Staff &
Board of Directors

Lisa Kudelka served 21 years as Human Resources Manager for the Bismarck (N.D.) Public School District. In 2018, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum appointed her interim Chief People Officer for the State of North Dakota, a position she held until her retirement in 2021. As the state’s top workforce strategist and organizational development leader, Lisa served on Gov. Burgum’s cabinet and managed Human Resources Management Services, a division of the Office of Management and Budget.

Lisa began her career in 1986 as training and development administrator for the state’s central personnel division. She joined the North Dakota Department of Health as personnel director 1991, and started work at the Bismarck Public District in 1997. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Personnel Services from Minnesota State University Moorhead and a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.  

A native of Forman, N.D., Lisa grew up in a family that loved traveling and camping. She has great memories of long family trips to the International Peace Garden, never dreaming someday she would serve on the IPG Board of Directors. Elected in 2016, she became IPG vice president in 2021. Lisa also serves on the Missouri Valley YMCA Board of Trustees, Bismarck; Family Wellness Board of Directors, Mandan, N.D.; Prairie Public Broadcasting Board of Directors, Bismarck; and is a former member of the Bismarck/Mandan United Way Campaign Committee.

Lisa and her husband, Jesse Hanson, make their home in Hensler, N.D. From that home base, Lisa continues to enjoy spending time with family exploring North Dakota and beyond, camping, hiking, biking and skiing

Karlene has over 29 years of progressive senior leadership in the Government of Manitoba and the not-for-profit sector. Karlene is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Health Transformation with the Southern Chief’s Organization where she will be leading the establishment of the Southern First Nation Health Authority and the implementation of the programs, services and projects that will support community led First Nations health initiatives.

More recently, Karlene was the Chief Executive Officer, of S.A.M. Management Inc, where she brought to the organization her strong knowledge and highly impactful understanding of the real estate industry, organizational transformation and corporate viability while delivering on the strategic results in the areas of community development and the affordable housing sector. 

Karlene served as Executive Director of the Canada-Manitoba Infrastructure Secretariat and as Assistant Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs where she successfully led for 12 years the government-wide federal-provincial Infrastructure Negotiations, Agreements & Programs. During her time with the Provincial Government, Karlene’s innovative approaches to partnerships, project management, infrastructure development and strategic capital planning led to successful economic, social and environmental outcomes that have benefitted communities and sectors throughout Manitoba. 

Karlene is currently a Board of Director on the Winnipeg Airport Authority,  RBC Convention Centre Winnipeg,  and the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation.

Karlene brings to the International Peace Gardens Board her high level of intergovernmental relations, strong federal-provincial knowledge, community and economic development and significant experience in board governance.

Cathy Jelsing is a veteran newspaper journalist and editor, public relations writer and former nonprofit executive. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum appointed her to the International Peace Garden Board of Directors in 2017.

Cathy began her writing career at the Devils Lake (N.D.) Daily Journal. In 1987 she joined the newsroom at The Forum, Fargo, N.D., where she spent 13 years as arts and entertainment writer and features editor. She got her first non-profit experience as grants manager for Trollwood Performing Arts School, Fargo, and then moved into public relations as senior feature writer for North Dakota State University Publication Services, Fargo.

In 2006, she and her husband, artist Terry Jelsing, moved to his family’s century-old homestead near Rugby, N.D., where Cathy started CJ Communications. In 2011, the Geographical Center Historical Society tapped her to serve as executive director of Rugby’s Prairie Village Museum. In 2017 she became executive director of the Good Samaritan Health Services Foundation, Rugby. She retired from the Foundation in 2021 and continues to work part time as a writer and editor.

A former member and officer in North Dakota Professional Communicators and Fargo-Moorhead Professional Communicators, in 2013 Cathy was honored as NDPC’s Communicator of Achievement. In Fargo, she helped found the Fargo-Moorhead Women’s Business Exchange and served on Fargo-Moorhead’s Lake Agassiz Arts Council board. After moving to Rugby, Cathy co-founded Minot (N.D.) Area Professional Communicators and was elected to the Geographical Center Historical Society Board. She volunteers with Rugby’s community-owned Lyric movie theater, plays viola with the Rugby Community Orchestra, and is a founding member of the Tunbridge Lutheran Church Preservation Society board.

