2025 Distinguished Alumni Awards
The MSUM Foundation is excited to announce the 2025 MSUM Foundation Awards. Each year, the organization selects a number of deserving individuals, chosen from a wide pool of qualified candidates. The winners will be honored on campus this spring at college-based Legacy Luncheons.
Distinguished Alumni
The Distinguished Alumni award recognizes Dragons who have achieved exceptional success and made a lasting impact in their chosen field, whether vocational or voluntary, throughout their careers. These outstanding alumni have demonstrated remarkable achievements, leadership, and contributions, bringing honor to themselves and MSUM. This year’s Distinguished Alumni are Dr. Sheila “Charlie” Klauer, Rita Rislund, David Stowman, Tony S. Grindberg, Dan Conrad and Keri Pickett.
Dr. Sheila “Charlie” Klauer ’92 is a research scientist and associate professor at Tech Transportation Institute/Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Virginia Tech.Dr. Klauer is a leading researcher and expert in the field of human factors and distracted driving. Specifically, her work with teen driver safety has been paramount, having been published in multiple high impact journals and has also been recognized by government officials through the seminal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration naturalistic driving reports that have been cited over 5,000 times. Dr. Klauer has been awarded over 74 grants/contracts resulting in over $34,000,000 in research expenditures. Outside of Charlie’s work at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, she is an active participant in multiple professional organizations and associations.
Rita Rislund ’68 is a retired teacher, coach and athletics director at Lake Park-Audubon High School. She was a founding steering committee member for Minnesota State High School League’s "Women in Sports Leadership” in 1997 and has served on a number of other committees with the MSHSL. She has been inducted into the halls of fame for the Minnesota Interscholastic Activities Administrators Association and the Minnesota State High School League. In addition, Rislund is an active community member, volunteering for the Salvation Army, at St. Peter’s Church and the local and international Special Olympics.
David Stowman ’66 is an attorney at Stowman Law Firm PA. Upon graduation from MSU, Stowman was commissioned an officer in the US Marine Corps and served in Vietnam during 1967–68. He then enrolled in law school and settled into a civil trial law practice in Detroit Lakes. He has been involved in a number of significant, including representation of two family members in the George Floyd wrongful death case, a case that resulted in a settlement in the amount of $27 million. Stowman has also served as President of Minnesota State Bar Association, on the American Bar Association House of Delegates, was chair of the Minnesota State Board of Public Defense and a founding member of Legal Services of Northwest Minnesota. He is also an active member of the community, having served as a Detroit Lakes City Council member, Church Council president, Admiral, Northwest Water Carnival, Commander VFW post 1676, Chair, United Way fund drive, Chair, Becker County DFL party, Chair, DFL State Senate District, Delegate to Democratic state national conventions, and High school moot court judge.
Tony Grindberg ’92 is the North Dakota Manager at Xcel Energy. His career has been defined by a commitment to driving regional growth through economic and workforce development. He’s held various elected positions, including North Dakota State Senator, Fargo City Commissioner and Cass County Commissioner, winning a number of awards along the way. He’s also been an active member of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, The Association of University Research Parks and The Economic Development Association of North Dakota. He has volunteered at numerous organizations, including Plains Art Museum, the Chamber of Commerce of Fargo/Moorhead, and the Big Brother/Big Sister program.
Dan Conrad ’93 is President & CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota as well as the Healthy Dakota Mutual healthcare enterprise, a team of approximately 3,000 people serving health insurance customers primarily in North Dakota, but also serving the Medicare community in the western United States through Noridian Health Care Solutions. Prior to joining BCBSND, Conrad served in a number of legal positions, including law clerk for the Federal District Court in Fargo and was an Honors Program appointee to the United States Department of Justice in Washington, DC, representing the United States as a trial attorney in Federal Courts across the country. He then joined the Vogel Law Firm in Fargo and then served as in-house counsel for two large publicly traded companies, Northwest Airlines and FedEx. He has also been very active in the community, including serving on the board of Make A Wish ND and volunteering with the United Way of Cass and Clay Counties.
Keri Pickett ’82 is a filmmaker and photographer for her company, Pickett Pictures LLC. Over the course of her career, she has had three books published and has directed two award-winning feature documentary films and co-directed one feature film. She has documented the people with important positions like presidents, nobel laureates and famous musicians in an authentic and honest way. Her work as a documentary photographer and filmmaker has helped preserve actions, beliefs and people whose lives have been marginalized and or under-represented in our society. Her book about her grandparents had a first printing of 150,000 copies and articles sharing the story of their love story have resulted in a new view of aging. The book “Faeries” won a Lambda literary award and “Saving Body & Soul” helped raise funds to help the poor and homeless in the Twin Cities. Her documentary films have continued to raise awareness of the concern and in the case of “Finding Her Beat”, the film has helped break down artistic barriers for women and non-binary people, especially in America and in Japan.
Outstanding Service
The Outstanding Service Award acknowledges the extraordinary commitment and contributions of individuals who have provided extended and exceptional service to MSUM. These dedicated individuals have gone above and beyond to support and enhance the university community. Their selfless service has made a lasting and positive impact on student’s lives, faculty, staff, and the broader MSUM community. The Outstanding Service Award aims to recognize and express gratitude for their remarkable dedication and invaluable role in shaping and strengthening the university.
