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
Tim Hauser- Anoka High School
Secretary - Elect
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)
Randy Lee
Central President (CMBDA)
Shannon Curtis
Zimmerman Middle School/High School
Southeast President (SEMBDA)
Tony Boldt
Kasson-Mantorville
South Central President (SCMBDA)
Nickole Bowie
Martin County West
Southwest President (SWMBDA)
Collin Stephenson
Redwood Area Schools
Northwest President (NWMBDA)
Derek Ziemer
Alexandria High School
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
Rick Olson currently teaches middle school band in the St. Michael-Albertville School District. He received his Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Minnesota and his Master of Music in Conducting from the American Band College and Sam Houston State University. Prior to his position on the State board, Rick has served as honor band coordinator and treasurer for the Northeast Region of MBDA.
Rick also taught band in Hinckley-Finlayson Public Schools from 2010-2016 and Lakeville Public Schools from 2016-2017. Rick and his wife Becca live in Plymouth with their daughter Charlotte.
Honor Band Audition Co-Chairs
Matt Bauer ~ Montevideo
Christopher Gough- Lakeville
Honor Band Event Coordinator
Erika Bierman
mbdahonorband@gmail.com
Jazz Honor Bands
Alec Paquin
Zach Sorenson
Sarah Minette
Volunteer Coordinator
Nathan Blinn ~ Chippewa Middle School
nathan.blinn@moundsviewschools.org
State Board of Representatives (Directed)
MMEA Band Vice President
Brad Mariska
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
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.