Georgia Artz is a retired Registered Nurse from Bottineau, North Dakota. Georgia, aka Gigi, attended Dunseith High School, NDSU-Bottineau Branch (now Dakota College), and Minot State University, where she obtained her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing in 1983. After graduation, Georgia worked as Night Supervisor for the Americana Nursing Home in Minot, ND. In 1985, she accepted a position at the Indian Health Service in Belcourt, ND  as a  Community Health Nurse.  Her position allowed her to work in many areas of public health including maternal child health, communicable diseases, immunizations, school health, home health and disaster preparedness. She received recognition for her work in Smoking Cessation classes, HIV education and Pandemic Flu Planning.  In 1993, she was promoted to the Director of Public Health Nursing. She spent her career developing and leading the Public Health Nursing Program for the Turtle Mt. Reservation until her retirement in 2021.

During her time at the Indian Health Service, she served on many state and local committees and boards. She served on the Turtle Mt. Tobacco Coalition, Turtle Mt. Head Start Board, Pathways to Prosperity Committee, Quality Health Associates of North Dakota Committee, Minot State University and Dakota College Nursing Advisory Committees, Bottineau School Board and the North Dakota Community Foundation Board. In 1994, she was appointed chairman of the hospital committee for the dedication of Belcourt’s new hospital, the Quentin N. Burdick Memorial Hospital, giving her the honor to meet and host Mrs. Jocelyn Burdick, the wife of former ND Senator Quentin N. Burdick.  She also served as the hospital’s interim CEO for several months in 2007.

Georgia was born and raised in Alameda, California and moved to Dunseith, North Dakota in 1971 where she started junior high school.  She spent a lot of time at the International Peace Garden in her younger years attending family picnics, weddings and field masses with her parents.  Her fondness for the Peace Garden is what brought her to the International Peace Garden Board in May of 2022.

Georgia and her husband Pete reside in Bottineau, ND. They are the parents of six children and grandparents to 14 grandchildren. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering, traveling, flower gardening, spending time at Lake Metigoshe and spoiling her grandchildren.  

Marlys Lord Carlson was born and raised in Cando, ND and currently lives on Middle Cormorant Lake in Minnesota.  In following her father’s legacy of over 50 years volunteering for the International Peace Garden, Marlys joined the Board of Directors in June of 2023.  She has been employed as a Wealth Management Associate for Morgan Stanley for the past 20 years.  While not working, Marlys can be found exploring nature and cherishing time spent with family at Lake Upsilon and fishing on Upper Red Lake.  

Rita’s experience with the IPG spans 25 years as an interested community member, lifetime member, and co-chairperson of the capital campaign.

Her interest in the International Peace Garden is three-fold. She is interested in maintaining the Gardens as an environment that supports comeradery among nations, a sanctuary for human beings and wildlife, and a setting designed to showcase the plant life of central North America.

Rita’s background in human development is extensive as sshe completed a PhD in Developmental Psychology in December 1982. She is familiar with the types of environmental stimuli and modifications that are appropriate for all ages and abilities.

Rita’s experience with nonprofit groups spans over 30 years as a board member and in leadership positions for the Taube Museum, the Minot Exchange Club, the Minot Symphony League, and numerous academic committees. She has learned a great deal about board membership and leader responsibilities with the Minot Exchange Club. The work that Rita did with American Psychological Association’s Division 2 — Society for Teaching Psychology — provided the most extensive opportunity to work with members nationally and internationally when she served as chairperson of various committees.

Nancy Olson was elected to the board in 2023.  A Bottineau, ND native, Nancy grew up attending the International Music Camp at the International Peace Gardens from grades 6-12 as well as delivering many groceries to the camp with her father, Gordon Wettlaufer, from Piggly Wiggly in Bottineau.  Nancy toured Europe with the Dr. Merton Utgaard and the IMC European Band in 1974.

Concordia College in Moorhead, MN awarded Nancy a BA in K-12 Instrumental and Vocal Music Education and a BA in Business Administration.  This led to a career teaching elementary music, 5-12 instrumental music, 9-12 classical guitar, 9-12 class piano, and over 20 years of private piano lessons.

