Past Presidents
- July 2017-June 2019 ~ Erica Bierman
- July 2015-June 2017 ~ Michael Moeller
- July 2013-June 2015 ~ Paul Gronert
- July 2011-June 2013 ~ Charles Weise
- July 2009-June 2011 ~ Adam Tervola Hultberg
- July 2007-June 2009 ~ Barry Zumwalde
- July 2005-June 2007 ~ Dr. Elizabeth Jackson Kirchhoff
- July 2003-June 2005 ~ Dr. Scott A. Jones
- July 2001-June 2003 ~ Joni Sutton
- July 1999-June 2001 ~ Charlie Liebfried
- July 1997-June 1999 ~ Wendy Barden
- July 1995-June 1997 ~ Bill Webb
- July 1993-June 1995 ~ Russ Pesola
State Executive Board
President
Geneva Fitzsimonds ~ Edina High School
Geneva Fitzsimonds holds degrees from Concordia College-Moorhead and St. Mary’s University, and is a National Board Certified Teacher. Her bands and jazz bands have performed at festivals across the region including the MMEA Middle Level Conference, the MMSA Conference and the MMEA Mid-Winter Clinic. Geneva has served on the MMEA Board of Directors, is Past President of the MN Chapter of the American School Band Directors Association and has served in several capacities on the board of the MBDA. She is a MSHSL Adjudicator and has directed numerous honor bands and festivals throughout the region. Geneva has presented many sessions at state and regional clinics and her papers have been nationally published in Teaching Music magazine and on Banddirector.com. She is a Golden Apple Award recipient and an MVP Teacher of the Year. In 2014, Geneva was named MN Music Educator of the Year and in 2016 the Edina Teacher of the Year. She currently teaches 9th grade bands at Edina High School and directs the Concert Band for Minnesota Junior Winds. Geneva lives in Minnetrista with her husband Scott and their two children; Bram and Berit.
Past-President
Erika Bierman ~ Pipestone Area Middle/High School
Erika Bierman is currently Director of 5th and 6th Grade Bands at Pipestone Area Middle/High School. She has previously taught at Adrian Secondary, Round Lake Brewster High School, Nerstrand Elementary, and McLeod West Public Schools. Erika was one of the founding educators in the El Sistema Imagine after school music program sponsored by the Nobles County Integration Collaborative. She also served as a section coach for the Minnesota All-State Bands in 2014-2015 and 2015-2016. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Concordia College-Moorhead and studied Contra-Alto, Bass, and B-flat Clarinet. Erika and her husband have two daughters.
Secretary
Nora Tycast ~ Spring Lake Park High School
Nora R. Tycast has been Co-Director of Bands at Spring Lake Park High School since 2006. Prior to that she taught at Hopkins High School and Hopkins West Junior High School in Hopkins, MN and opened a new arts and technology high school, Felix Varela Senior High in Miami, Florida.
She has presented at the Minnesota Music Educators Association (MMEA) annual conference and at the National Association for Music Education (NAFME) annual conference. Topics have included; literacy intervention in the large ensemble classroom, teaching to students with trauma, including diverse composers in wind ensemble literature, and developing racial and equity conversations within the large ensemble classroom as a way to engage larger populations of students.
Tycast currently serves as secretary for MBDA and is the chair of the International Spanish Language Academy school board. She earned her B.A. in Music Education from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and her Master’s in Educational Policy and Administration from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She resides in the Twin Cities with her husband and three daughters, travels often and puts in a lot of miles on her athletic shoes.
Secretary - Elect
Lauren Greeley ~ Glencoe Silver Lake
Treasurer
Allie Jensen ~ Eden Prairie Schools
Allie Jensen teaches 5th and 6th grade band at Forest Hills Elementary and Eagle Heights Spanish Immersion in Eden Prairie, MN. She holds Bachelor of Music degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in both Music Education and Psychology and a Masters of Arts degree from St. Mary’s University in Educational Leadership. Allie has coordinated the South Central MBDA 6-8 Honor Bands from 2017-2019 and has enjoyed seeing her own students participate in various MBDA events throughout Minnesota.
