Oles in Economics: 1970-1979
To jump to a specific class year, click one of the following links:
Wilson F. Hunt, Jr. (’70): President, Wilson Hunt International Ltd. dba CHAMPRO Sports, Wheeling IL. Is also the Chairman of the Ethio-American Trade and Investment Council, an advisor to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, and Chairman of Good Samaritan NGO, working in Ethiopia.
A. James Lee ('70): MA & Phd from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and is now the Associate Professor, Department of Community Health & Sustainability, School of Health & Environment, University of Massachusetts at Lowell. Dr. Lee has worked in the health care field for almost 30 years and has experience in government, industry, management consulting, and health services research and evaluation. http://www.uml.edu/college/she/CHS/Faculty/A_James_Lee.html
Bruce Steuernagel (’70): After graduating from St. Olaf in 1970, I earned a Master’s in Public Administration from the Maxwell School, Syracuse University. I worked in various research analyst positions for the agency now known as the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development for nearly 22 years. Over the years I worked on economic data collection, analysis, and dissemination as the labor market analyst for the Twin Cities region.
For five years I was the research director of a non-profit research and advocacy organization, the JOBS NOW Coalition. I designed the research methodology, assembled data, conducted data analysis, and wrote the Job Gap Study, a four-phase investigation of job quality and underemployment in Minnesota. The focus of research was the development of a basic needs family budget to be able to measure ‘livable-wage’ or ‘family-supporting wage’ jobs. I was involved in policy development and analysis of issues such as economic development and employment and training programs, and was responsible for data gathering and preparation of materials used successfully in advocacy work on issues such as minimum wage and welfare reform.
For the past 10 years I have worked as the labor market analyst in the academic programs unit of the Office of the Chancellor, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. I provide labor market research and advice to campus and Office of the Chancellor staff to support academic planning and program approval. I also conduct labor market research to support legislative initiatives and business/industry collaborations, and manage the ISEEK-Future Work environmental scanning project.
I reside in Burnsville with my wife Pat (Needham ’70). We have two adult sons and two grandsons.
J. David Jackson (’71): I am a partner at Dorsey & Whitney LLP in Minneapolis, MN. I have been a partner here since 1980. I am a trial lawyer, and my practice focuses on financial services, securities , trade secret, antitrust, and other complex litigation.
Don Swenson ('71): Juris Doctorate, Washington University School of Law. Following law school Don served in the U.S. Air Force JAG on both active duty and in the Reserves rising to the rank of Major. He is a founding partner of Stonehill Financial, LLC. http://www.stonehill-financial.com/ourteam/Donald.htm
Class of 1972: No current entries. Please send us your story at economics-dept@stolaf.edu.
Bob Forsyth (’73):
1973-1976 Underwriter and District Manager Kemper Insurance Group, Chicago
1976-1988 Agent and Owner, Forsyth Agency, Inc , Rochester, MN
1988-Present Agent, Past President, Heartman Agency, Inc, Rochester, MN
I specialize in placing commercial insurance and advising businesses of proper coverage.
Past President Junior Achievement Rochester
Rochester Family Y- Past Advisory Committee Member and Mentor in Y-Mentors program
Married, Kathy 1980, one child, Ryan. My son has broken the business cycle and is a licensed pilot and will be graduating from UND in 2009 as an Air Traffic Controller.
Thomas M. Heckler (‘73): After graduating from St. Olaf in 1973, I went immediately to business school at Stanford, graduating with my MBA in 1975. From 1975 to 1993, I worked in management consulting--first in Minneapolis, later in the San Francisco Bay Area--for two firms (Hamilton Associates & Kurt Salmon Associates) devoted exclusively to the health care industry. In 1993, I elected to leave the consulting world, joining the team at one of my long-time clients (Oregon Health & Sciences University, Portland, OR) as the first CEO of their faculty practice organization. Over the past 15 years, both the organization and my role in it have evolved--to my amazement, I am now Senior Associate Dean in the OHSU School of Medicine, and CEO of the OHSU Faculty Practice.