Nancy was the vocal director and pianist/pit director for many musicals for the Bottineau Community Theatre over a 35-year period.  She continues to be active in her church in Bottineau as an organist, pianist, guitar player and vocalist in the Praise group, and member of the adult choir.  She serves on several church committees as well and accompanies throughout the community as needed.

Professionally, Nancy serves as the secretary for the state chapter of Phi Beta Mu – an International Bandmaster’s Fraternity, Past President and Secretary of the North Dakota Chapter of the National Band Association, member of Women Band Directors’ Association, National Education Association, North Dakota National Education Association, Past President and Head Negotiator of the Bottineau Education Association, Jaycee Women, PEO Chapter BD, Metigoshe Ministries Site Committee, National Association for Music Education, and the North Dakota Music Educators Association.

Glen Simard was elected as the MLA for Brandon East in 2023. Before becoming an MLA, he was a teacher at École Harrison in Brandon, teaching physical education. He grew up in nearby St-Lazare and moved to Brandon to attend Brandon University, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in education and English. Simard has served in several volunteer roles in the community including with the Brandon Teachers’ Association, Brandon Minor Baseball and Millenium Park.

He lives in Brandon with his wife, Lori, and their two sons.

Simard acts as the minister of municipal and northern relations, minister responsible for francophone affairs and the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation. 

Dr. Carmen M. Simone was named Campus Dean and Chief Executive Officer for Dakota College at Bottineau in August 2022.  Dakota College is one of five comprehensive community colleges in North Dakota and it is an affiliate campus of Minot State University. 

Prior to her return to North Dakota, Simone served as President of Western Nebraska Community College.  She guided the institution through the worldwide pandemic with a commitment to serving students.  During her tenure, the institution also successfully completed virtual and verification accreditation visits, launched a new technical program, and focused on strategic enrollment management.

Before taking the position in Nebraska, Simone was the founding Vice President and Dean at the University of South Dakota Community College for Sioux Falls.  This transformation from “university center” to “community college” was completed during 2019 to better serve site-bound students in the Sioux Falls area, while also supporting the local business community. 

Simone spent over five years as the President of Trinidad State Junior College, a multi-campus, Hispanic-serving institution in rural southern Colorado.  She focused on creating a college-wide commitment to keeping “Students First” in decision-making.  While in Colorado, Simone was trained as a peer reviewer with the Higher Learning Commission, one of six regional accreditation agencies for higher education. 

Prior to her presidency with Trinidad State Junior College, Simone served as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. In addition to the main campus in Lewiston, the College supported an educational center on the campus of North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene. While at Lewis-Clark State, she established recruiting offices in southern Idaho to promote institutional recognition throughout the state and attract additional undergraduate students.

Simone began her career at Casper College in Wyoming as a faculty member, while retaining a summer teaching appointment as an Assistant Professor with Colorado State University. She spent eighteen years in Casper, holding progressively responsible roles including Instructor, Faculty Senate Chair, Division Chair, and Vice President for Academic Affairs. While in Wyoming, she served as president of the National Council of Instructional Administrators (NCIA), an affiliate council of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).

Simone grew up in western North Dakota. She holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Colorado State University in Fort Collins. She and her husband, Alan, have two grown sons, Anthony and Edward.

Alfred Lea is a member of the Fisher River Cree Nation. He was born and grew up in Pine Dock, Manitoba, where his father was a fisherman. He excelled at school and graduated into a job with the federal government. His first business venture was the creation of a fiberglass vehicle that could be easily hauled over ice or snow, called the “Big Boggan”.

He later started the Aboriginal Beverage Company, bottling and selling soft drinks in the north and eventually worldwide. While in the business, Alfred counselled Richard Branson against starting his own company since the commodity is heavy, freezes and goes stale, not to mention that it was subject to challenges from competitors Pepsi and Coke. Branson ignored the advice and his Virgin Cola venture failed.