This year’s Outstanding Service Award has been given to Brian Wisenden, a current professor in MSUM’s Biosciences department. Since his arrival at MSUM in the fall of 1998, he has taught at least 24 different courses, many of which he developed from scratch. He uses the teacher-scholar model, which recognizes the deliberate fuzziness of the line between teaching and research. From the beginning of his time at MSUM he has championed the use of research as a teaching tool; not to teach science as much as to teach students to be scientists. As of 2024, Wisenden has produced 109 publications. Collectively, these works have been cited by others in other scholarly writings 6,415 times. He has been instrumental in championing the Regional Science Center and MSUM’s oceanarium. He has been active in departmental, college and institutional committee work. He was Chair of MSUM’s Department of Biosciences from 2015-2021, and Chair of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) from 2013-2023. Within his professional community of animal behaviorists, he’s served as Editor-in-Chief of a major journal, peer review of countless manuscripts for multiple journals and reviewed grant proposals for the National Science Foundation.
Dragon Impact
The Dragon Impact Award recognizes outstanding individuals aged 36-55 who exemplify the power of education, embody MSUM's spirit, and have significantly impacted their communities. These awardees inspire positive change through education, social justice advocacy, and mental health support, aligning with MSUM's core values and higher education ideals. They symbolize the essence of being a Dragon. This year’s Dragon Impact Awards go to Shelly Carlson, Carter Headrick and Curtis Slater.
Shelly Carlson ’93 is the current mayor of Moorhead. She’s also served the city as a council member, board chair and board member. In addition, she has served on the Metro Flood Diversion Authority, Moorhead Clay County Joint Powers Association, Metro Flood Diversion Authority Finance Board, Regional Red River Dispatch Authority Board, the Coalition of Greater MN Cities and board member of the Moorhead Library Committee and Lake Agassiz Regional Library Board. She has developed her own consulting business to provide training and technical assistance on the topics of domestic violence, sexual assault and/or elder abuse. She was also part of a training cadre that delivered training to members of the criminal justice community in the countries of Latvia, Lithuania, Serbia, and Moldova in addition to the U.S. territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands and was a founding board member of both the Minnesota Elder Justice Center and Rainbow Bridge Safe Exchange Center. She has volunteered in the community in a variety of ways, including at the FM Area Foundation Women's Fund, YMCA Board of Directors, ND Women's Network, Rape & Abuse Crisis Center; and the Rainbow Bridge Safe Exchange Center.
Carter Headrick ’93 is Founder and CEO at Carter Headrick Strategic Communication. During his career, he has been a part of a number of initiatives to help improve health and the life of Americans. Managed the winning ballot measure campaign (with 60% of the vote) to fund the building of a rail-based mass transit system in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. He also co-managed a successful campaign to ban tobacco billboards in King County, Washington and played a key leadership role in the passage of dozens of smoke-free laws at the state and community level. He co-designed, co-created and co-led Voices for Healthy Kids, a unique partnership between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the American Heart Association, focused on ending the childhood obesity epidemic and making each day healthier for all children through state and community policy change. He has volunteered with a number of community organizations, including South Central Minnesota Food Recovery, Reclaiming Native Truth: A project to dispel America’s myths and misconceptions, youth basketball coach, Healthy Eating Research, Active Living Research, Safe Routes to School, America Walks, National Conference on Tobacco or Health, Innovate to Motivate, American Cancer Society, and at the First Presbyterian Church in Luverne, MN. As chair of the Moorhead State University DFL, he helped work to provide students with a “hayride to the polls.” With permission from President Dille, they drove a pickup with a hayrack behind it right down the middle of campus on the sidewalks from the old Neumaier Hall to the main gates, promoting the right of students to vote and helped register as many as possible. The turnout that year was a record for the student community at Moorhead State.
Curtis Slater ’94 is Co-Founder of TILL360.COM, which provides innovative evidence-based solutions and systems that will promote social, emotional, and behavioral wellbeing for adults, students, and school communities to support academic and life success. Slater has enjoyed a career in the U.S. public school system for the past 32 years, holding various positions including paraprofessional, teacher, dean of students, associate principal, and principal. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with over 1,000 schools nationwide to promote positive school culture, social and emotional learning, and the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework. In 2018, he was honored as the National Distinguished Principal of the Year for Minnesota. He has volunteered with numerous organizations, including as a Play To Strength Mentor, the State of Minnesota PBIS Leadership Team, as a YMCA Youth Academic Skills Coach, and in the Y School Age Care program, and with Anoka-Ramsey Youth Sports.
Outstanding Young Alumni
This award celebrates the achievements of Dragons who have displayed remarkable accomplishments in their professional and personal lives before age 35. These exceptional individuals have made significant strides early in their careers, showing exceptional promise, leadership, and impact. By acknowledging their accomplishments at a young age, MSUM aims to inspire and recognize the potential of its graduates, encouraging them to continue striving for excellence and making a positive difference in the world.
The Outstanding Young Alumni Award has been given to Emily Stengrim ‘15. Stengrim serves as Senior Creative Producer at Nike, where she’s orchestrated large-scale campaigns with Nike’s elite athletes, catalysts and everyday athletes, that encompass their digital marketing ecosystem, physical activations, and visual storytelling elements through broadcast, photography, motion and retail design. As the lead producer on the "You Break It, You Own It" and "This Was Never a Long Shot" campaigns, I had the privilege of playing a role in capturing and celebrating Caitlin Clark’s record-breaking NCAA season in 2023-2024. Stengrim has also been a part of numerous other successful Nike campaigns. In addition, she volunteers her time within the community, serving as lead coordinator for the Fargo-Moorhead Pride Parade and is passionate about supporting the LGBTQ+ community. She also promotes girls in sport, making it a priority to give back to her high school by donating essential sports equipment, such as sports bras and cleats. By providing these resources, she hopes to encourage more girls to stay involved in sports and pursue their athletic goals.