)
• January 2012
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>Policies & Procedures (.pdf file) (listed here soon)
•Policies
•Procedures
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