In 2015, Alfred started the Native Canadian Chip Corporation, creating the brand Tomahawk Chips. Based in Riverton, Manitoba, Tomahawk Chips are packaged in distinctive bags designed by Indigenous artists. The chips have mainly been sold in Manitoba, Ontario, California and on Amazon, with interest across the U.S. and from China to Saudi Arabia.

But the real reason Alfred Lea cares so much and works so hard is that he wants to teach young people how they can follow their dreams and create their own opportunities. He is an active mentor and leader of the Friendship Centres in Canada. Indeed, he has been chair of his local centre for 14 years.

Dwight MacAulay is currently a government and media relations consultant, as well as a protocol adviser. He was the Chief of Protocol for the Government of Manitoba for close to 20 years and served as the Chief of Protocol for the Government of South Australia from 2006-08.

A native of Killarney, Manitoba, he attended Brandon University (Science) followed by a career in radio and television news broadcasting before joining the Manitoba Government in 1980.

As Chief of Protocol, Dwight organized and worked on several Royal visits – including those of Her Majesty the Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall (Charles & Camilla). He also served as Secretary to the Order of Manitoba Advisory Council (Manitoba’s highest honour) and was a key advisor to the Premier with respect to The Order of the Buffalo Hunt.

In 2002, he was honoured with the Governor General’s Golden Jubilee Medal in honour of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee. Later that same year, he was invested as a Lieutenant in the Royal Victorian Order (L VO) by Her Majesty the Queen when She visited Manitoba as part of the Golden Jubilee Visit to Canada. Dwight is one of only two Manitobans in the history of the province to ever receive this honour.

In 2010, The Queen elevated Dwight to the position of Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO)—and is the only Manitoban to ever receive such an honour. The CVO is the highest possible rank attainable in Canada in the Royal Victorian Order. In 2012 he was awarded The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Canadian Private Secretary to The Queen.

In 2013 he received the Toastmasters International Communication and Leadership Award and in 2014 was honoured as Citizen of the Year by the Manitoba Chapter of the St. Andrew’s Society. Dwight is actively working to develop a music hall of fame for the province of Manitoba which will hopefully open in 2022. He is also involved in a movement to establish a statue on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislative Building to recognize the contributions of the First Nations to the founding of Manitoba and the development of Western Canada.

Currently, Dwight is a member of the Order of Manitoba Advisory Council, Vice President of the Manitoba Chapter of the Royal Commonwealth Society and serves on the boards of the St. Andrew’s Society, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, St. John’s Ambulance, the Manitoba Museum, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Winnipeg Chinese Cultural Centre, and the Manitoba Historical Society. He also serves on the Senate of the Fort Garry Horse Regiment; the CN Community Board and is President of the Intrepid Society. In 2019 he was selected to serve as a member of the federal Judicial Advisory Committee for the Province of Manitoba. He is also past president of the Winnipeg Press Club, the oldest press club in Canada and third oldest in the world.

Hubert Mesman was the first President and CEO of Travel Manitoba, the Provincial Crown Tourism Agency until retiring in 2010. During his tenure with the Province of Manitoba he served as Director of Snowmobile and Bicycle Safety with the Department of Transportation and Director of Marketing and Assistant Deputy Minister of Tourism. During his long career in the tourism industry, he served on numerous local, national and international tourism organizations. He had lead roles in bidding and hosting major events including the 1999 Pan American Games, Meeting Planners International Conferences, and the 1996 Grey Cup Host Committee. He has served on various volunteer Boards
including the United Way of Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Art Gallery Centennial Committee and the Trans Canada Trail Capital Campaign. He also served as President of the Manitoba Handball Association and on the Board of the Manitoba Marathon.

Hubert was inducted into the Canadian Tourism Hall of Fame in 2010. Since his retirement, when he’s not roaming the world on his bike, he has dedicated his time to various volunteer activities including 7 years on the Board of the Manitoba Museum. He served as the Co-Chair of the 2017 Canada Games Host Society and he recently completed a three-year term as a member of the Manitoba 150 Celebration Board.

Born in Amsterdam, Holland Hubert is a proud Manitoban who values the incredible strength and commitment of our Volunteer Community. Hubert and his wife Renee are privileged God Parents to 11 Children and spend much of their free time with family and friends in Winnipeg and Lake of the Woods.