Board of Directors

A Simple Purpose:
Ensure the Success of UMA

The Upper Mississippi Academy Board of Directors is ultimately responsible for the success of the students and the school. From direction of the school’s strategy and finances to oversight of school activities, the board works to make sure the school continues to operate smoothly and maintains a high priority for student education and well-being.

Our first elected Board assumed their responsibilities at the July 2016 Board meeting. In accordance with new charter school statutes, the previous Board was appointed in 2013, UMA’s first year of operation.

Board of Director Election

Directors serving on the Upper Mississippi Academy (UMA) Board are elected by our community; eligible voters are all parents and legal guardians of current UMA students, all current UMA Board members, and all current employees of UMA.

There are three positions up for election for the fiscal year beginning in July 2022: 

  • one teacher positions ( 3-year term)
    • Nominated candidate – Mickey Jurewicz
  • one parent position (3-year term)
    • Nominated candidate – Chad Lauber
  • one community member position (3-year term)
    • Nominated candidate – Pat Maxwell

Elections took place on May 10, 2022.  Voting was held in person on the UMA campus and electronically from 8:00 am – 7:00 pm.  For the school board elections held May 10, 2022, the results are as follows:

Candidate Paper Ballots Online Ballots Total

Mickey Jurewicz

UMA Faculty

Candidate

 7 10 17

Chad Lauber

UMA Parent Candidate

 7 10 17

Pat Maxwell

Community Candidate

 7 10 17


I have reviewed the votes cast and can certify these results as accurate.

David O. Born
Board Secretary

Board Meeting Information

Regular meetings take place on a monthly basis, and special meetings are called as needed.

UMA Board of Directors meets on the third Tuesday of each month from 4:45 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., unless otherwise noted.  Meetings are open to the public and all are welcome to attend. Check the UMA Calendar for dates.  The UMA board meetings will be held onsite at school on the main floor, room 1004.

UMA Board Agenda May 2022

 

Please scroll to the bottom of this page for an archive of meeting minutes by school year.

2021-2022 Board of Directors

The Board of Directors includes UMA staff members, current parents, and community members, all of whom come from a wide array of backgrounds. Through this diversity, the Board is able to incorporate a wonderfully broad and holistic approach to managing and maintaining general school functions.

Chad Lauber, UMA Board Chair

UMA Parent

Vail Resorts

Term: 03/17/2020-06/30/2022

Email Chad

Chad brings to UMA over twenty years of experience in management with a focus on information technology operations. He has worked in the education, finance, and marketing sectors for a multinational conglomerate, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and Columbia University in the City of New York. Chad holds an Executive Master of Science in Technology Management from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Music Performance degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Chad has worked with educational technology for teaching and learning since 1992, and brings a passion for new approaches and methods in teaching that better prepare students for innovative sustainable careers in their path to graduation and beyond.

Zoe Breimhorst, UMA Board Vice-Chair

UMA Parent

Product Manager – Datasite

Term: 07/01/2021-06/30/2024

Email Zoe

Having worked in the technology industry for the past 16 years from the service desk to software product management I am committed to identifying problems and finding solutions through creative, thoughtful, impactful and agile methodologies. Careful thought needs to go into fully understanding a problem and finding the right solution, and it is this experience I bring to my work as a UMA board director.  I am a founding member of Women in Tech at Datasite (WIT) and through this effort seek to empower fellow women in the tech industry through hosting events, workshops and guest speakers. As a first-generation immigrant, I believe in the power of diversity and bring with me a passion to listen and learn, discuss and solve and above all act to drive change. In my personal life, I enjoy working with youth and have volunteered with organizations such as Girl Scouts of the USA, Girls on the Run, Circus Juventas and Destination Imagination.

As a UMA parent, I am an avid supporter of education that empowers students to learn in a way that allows them to be successful. I recognize that to learn differently is to teach differently. I continue to be impressed at the dedication and enthusiasm of the staff at UMA and their engagement in this way of thinking. I wholly support their efforts and evoke a desire to ensure UMA is somewhere both teachers and students can bring their best selves and feel empowered to succeed.

David Born, UMA Board Secretary

UMA Parent

Retired

Term: 07/01/2020-06/30/2023

Email David

I am a retired social scientist with a doctorate in educational psychology.  I have a broad background in research and teaching, having served on the faculty at the University of Minnesota for nearly fifty years.  Over that period, I worked with several ethnic communities and chaired a department of American Indian Studies.  Diversity and inclusion are particular concerns as I look at education today.  I am the father of five children, one of whom is mixed-race, and each child has had a unique set of educational needs.  As a parent, I’ve had to look at schools through five different lenses.  Not every school is suited to every child, but I believe many parents and children will find great value at UMA.  I value the opportunity to work on the UMA board because I believe the school has a strong teaching staff, offers an exciting blend of learning opportunities, and extends a broad range of services and experiences to help prepare students for adulthood.

Dina Berray

UMA Staff

Culinary Teacher

Term: 07/01/2021 – 06/30/2023

Email Dina

Mickey Jurewicz

UMA Staff

Art Teacher

Term: 07/01/2021 – 06/30/2022

Email Mickey

Since 2016, I’ve been a proud member of the Upper Mississippi Academy staff, and am committed to being a positive and integral part of our school board.  I bring 22 total years of teaching experience in a variety of settings, a passion for my positions and, after this past year of learning how to be an educational professional during a pandemic, a commitment to a much needed educational revolution.  I truly believe that Upper Mississippi Academy could be a forerunner of cultural awareness, inclusion and innovation.  I am so happy to be a part of our amazing school, especially as we establish the new strategic plan that will take UMA into the future where all students will be given every opportunity to have a voice and thrive socially, emotionally and academically.

Anna Walters

UMA Staff

Counselor

Term: 07/01/2021 – 06/30/2024

Email Anna

Pat Maxwell, UMA Board Treasurer

Community Member

Board of Overseers – St John’s School of Theology

Term: 03/17/2020-06/30/2022

Email Pat

Tisa Mitchell

Community Member

 

Term: 07/01/2021 – 06/20/2024

Email Tisa

Pao Moua

Community Member

University of Minnesota

Term: 07/01/2021 – 06/30/2023

Email Pao

Meeting Minutes

Governing Policies

Official BOD Policies