Artecia Wilson

Artecia Wilson is the Director of Technology at AT&T. Artecia is an experienced professional with a demonstrated history of creating and leading high-performing technical teams. She is skilled in Technical Design, Strategic Influence, and Large Scale Project Management. An engaging public speaker, Artecia enjoys sharing her insights with large and small audiences. Artecia holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) focused in Organizational Leadership from LeTourneau University.

Thom Jackson

Thom Jackson is a data center design engineer with over 20 years of experience designing data centers of all sizes and redundancy levels. Employed at Dunham Associates, he works to coordinate the needs of the IT and facility teams to help develop project requirements for data centers of all sizes. Thom Jackson is the current president of the Greater Minnesota chapter of AFCOM.

Paul Carr

With over two decades of experience in managing data centers, Paul is the Critical Environments Technology Director at JLL, a leading global real estate services firm. Paul oversees how JLL deploys technology solutions for data centers, such as DCIM, DCOM, CMDB, ITSM, BAS, and CMMS, to optimize service delivery for our clients. He also provides sales, transition, and emergency support for data center accounts and develops and deploys the JLL CEM platform and playbook. In addition to his role at JLL, Paul is a contributing member of the Open Compute Project (OCP), a global community that aims to design, use, and enable open-source hardware, software, and processes for data centers. Paul has contributed to the Open Rack specification, helped to found the Open Infrastructure Management group, and served as the technical lead for Panduit’s Open Compute initiative. Paul has worked in research and development for data center products and solutions. Paul's mission is to advance best practices for data center design and operation. Paul holds a US Department of Defense Secret Security Clearance and a USPS Sensitive Clearance.

Colleen Eddy

Colleen Eddy, is the Metro Business Development Manager for DEED. She is also the Data Center Industry Lead for the state of MN. As the Business Development Manager, Colleen assists with business expansions, retention, and attraction. In her over three years at the state, she has been instrumental in leading projects which have contributed over $1Billion in increased tax base for the state. Prior to joining the state she was the Economic Development Specialist with the city of Elk River. 

Tom Lambrecht

Tom Lambrecht is the Manager of Economic Development Services for Great River Energy where he has directed the economic development efforts since 1999. He has directed over $60 Million in direct development financing through the electric cooperatives leveraging significant private and public capital investment. Tom serves on the board of directors of the MN Economic Development Foundation, the University of MN Natural Resources Research Institute, the Area Partnership for Economic Expansion and Community Development Funding, LLC. Lambrecht has a graduate degree through the University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs and an undergraduate degree in Public Administration. 

Jeffrey Rainey

Jeffrey Rainey joined Dakota Electric Association in 2019 as Economic Development Director. Dakota Electric is a member-owned cooperative that distributes electricity – generated and transmitted by Great River Energy – to residential, commercial, and industrial end users accordingly.  Jeffrey’s “charge” (a little power company humor) at Dakota Electric is to connect with companies and prospective end users looking to build new facilities – and place those facilities within the south metro Dakota Electric service area. Land and electrical requirements inquiries come through in the form of an RFI (Request for Information), and Jeffrey then works with his Dakota Electric team and his Great River Energy transmission team to arrive at system solutions to deliver power reliably, safely, and affordably. Concurrently (more pun), Jeffrey is in contact with the host community to understand its processes and permitting approval timelines. Previously, as part of Greater MSP’s Business Investment team, Jeffrey consulted with companies on real estate expansion projects and workforce growth tactics. Additionally, at Greater MSP, he managed a strategic initiative in concert with the Metropolitan Airports Commission – known as the Regional Air Service Partnership – aimed at attracting more international airlines and routes to MSP airport. Jeffrey is a Stanford University graduate. His favorite musical group of all time is the Rolling Stones, and he supports Chelsea Football Club. GO BLUES!

Jake Andre

Jake Andre has been with Xcel Energy for seven years, currently serving on the Corporate Economic Development team as a Manager. In this role, Jake actively manages data center projects across Xcel Energy's eight-state footprint. His role focuses on supporting customers through technical engineering, regulatory work, and contract negotiations, ensuring seamless project execution and customer satisfaction. Jake was engaged on the ongoing Meta development in Rosemount from initial site visit to the upcoming substation energization.