Allie also taught in Waconia, MN during the 2012-2013 school year and served as the Director of the Junior Girls Division at Interlochen Arts Camp during the summers of 2013-2015. Currently, Allie plays horn with the Wayzata Symphony Orchestra and enjoys teaching private horn lessons in her spare time.
State Board of Representatives (Elected, 2-year term):
Northeast President (NEMBDA)
Central President (CMBDA)
Nicole Clark
Providence Academy
Southeast President (SEMBDA)
Liz Harwood
Kasson-Mantorville
South Central President (SCMBDA)
Southwest President (SWMBDA)
Nickole Bowie
Martin County West
Amy Labat
Edgerton Public Schools
alabat@edgertonpublic.com
Northwest President (NWMBDA)
Nicole Clark ~ nicole.clark@providenceacademy.org
Nicole is currently in her fifteenth year as Band Director and Music Teacher at Providence Academy. Since her arrival in 2003, the band program has gone through exponential growth from 55 members to 185 members. Under her direction the Symphonic (Upper School) Band at the academy started its superior ratings at both the MSHSL Large Group and Solo/Ensemble competitions. Besides implementing a full 5-12 grade instrumental program for the academy she started the school’s jazz band and has participated in numerous pit-orchestras for the school’s musicals. In addition to directing bands at the academy Mrs. Clark has taught Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1stgrade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 6th grade, and 7th grade general music as well as Middle School Choir. Currently she is the director of the Cadet (5th grade) and Concert (MS) Bands as well as the MS chapel choir. She also coordinates and accompanies music for the Middle School liturgy each week. She is involved in NAfME, MMEA, and CMBDA.
A diverse background in music education is what led Mrs. Clark to teaching at Providence Academy. She graduated with the highest honors from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with concentrations in both instrumental and vocal music. Her performance background includes recitals in alto saxophone, piano and voice. She had an internship in Middle School Band, Jazz Band, and High School Choir in Rice Lake, WI. She taught Middle School and High School Choir, Chamber Choir, General Music, and all of the school’s woodwind lessons in Spring Grove, MN. Before coming to Providence Academy she served as the Middle School Concert Band director, assistant High School Marching Band director, and Middle School General Music teacher in Lake City, MN.
In addition to teaching, Mrs. Clark has served as a music director and cantor at the Newman Center Parish in La Crosse, and a cantor at numerous parishes in the Twin Cities.
Nickole Bowie ~ Martin County West Schools
Nickole Bowie is currently Director of Bands at Martin County West Schools following four years of teaching in Colorado and two years of teaching in Oklahoma. Bowies responsibilities include 5th Grade Beginning band, 6th Grade Band, Junior High Band, High School Concert Band, two jazz ensembles, pep band, drum line, independent music courses and lessons. She also directs the Martin County West Jr./Sr. High Marching Band in the summer.
Originally from Sherburn MN, Bowie graduated from Southwest State University in Marshall, MN with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education. She also earned a Masters in Technology in Education from Lesley University in Cambridge MA.
She continues to be involved in music outside of the school day as a clarinetist for the Minnesota River Valley Wind Ensemble and playing/conducting for her local Trimont Area Centennial Band. Nickole Bowie lives in Trimont, MN with her husband, Linh.
State Board of Representatives (Appointed)
Membership Chair
Rick Olson
olso3796@gmail.com
Bio coming soon.
