Board of Directors

Chris has more than 20 years of income tax and treasury experience working with high-net-worth individuals and large businesses. He currently serves as Vice President of Tax at Taylor Corporation, one of the largest privately help companies in the United States. Chris has created success in his career by working closely with business leaders and aligning sound business strategy with tax/treasury planning.

In addition to being a finance leader at Taylor, Chris is active in his community. He currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Greater Mankato Area United Way, where he also sits on the Finance Committee, and serves as Treasurer for the Carnegie Art Center. Chris has also served as an officer or board member of other church and community groups in addition to being a past board member of Kiwanis and past President of the North American Peruvian Horse Association. He also volunteers for Junior Achievement, the Mankato Area BMX track and as an international Peruvian Horse Judge where he has had the opportunity to judge in five countries and throughout the United States.

Chris holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting with a minor in management from Minnesota State University - Mankato and is a certified public accountant.

Kristin Weeks Duncanson is an owner and partner at Highland Family Farms located in Mapleton, MN.

Kristin and husband of 30 plus years, Pat, raise corn, soybeans, rye, specialty corn, specialty soybeans and hogs with a commitment to a triple bottom line approach: economic profitability, environmental improvement and Community engagement.

Kristin is an advisor at the Meridian Institute’s AGree project, a trustee at The Nature Conservancy for the MN,SD,ND chapter, member and past chair of The Mankato Area Foundation, and a Walton Family Foundation fellow for 2024.

She has served on several non-profit and commodity organization boards for the past many years.

Pat and Kristin are the parents to four adult children, have five grandchildren and enjoy traveling the world.

Jamie has been with Taylor Corporation for 18 years where he is currently serving as a Category Manager in the corporate Strategic Sourcing Department.

Jamie’s passion for the all-American sport, baseball, led him to coach the for the Mankato National Legion Baseball organization for the past 21 years, succeeding his father, Jim Mulvihill, after his passing in 2003. Additionally, Jamie has served on the board of directors of the Mankato Area Youth Baseball Association since 2021. Jamie and his wife, Kari, live in Mankato and enjoy family trips with their two young children.

Tim Penny was named as Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation’s (SMIF) President/CEO April 2007.  SMIF’s key interests include early childhood and entrepreneur development.  Prior to joining SMIF, Penny was a Senior Counselor at Himle Horner, a Twin Cities-based public affairs firm, and a senior fellow at the Humphrey Institute.

Penny represented Minnesota’s First Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1982-1994. While in Congress, Penny served on the Education and Labor, Agriculture and Veterans’ Affairs committees.

Penny was also a member of the Minnesota State Senate from 1976-82 where he served as vice-chair of the Transportation and Finance committees.  

Penny has co-authored three books: Common Cents; The 15 Biggest Lies in Politics; and Payment Due.  Born and raised on a farm in southeastern Minnesota, Penny received his B.A. in political science from Winona State University. He served twelve years in the Naval Reserve.

Jeremy R. Wells, MA, CFRE, currently serves as Senior Vice President of Philanthropic Services at the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundations, Minnesota’s largest community foundation. In this role, Jeremy serves as the chief fundraising and donor stewardship strategist. He leads the philanthropic services team to inspire generosity and ensure donors, advisors, and organizations receive the highest quality service.

Prior to his role at the community foundation, Jeremy served as vice president of Augsburg University was also the vice president at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota prior to that. Wells is an adjunct faculty member at the University of St. Thomas and is a frequently requested lecturer, speaker, and author on a variety of advancement and fund development topics, including charitable tax policy, development planning, engaging volunteers, donor engagement, stewardship, ethics, and campaign strategy.

In addition to his work, Jeremy has served on more than a dozen local, regional, and national nonprofit boards, including the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Global Board of Directors. Wells was also selected as a 40 Under 40 recipient by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.