About Center of the American Experiment
Center of the American Experiment is Minnesota’s leading public policy organization. The Center is more than a think tank. It not only researches and produces papers on Minnesota’s economy, education, health care, the family, employee freedom and state and local governance. It also crafts and proposes creative solutions that emphasize free enterprise, limited government, personal responsibility and government accountability.
American Experiment’s staff advances those solutions by drafting legislation, testifying before legislative committees, placing op-eds in newspapers and magazines across the State of Minnesota and nationally, appearing on radio and television news programs, holding town meetings, and lobbying. Further, American Experiment conducts grass roots advertising campaigns on radio and on the internet, which bring the key findings of the Center’s research papers to millions of Minnesotans. And the Center carries out investigative reporting, uncovering waste, abuse of power and ineptitude in Minnesota’s state and local governments, schools and unions.
For more than 25 years, Center of the American Experiment has been the most impactful and effective public policy organization in Minnesota. It leads the way in creating and advocating policies that make Minnesota a freer, more prosperous and better-governed state.
The Center is a civic and educational 501(c)(3) organization. Contributions are tax deductible.
Contact
Staff
Board of Directors
OFFICERS
Chairman
Ron Eibensteiner
Wyncrest Capital, Inc.
President
John Hinderaker
Secretary
Mark S. Larson
Attorney, Messerli & Kramer
Treasurer
Scott Rile
Principal, Bernstein Global Wealth Management
BOARD MEMBERS
Edward C. Anderson
Forthright Solutions
Tara J. Anderson
TJA Business Law
Elam Baer
North Central Equity
Asim Baig
CATS Software Inc.
Michael E. Barry
Twin City Fan Companies
Molly Corrigan Cronin
Mitchell Davis
Davis Family Dairies
Elizabeth Driscoll
Greg Frandsen
Frandsen Companies
John F. Gibbs
Comcast
Michael Hayden
Lowell W. Hellervik
Omni Leadership
Carol Hockert
Lanners Foundation
Robin Norgaard Kelleher
Seaton, Peters & Revnew
Tom Kelly
Dorsey & Whitney
Keith Kostuch
Richard G. Morgan
Bowman & Brooke
Kenneth W. Morris
The Apercu Group
Charles Nickoloff
Medical Equities Investments
Andrew M. O’Brien
Trean Corporation & Benchmark Insurance Company
Rob Parish
Sawmill Management
Mitch Pearlstein
Founder of Center of the American Experiment
Rick Penn
Ted Risdall
Risdall Marketing Group
Brent Robbins
General Mills
Thomas J. Rosen
Rosen’s Diversified, Inc.
Ronald Schutz
Robins Kaplan LLP
Chuck Spevacek
Meagher & Geer, P.L.L.P.
Todd Vollmers
Global Access Capital
Young Leadership Council
Tara Anderson
Chair
Tara is an attorney in the corporate group of Fafinski Mark & Johnson, representing privately held companies in mergers and acquisitions as well as with employment, intellectual property and other transactional matters. She is active in the Association for Corporate Growth, the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce and other industry organizations. In addition to working with the YLC, Tara has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Center since 2012, and has also served in various capacities with other policy groups and political campaigns. Tara is a 2008 graduate of the joint J.D./M.A. program at the University of St. Thomas.
Emma Johnson
Co-Chair
Emma is a registered nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Minneapolis Children’s Hospital. She has previously worked as a nurse in the Pediatric Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital as well as the Pediatric Cardiac and Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at University of North Carolina Children’s Hospital. Emma is a graduate of Saint Louis University and is currently getting her Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Master’s degree through Duke University. She also serves on the board of Children’s Hospital Association, an organization dedicated to supporting the health of children in our community.
Anne Mason-Yoder
Co-Chair
Anne is a communications executive at Clearway Minnesota. Anne has an extensive background in communications; her experience includes work in the Washington, D.C. office of Congressman Mark Kennedy, the office of the U.S. Treasury Secretary, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. She also interned in the White House political affairs office under Ken Mehlman. Anne has a degree in political science from Drake University.
Ryan Miske
Co-Chair
Ryan Miske is a partner at Faegre Baker Daniels and specializes in representing buyers, sellers and institutional investors in mergers and acquisitions. He also has extensive experience representing private equity investors in the purchase, sale, refinancing and restructuring of their portfolio companies. He serves as the current president of the Minnesota chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth, a global association for professionals involved in corporate growth, corporate development, and mergers and acquisitions for mid to large companies. Ryan earned a B.A. from Carleton College, a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School and an M.B.A. from the Carlson School of Management.
Ben Wilmoth
Co-Chair
Ben Wilmoth is a consultant in the retail industry. A Minnesotan since 2012, Ben is active in the Center of the American Experiment, the Economic Club of Minnesota, and various projects focusing on education policy. Prior to consulting, Ben served in The White House from 2004-2009, where he was appointed by President George W. Bush as Executive Assistant to the White House Chief of Staff. Ben is a graduate of Lafayette College and earned an MBA at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.