Mike Dwyer (’74): Mike Dwyer is a lawyer in Bismarck specializing in water resources law. After graduating from law school at UND in Grand Forks, I worked for the State of North Dakota for five years, then was a partner in a law firm for five years, and since 1987 have been a sole practitioner. In my water resources specialty I have 8 employees working on such issues as water supply, irrigation, water management and water education. In my extra time I have been the boys varsity basketball coach for Shiloh Christian School for the past 17 years, and my teams have advanced to the North Dakota State Class B tourney 6 times. I am married and have 6 children, 4 of whom have attended (oops) Concordia College in Moorhead.
Kevin Eide (’75): Since graduating from St. Olaf, I attended
St. Louis University Law School and then William Mitchell College of Law,
graduating with a JD in 1979. I worked with one law firm, known under
several names but, now known as Grannis & Hauge, P.A. in Eagan, MN
and was appointed as a district court judge in Carver County, MN in 2001.
A more complete profile can be found at
http://www.mncourts.gov/?page=JudgeList_v2.
I am married, have two kids and live in Chanhassen, MN.
Dennis R. Nickel (’75): Graduated 1978 from University of Missouri School of Law
Member of the Missouri and Oklahoma Bar
Licensed appraiser in Oklahoma and Missouri
My company name is Nickel & Company, LLC. Since 1980 we have represented companies and their properties across the country in their real and personal property taxes. We provide all encompassing property tax service for New York Stock Exchange companies as well as small privately owned companies and properties.
Helped develop software database for small and large companies monitoring their real and personal property taxes and estimates. Have saved clients taxes on administrative appeals to county assessors and on landlord's rebilling of real estate taxes to clients. Developed personal property software which categorizes business personal property and produces compliance filings, reports and estimated tax on each asset. Developed unique method of reverse trending of personal property assets to justify removal of ghost assets from company personal property declarations filed to counties.
Mark Peterson (’75): Education: Saint Olaf BA 1975; University of Chicago 1977
Employment: 25 years at Target Corporation.
Jeanette (Furst) Hamilton (’76): Earned MBA from University of Chicago in 1979. Early career included treasury-related positions at several organizations that have since been acquired or dissolved - including American National Bank (Chicago), G.D. Searle (acquired by Monsanto), The Balcor Company (real estate subsidiary of Shearson Lehman), Children's Memorial Medical Center (Chicago), and since 1995 have been the Chief Investment Officer (external title), Manager, Investment and Treasury Division (internal title) at Rotary International, headquartered in Evanston, IL. Professional designations include CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst), CTP (Certified Treasury Professional) and ARM (Associates in Risk Management). Member of AFP (Association of Financial Professionals) and CFA Institute. Married Wayne Hamilton in 1977; have two adult daughters, Kelly and Julia. Currently reside in Lincolnshire, Illinois.
James Taylor (’76): I graduated in 1976 with a major in Economics. Having worked through college in the building trades, I continued in the dual capacity of a carpenter and heavy machinery operator. In early 1977 I got a job in the lumber business and spent a few years in construction estimating and contractor sales.
When the building industry collapsed in late 1979 I applied to law school and obtained my JD from the University of South Dakota in 1982.
1982 to date I've practiced law in Mitchell, South Dakota. Initially I partnered up in a small local firm. Old partnership disputes predating my arrival caused me to start my own firm in 1987 as a sole practitioner. In 1988 I was joined by a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School and we've practiced under the firm name and style of Taylor & Miskimins, P.C., for the last 21 years. We're traditional "county seat lawyers" in a small town of 15,000 people. If anybody is interested in learning what I mean by "county seat lawyers" just take a look at our website - www.tmlawsd.com. We're general practitioners in the truest sense of the word and take pride in being traditional lawyers helping small businesses, families, and the needy and oppressed, and trying to make a positive difference in the life of our community.
Tom Wilkens (’77): Since graduating from St Olaf in 1977, I attended Drake Law School, graduating in 1980. I was then accepted into the Department of Justice Honor Graduate program, and served four years as a trial lawyer with the Civil Tax Division of DOJ. Since 1984, I have been in the private practice of law in Anchorage Alaska. I recently was accepted into the Arizona bar, where I will continue some of my law practice.
