Lisa Kittelson is the new Co-Chair of the Promotions Committee of the GDF. She is a 2001 Denfeld graduate and has a freshman who attends Denfeld. She was very involved at DHS as a student, even making it onto the honor court her senior year. She loves seeing how students are engaged with the Denfeld community. Kittelson works in Academic Affairs at UMD and supports campus assessment, program review, and special projects. Kittelson hopes to help students by figuring out ways the GDF can be more transparent with the application process and highlighting the success of student recipients.

Patrice Critchley-Menor, who shares the role of Promotions Committee Co-Chair with Lisa, is a 1983 Denfeld graduate. She was introduced to the GDF by former Administrator Lori Huska. She had heard of the GDF before and didn’t know much about it, but her Denfeld roots motivated her to become involved. She works in social justice advocacy and says, “it’s not one of those occupations that a high schooler would find on one of those lists of possible careers.” Critchley-Menor hopes to ensure that underrepresented students have access to the support they need.

New board member Laura Schauer is a 1986 Denfeld graduate and mother of three recent Denfeld graduates. She has wanted to join the GDF for a while to contribute her stewardship to the Denfeld community. “My time on the GDF is to serve current and future students as my personal way to pay it forward,” she says. Schauer works in project finance and raises capital for renewable energy projects. She has also served on a variety of non-profit boards and believes her financial background could be helpful to the GDF. “It’s important to me that the GDF thrives to support generations of students that graduate from Denfeld,” Schauer says.

Bridget Zuk is a 2004 Denfeld graduate. Bridget has been an educator for the past 16 years, both in public and private schools, in the Twin Cities and now in Duluth. She currently teaches middle and high school at Stella Maris Academy, where supporting student success is at the heart of everything she does in her school. Bridget knew about the GDF as a scholarship recipient herself, but learned more about it through her work with the Alumni Association. Bridget has been an active member of the Denfeld Alumni Association Board for the past 10 years and played a key role in planning her 20th class reunion last year. “Giving back to my community through teacher and student support is very important to me, as is supporting the legacy of Denfeld High School,” she says. She looks forward to contributing to the positive impact of the Greater Denfeld Foundation in the support of students and their post-secondary plans.