Honor Band Audition Co-Chairs
Matt Bauer ~ Montevideo
Honor Band Event Coordinator
Sarah Mason ~ Ely Schools
mbdahonorband@gmail.com
Jazz Honor ~ Band Audition Coordinators
Ben Bussey ~ MacPhail, Concordia St. Paul
benjamin.bussey@gmail.com
Nick Mason ~ New London Spicer
masonn@nls.k12.mn.us
Ben Bussey ~ MacPhail, Concordia St. Paul
benjamin.bussey@gmail.com
Jazz Honor ~ Band Coordinator
Steve Jennings ~ McNally Smith
steve.jennings@mcnallysmith.edu
Volunteer Coordinator
Nathan Blinn ~ Chippewa Middle School
nathan.blinn@moundsviewschools.org
State Board of Representatives (Directed)
MMEA Band Vice President
Jennifer Gruepner
Perpich Center for the Arts Education
ASBDA Representative
Terri Svec ~ Buffalo
tsvec@buffalo.k12.mn.edu
Terri Svec received a Bachelor of Music Education from East Carolina University and a Master of Science in Music Education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She taught beginning and middle level band in the Chicago suburbs for five years prior to her current position at Buffalo Community Middle School. Her duties over the past 16 years have included band, choir, orchestra, classroom music, guitar and music technology. She has also been department chair and served on several district music committees and has been involved in piloting new music technologies in her shool. She is a member of MMEA/MENC and ASBDA in addition to MBDAand has served as Secretary and Treasurer for MBDA. She continues to perform on oboe with the Plymouth Concert Band and with small chamber groups throughout the west Metro area.
CBDNA Representative
Dr. Peter Haberman
Concordia College ~ Moorhead
NBA Representative
Rob Anderson ~ Ulen-Hitterdal Public Schools
randerson@ulenhitterdal.k12.mn.us
Rob Anderson is the Director of Bands at Ulen-Hitterdal Public Schools where he started in 2006. He teaches Elementary, Junior High, and High School Concert Band as well as Jazz Ensemble and 7th/8th Music. He also is the school’s Musical Director and National Honor Society Advisor. Previous to his time at U-H, Rob was Director of Bands at Martin County West schools from 2001-2006.
Rob received a Bachelor of Music degree from Concordia College in 2001 and a Master’s Degree in Music Education from North Dakota State University in 2017. He is a member of NAfME, MMEA, MBDA, and the NBA. He was awarded Ulen-Hitterdal Teacher of the Year during the 2017-2018 school year.
In his free time, Rob enjoys working on classic cars, watching football (Go Vikes!!), and traveling with his family. He currently lives in Ulen with his wife (and Ulen-Hitterdal Choir Director), Kylie and their daughter, Arwen.
Equity Chair
Sarah Minette ~ Minneapolis South High School, Adjunct Faculty at University of St. Thomas
Sarah Minette, PhD (BME, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, MAME, University of St. Thomas, and PhD, Arizona State University) is a music educator at Minneapolis South High School and adjunct faculty at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN. Sarah’s 16 year career includes teaching middle school band, jazz band, marching band, and most recently, secondary general music. At the University of St. Thomas, Sarah teaches graduate and undergraduate music education classes. Sarah was recently awarded a Music Education Innovator grant from the Give a Note Foundation for her work at South High that focuses on providing as many music making opportunities for students as possible. Sarah also serves as the Secondary General Music chair for MMEA.
Sarah’s research interests include gender and sexuality in music education, access and equity in music education, and secondary general music education. Sarah has presented her research at local and national venues, including the National Association for Music Education Research Conference, the Feminist Theory and Music Conference, the MayDay Colloquium, the International Conference on Narrative Inquiry, the Society for Music Teacher Education Symposium, and the New Directions Conference. Sarah was recently appointed as the secondary music education chair of the Minnesota Music Educators Association and serves as the equity chair for the Minnesota Band Directors Association. Additionally, Sarah is in demand as a guest presenter to undergraduate music education classes as well as graduate classes to share her teaching experiences as well as her research.
State Board of Representatives (Hired)
Web Manager
Sandra Riehl
mbdawebmanager@mbda.org
Sandra is a Technology Integrationist in the Shakopee School system in combination with owning and running a web design business. She has been merging her interests with technology and teaching for over 20 years.