NEWS RELEASE

Saint Paul, MN– Governor Tim Pawlenty today (Wednesday, Dec. 23) announced the reappointment of Lois Mack, Sarah Psick Apple Valley) and Todd A. Watchmaker to the Minnesota Zoological Board.  All three are appointed to four-year terms that expire on Jan. 6, 2014.

Gov. Pawlenty also announced the reappointment of Kathryn Green and Richard L. Jacobsen (Burnsville) to the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) Board of Trustees.  Both are appointed to four-year terms that expire on Jan. 6, 2014.

Mack, of Waterville, is retired after a career in public service and agri-business, most recently serving as the conservation improvement and special projects manager with the Minnesota Department of Commerce, where she worked since 1992.  She also worked for U.S. Senators Rudy Boschwitz and David Durenberger in the area of agriculture and rural economic development, and was a partner in Whitewater Creek Grain and Feed, a family-owned grain and feed business.  Mack earned her bachelor of science degree from Iowa State University in Ames.  She chairs the Center for Rural Policy and Development, and has served as president of the Girl Scout Council of Cannon Valley, a member of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America Strategic Planning and National Evaluation Task Force and was a clerk for the Waterville-Elysian Public Schools Board of Education.  Mack has been a member of the Zoo Board since 2006.

Psick, of Apple Valley, is the director of government relations for the law firm of McGrann, Shea, Carnival, Straughn and Lamb, a position she has held since 2001.  Previously, she held a number of positions with the Minnesota House of Representatives 1991 to 2001, culminating as executive assistant to the House Majority Leader.  She was also an administrative assistant for the American Council of the Blind in Minneapolis prior to joining the staff of the House of Representatives.  Psick earned her bachelor of arts degree cum laude from Concordia College in Moorhead and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in public administration from Hamline University in St. Paul.  She serves on the Minnesota Government Relations Council Board of Directors, and is active in her church as a Sunday School superintendent, and a past chair of the Youth and Family Ministry Committee.  Psick has been a member of the Zoo Board since 2006.

Watchmaker, of Edina, is a tax partner in KPMG’s Investment Management and Funds Practice and has 24 years of experience serving financial services clients.  He is also the firm representative on the Investment Companies Institute Tax Advisory Committee and the American Bar Association Investment Companies Tax Section Committee, a KPMG national instructor for investment companies tax training, and the Minneapolis partner in charge of office-wide community giving.  Watchmaker, a certified public accountant, earned his law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School and his bachelor of business administration degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Watchmaker serves on the University of Wisconsin Department of Accounting Advisory Board, chairs the Gant Condominium Association Board of Directors in Aspen, Colorado, and is active in a number of professional associations.  Watchmaker, who is a former chair of the Zoo Board, has been a member of the board since 1998.

The Minnesota Zoological Board operates and maintains the Minnesota Zoological Garden.  The board consists of 30 members, including 15 appointed by the Governor and 15 appointed by the Zoo Board.

Green, of Austin, has been a member of the Austin School Board since 2000, and chaired the board from 2003 to 2007.  She is a member of the Austin Community Scholarship Committee, and has served on the state Compensation Council, Minnesota Academic Standards Committee, Minnesota Early Learning Foundation Board of Directors, and the Austin Park, Recreation and Forestry Committee.  She is also involved at the community level with the Development Corporation of Austin, Austin Area Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scouts Troop 112, Hormel Institute, and Morton Cure Paralysis Fund.  Green earned her bachelor of arts degree from the University of Minnesota (U of M), and a dental hygienist degree from the U of M School of Dentistry.  Green, who has been a member of the PERA Board since 2006, is reappointed as a representative of school boards.

Jacobsen, of Burnsville, has been an independent consulting actuary since 1985, and has been involved in employee benefit actuarial and consulting projects for over 40 years.  Prior to becoming an independent actuary, he held actuarial positions with Towers, Perrin, Forster and Crosby, George V. Stennes and Associates, 3M, and Northwestern National Life Insurance Company.  Jacobsen earned his master of science degree from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and his bachelor of arts degree from St. Olaf College in Northfield.  He has served on the Burnsville City Council and Burnsville Planning Commission.  Jacobsen, who has been a member of the PERA Board since 2006, is reappointed as a public member knowledgeable in pension matters.

The Public Employees Retirement Association Board of Trustees manages the fund that provides retirement, survivor and disability benefits for public employees of county and local government.  The board consists of 11 members, including five appointed by the governor.