Vanessa Laird
Executive Director
Graduate Faculty, Humphrey School
Affiliate Faculty, University of Minnesota Law School
612-626-1079
laird005@umn.edu
144 Humphrey School

See her bio here.

Kathy Quick
Academic Co-director
Associate Professor, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
612-625-2025
ksquick@umn.edu
235 Humphrey School
Leadership and Management Area

See her bio here.

Myles Shaver
Academic Co-director
Pond Family Chair in the Teaching and Advancement of Free Enterprise Principles, Carlson School of Management
612-625-1824
mshaver@umn.edu
3-428 CarlSMgmt

See his bio here.

Merrie Benasutti
Coordinator of Community Partnerships
612-624-8300
benas021@umn.edu
146 Humphrey School

See her bio here.

Tim Sheldon
Senior Researcher, Shared Leadership Lab
tsheldon@umn.edu

Timothy D. Sheldon, PhD, is a Social Scientist and Senior Researcher for the Center for Integrative Leadership at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. ​He is also an Affiliate Graduate Faculty Senior Member of the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at the University of Minnesota. Prior to his appointment in CIL, Tim was a Research Associate at the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) at the University of Minnesota where he served as co-investigator and lead evaluator on several large-scale, federally funded research projects (NSF, FIPSE, and USDA). Many of his projects evaluated educational policy, the professional development of teachers, and secondary science learning. Tim received his Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Administration with a focus on organizational change and the philosophy of education. Prior to 2000, Sheldon served as a Research Fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. In previous lives, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer and forestry trainer in Ecuador and taught Earth and Life Science to junior high school students. Tim is also proficient in Spanish.

Elizabeth Sopdie
Program Manager
612-625-5209
esopdie@umn.edu

Liz manages the Center's projects, communication, events, discussion series, and administrative operations. Liz received her M.A. in Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development in Higher Education from the University of Minnesota, and is currently working on a doctorate in the same area with interests in graduate and professional student learning, community engagement, and international education. Her previous experience includes working as curriculum coordinator for the UMN Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and as a literacy consultant in the AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Reads program.

Caleb Murphy
Research Assistant
murp0528@umn.edu

Caleb is a dual MD and MBA student interested in clinical medicine, health policy, and interprofessional collaboration, especially in healthcare. He is currently preparing to apply to internal medicine residency programs.

Elizabeth Dressel
Research Assistant
nordl059@umn.edu

Elizabeth Dressel is a Graduate Research Assistant with the Shared Leadership Lab at the Center for Integrative Leadership. Elizabeth holds a B.A. is Social Work from the University of St. Thomas and is a licensed social worker. Currently, Elizabeth is pursuing her masters in Urban and Regional Planning at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. She is focusing her studies on community development, community engagement, and housing development. Prior to attending graduate school, she worked as a community organizer with Minnesotans United for All Families and as the Policy Coordinator in the Office of Governor Mark Dayton.