Brad Wilson

Brad has enjoyed being the IT Manager, Global Data Center for 3M Company in Maplewood, MN for the last 11+ years.  The Global Data Center supports Enterprise-level compute & storage, manufacturing and shipping for an international manufacturing company with ~$24B annual revenue.  In this role Brad holds a unique position in the Data Center industry - responsible for both the building and the Computer Room.  Brad is responsible for planning of future data center needs and identifying potential Colocation partners. He has worked at 3M for 27+ years with previous roles as a Senior Controls Engineer in Division Engineering, Crew Supervisor in Plant Engineering, and Electrical Specialist in Facilities & Services. Brad holds a BSEE from the University of Minnesota and pre-3M job experience include 6 years as a Project and Systems Engineer at integrated pulp & paper mills in Decatur, Alabama and Park Falls, Wisconsin.

Brad’s goals as an at-large board member of MN AFCOM is to help out wherever he can, soak up as much knowledge as he can and connect with the expert Data Center professionals in our chapter.

Amy Dunton

Amy Dunton is a business development professional with a focus on developing business relationships and strategies with her customers, partners and industry peers. Serving as the foundation of her consultative wholistic approach, Amy’s over 25 years of experience in physical and network security, structured cabling, power/cooling, connectivity, network, storage, and compute brings a well-rounded and unique perspective to the critical infrastructure industry.  Her roles have included working for distribution, manufacturing, manufacturing representatives, and a leading Enterprise IT Solutions provider.  Her expansive network and understanding of IT infrastructure, Facilities and Data Centers has fueled a passion for creating an environment with more collaboration as IT Infrastructure and technology trends can greatly impact how we design, build and secure our data centers and critical infrastructure. Amy currently serves on the board of the AFCOM Greater MN Chapter and the 7x24 Exchange MN Chapter. She is serving as the Co-Chair for the SIA Perimeter Security

Dan Curry

As Vice President of Data Center Development, Dan is responsible for driving Oppidan’s growth through sourcing new development deals, powered land, and new capital partners. Dan is instrumental in the execution of the development process, including site qualification, attaining entitlements, and due diligence coordination. Dan brings 12 years of data center industry experience to Oppidan, including leadership roles at CBRE, ViaWest and i.s.a. This includes advising leading data center operators and developers on market conditions across 20 markets in North America, and developing business cases and consulting on developments or acquisitions totaling more than $2 billion in capital investment. Dan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Colorado Boulder. Outside of work, he volunteers on the Bloomington Planning Commission. He enjoys frequent cabin trips and traveling with family and friends, and enjoys skiing, running, and biking.

Tiffany Kovaleski 

Tiffany Kovaleski is the CEO of The GOR Group and a dynamic leader in the data center, construction, and infrastructure industries, with over 20 years of proven success scaling high-performing teams and driving multibillion-dollar growth. Fueled by grit over résumé, she is passionate about creating opportunities for individuals entering the workforce with no prior industry experience, helping people build meaningful careers where they live and raise their families. Tiffany specializes in aligning mission-critical initiatives with scalable business strategies, helping organizations build stronger workforces, expand market share, and deliver measurable results. Known for cultivating powerful partnerships across hyperscalers, general contractors, MEP firms, strategic partners, and federal agencies, she brings energy, agility, and a client-first mindset to every engagement. She is deeply committed to workforce development and advancing veterans and women in technology, helping businesses grow faster, operate smarter, and lead with purpose in the mission-critical space. 

Philip Sandino

Connect with Phillip Sandino at https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillipsandino/ 

Keith Meierhofer

Keith Meierhofer is the Founder and Head Coach at Itascapoint Advisory Services. Keith and his team specialize in data center strategy, management, rationalization and resiliency. Keith, a proud U.S. veteran, commenced his career in the field of Information Technology while serving in the Air Force. Throughout the last 20 years, Keith has held ownership stakes in six companies operating in various aspects of the data center industry, including consulting, software, and integration. With a career spanning over 25 years, he has honed his expertise in developing strategies, building, migrating, and optimizing data centers and data center operations.