Jeannine Lee ('78): After graduation from St. Olaf, I attended the University of Minnesota Law School and received my J.D., magna cum laude, in June 1981. I was named to the Order of the Coif and served on the Minnesota Law Review from 1979-81, including a year as Note & Comment Editor. Upon receiving my law degree, I practiced at the Minneapolis law firm of Faegre & Benson until 1989, when I left and helped found my current law firm, Flynn Gaskins Bennett.
I am involved in a number of bar and civic associations, including the following:
I serve as Chair of the Federal Practice Committee for the United States District Court of the District of Minnesota.
I am a member of Board of Directors of the University of Minnesota Law Alumni Association.
I am a member of the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.
I am Vice Chair of the Fire & Casualty Specialized Litigation Group of the Products Liability Committee of the Defense Research Institute.
I also have been honored as a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America (a trial lawyer honorary society), a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and as a "Super Lawyer" by Minnesota Law & Politics (including as one of the top 100 Women Super Lawyers in 2008).
Our firm website is www.flynngaskins.com
Jim McDonald (’78): I've worked for the Comptroller of the Currency, an agency of the U.S. Treasury Department, since I graduated. I started working in the Minneapolis office, moved to Washington D.C., did a stint in our London office, returned to D.C., then moved to Charlotte, N.C. 15 years ago where I am now part of the team supervising Bank of America.
Our agency regulates the national banking system. As many well know, it’s a mess right now and will be for some time. So, I've been pretty busy the last 18 months and will be for the foreseeable future.
Julie A. Nelson ('78): After graduating from St. Olaf in 1978, I worked for Hunger Action Coalition Minnesota for two years before beginning graduate studies at UW Madison. Since getting my PhD in economics there in 1986, I've been employed by as a researcher by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington DC and the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University, and as a faculty member by the University of California Davis, Brandeis University, and the University of Massachusetts Boston, with shorter stints at, among other places, Harvard, Bates, and the University of Oslo. I've done both conventional number-crunching analysis, and work in the less conventional fields of feminist economic and ecological economics. I believe its possible to make a spiritually-informed, service-oriented career even out of an economics major!
Mark Sayler (’78): After graduation in 1978 I began work as a credit analyst trainee for The CITGroup in Edina, MN. I worked for CIT in Edina, Dallas, and Phoenix until March 2008 when, after 29 ½ years I was “downsized”. Timing is everything, and fortunately I was hired almost immediately by Wells Fargo’s Construction Equipment Finance group where I have now been employed for almost a year. Our office is in Phoenix where I am a Lending Manager, responsible for a group of analysts that provide transactional approval and funding services for 15 sales persons located throughout the central US. My hope is that this will be my final company affiliation and that this time when I leave, it will be at my choosing!
Katie J. Sevcik (’78): Katie is Senior Vice President and Head of Operations, Product Development, and Project Management for Wells Fargo Shareowner Services. She has over 29 years of experience in the securities industry including transfer agent services, bank trust operations, and mutual fund operations.
Current industry involvement includes chairperson of the securities industry’s Direct Registration System (DRS) Guidelines Committee, a director of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s (SIFMA) Corporate Actions Board, a Board member of the Shareholder Services Association (SSA), and a member of the Securities Transfer Association (STA) Operations Processing Committee. She is a past co-chair of the Securities Industry Association (SIA) Corporate Actions working group on payments/physical securities processing.
Prior to her involvement in the stock transfer industry, Katie worked with the mutual fund industry on automating mutual fund processing for the trust environment. She was a member of the Investment Company Institute’s (ICI) Trust and Bank Broker/Dealer Advisory Committee; a member of the ICI’s Defined Contribution Clearing Task Force which developed the NSCC’s (National Securities Clearing Corporation) Defined Contribution Clearing System; and chairperson of the ICI’s Trust Processing Task Force which developed the NSCC’s Trust Processing enhancement to the industry’s automated mutual fund processing system (Fund/SERV and Networking).
Katie graduated from St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN with a B.A. in Economics.
Jeffrey Brown (’79):
MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business is a Principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP in Charlotte, NC. He was formerly with Ku-ring-gai Ridge Ventures and McKinsey & Company.