Staff &
Board of Directors

Tim Chapman is the Executive Director of the International Peace Garden. Chapman was hired in May of 2018 and assisted in the successful lobbying effort of 2019 to secure historic capital improvement funds from North Dakota and Manitoba.

Chapman was a journalist in his first career, covering news and sports in North Dakota, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Wyoming. He also studied Agroecology and Horticulture at the University of Wyoming and plans to finish those studies in the future. He earned his degree in Journalism from James Madison University in Virginia. He is originally from Fairfax, Virginia.

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

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.  

Dorothy Dobbie joined the International Peace Garden board in 2013 and was elected president in 2021. She served as chair of the finance committee since 2014. She looks forward to helping guide the garden into international prominence during her tenure.

Dorothy is founder and president of Pegasus Publications Inc., publishers of the Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, Lifestyles 55, and several other directories and publications. She hosts a popular weekly radio show, the Gardener at Lifestyles 55 Digital Radio on whatsupwinnipeg.ca and co-hosts a garden podcast with her daughter Shauna Dobbie at localgardener.net.

A recognized business, civic, and cultural leader, Dorothy served as a member of Parliament from 1988 through 1993. During her term she served as parliamentary secretary in several portfolios including the environment, chaired a joint House Senate constitutional committee, and addressed the United Nations on child poverty. She currently serves as president of The Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians.

Dorothy is former president and chair of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and chaired the 2012 Canadian National Arts Summit. A past member of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, she currently serves on the board of directors for Tree Canada, the nation’s leading tree planting charity, and is active on other local boards and community initiatives.

She’s been honored with the Queen’s Jubilee Medal for Community Involvement and the Canadian Association of Former Members of Parliament Distinguished Citizen Award. The first woman president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, her professional awards include Manitoba Outstanding Business Citizen, Winnipeg Woman of the Year for Business, and Assiniboine Chamber of Commerce’s Woman in Business.

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.

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.

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.

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.