Leadership Sioux Falls graduates 39th class
Members of the Evan C. Nolte Leadership Sioux Falls (LSF) program graduated on Wednesday, May 7 – the 39th class to do so. In the keynote address, Kayla Eitreim, President & CEO of Junior Achievement of South Dakota and a graduate of LSF, encouraged graduates to show up as their “authentic selves,” to invest in each other and the community and to be intentional in goal-setting.
The Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce offers this community development program to meet the need for active participation of informed and dedicated community leaders. The main objectives of the program are to inform and motivate participants by providing information on community resources; to identify community issues and challenges; to interact with other community leaders; and to gain a sense of community trusteeship.
The quality of the participants is the true strength of the Leadership Sioux Falls program. They represent the public and private sectors and civic and community organizations in the Sioux Falls area. More than 1,100 people have graduated from Leadership Sioux Falls and gone on to serve the community and the region in a number of leadership positions.
Congratulations to these members of Leadership Sioux Falls class 39 and their sponsors:
Rachael Alwin, Sioux Empire United Way
Megan Barkley, L. G. Everist, Inc.
Lee Bollock, Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center
Ally Brandner, Sanford Health
Kelli Bullert, First Bank & Trust
Cortney Carmody, Lemonly
Kendra Cersosimo, Two54 Creative
Derek Coover, Viaflex
Leonardo Diaz, Diaz Construction LLC
Nubia Espinoza, Sioux Empire Housing Partnership
Jessica Ferrie, APX Construction Group
Ali Gabriel, Sioux Falls Canaries
Brian Gebhart, Lawrence & Schiller, Inc.
Madison Godschalk, Sioux Falls Area Humane Society
Debbi Jones, Washington Pavilion
Isaac Jorgensen, Bender Commercial Real Estate Services
Paul Keizer, Sioux Falls School District
Kyle Kunde, First Interstate Bank
Shane Laible, First Dakota Bank
Mark Lukonen, Journey Group Companies
Rebecca McKeever, MarketBeat
Shannon Meader, CNA Surety
T.J. Nelson, Redstone Law Firm LLP
Lisa Ottmar, Helpline Center
Jasmine Arceo Piña, Scooter’s Coffee
Carly Reinders, Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce
Jacob Ricke, JLG Architects
Kim Stulken, City of Sioux Falls
Nancy Tapken, South Dakota Historical Society Foundation
Dylan Urias, Sanford Health
Alex Van Voorhis, Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment
Heather VanderHelm, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Sioux Empire
Brady Velgersdyk, POET
Thomas D. Verhey, American Bank & Trust
Jason Wallen, First PREMIER Bank
Tracy Wheeler, Marsh McLennan Agency
Erik Wold, CNH
Adam Zishka, Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office
The next class will begin in October 2025. Applications will be available at siouxfallschamber.com in early summer. Watch for a special issue of Chamber News in June highlighting the 40th anniversary of the Leadership Sioux Falls program!