Rick Thissen

Rick has been with Itascapoint Advisory Services for 7 years, where he serves as Senior Advisor.  A respected data center specialist, Rick perviously spent 29 years with Thomson Reuters (West Publishing) in various data center related roles, most recently managing the Managed Technology Services business. The MTS business provided data center hosting services and technology support for US legal firms. Rick manages the full spectrum of data center activities, from the design, build and manage to rationalization, retrofit and migration. Rick has over 30 years’ experience in various data center related roles. Rick has successfully managed numerous cross-country data center migrations. 

Rick's expertise includes: Data Center Migration, End-to-End Migration Coordination, Project and Migration Event and Schedule Planning, Vendor and Transportation Coordination. Rick holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Saint Mary’s University and an AS Degree in Computer Programming from Alexandria Community College.

Michael Sakariassen

Michael  has been with Itascapoint Advisory Services for 3 years, where he serves as Data Center Analyst. Prior to Itascapoint, Michael started his career working for several Oil and Gas companies in the Bakken Shale formation in Northwest North Dakota. This involved doing research on mineral ownership and negotiating contracts with mineral and land owners. After the Oil and Gas boom subsided, Michael returned to Minneapolis and started his journey in the IT World. He joined the Telecommunications team at Sleep Number and led a number of projects to decrease overall spending and increase efficiency. This work eventually led to a position with a local IT Consulting Firm, where Michael was a successful Project Manager. One of the first projects he worked on was with Itascapoint, which eventually turned into a full-time position. At Itascapoint he worked as a Project Manager focusing on supporting migrations before moving into a Data Center Analyst position. Michael holds a BA in Economics from the University of Minnesota.

Jodi Heurung

Jodi Heurung serves as Manager, Interns and Collaboration Technologies at North Memorial Health.  Recognizing the need for sustainable talent pipelines in mission-critical technology roles, Jodi designed and implemented a work-based learning internship program for IT career pathways at North Memorial Health. With over 23 years of institutional knowledge, Jodi aligns North's core values with key performance indicators to select incoming interns. Rooted in prior professional experience in the training and education industries and driven by her belief in the transformative power of mentorship, Jodi provides professional development and intentional feedback loops to incorporate interns as valued team members from day one. For the past twelve years, Jodi has tapped HTC students as one of her key resources in her intern program. In addition to leading North’s IT Internship Program, Jodi serves as a StandOut® Assessment Coach, helping North to build a strengths-based workforce and Leader Coach for North’s award-winning Emerging Leader Program. She is also a proud member of HTC’s ITEC Advisory Board. Connect with Jodi in her breakout session to learn more!

Jordan Milman

Jordan is the founder and CEO of Archer Datacenters. Prior to founding Archer, he spent 17 years in the financial services industry, the last seven at Libremax Capital, a securitized products hedge fund he co-founded in 2010. Before that, Jordan was a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank and head of subprime and non-agency trading and securitization Jordan graduated with a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2000.

Joan Bernard

Currently, Joan Bernard serves as the Division Chair and faculty member for the Information Technology and Cyber Defense program at Hennepin Technical College. Joan, in partnership with AFCOM and its industry partners, was instrumental in creating Minnesota's first Data Center Administration college degree. Before joining the faculty team at HTC in 2010, Joan served in various IT roles. Throughout her career, she has worked in the education, manufacturing, and healthcare sectors. Applications Trainer,  Computer Technician, Technical Support Specialist, Network and Server Administrator, Director of IT, and CIO are a few of her former positions.  Joan is committed to empowering the next generation of high-tech career seekers. She is driven by the desire to achieve gender parity and create support frameworks for women IT and Cyber Defense students at HTC. Joan is passionate about hands-on and heads-on learning. Joan received the distinguished Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Educator of the Year Award in 2017.  She was designated as a recipient of the 2018 Dale P. Parnell Distinguished Faculty Award by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). Joan was named among the Twin City’s Business 2020 Notable Women in Technology.