Board of Directors
As a 501c3 Nonprofit, Mini-Hops Gymnastics relies on a Board of Directors to oversee our organization’s activities and help us accomplish our mission of impacting kids of all abilities, and their families, in order to build a stronger community. As parents of MHG, you are invited to nominate yourself, a fellow member, or a community member to our Board of Directors. Affiliation with MHG is not required for board participation.We look for individuals with the following expertise or interest:
- Legal (Real estate &/or 501c3 (non-profit) law
- Financial
- Marketing
- Human Resources
- Community Relations
- Information & Communication Technologies
- Grant Writing
If you have any questions please contact Michaela Chelberg, MHG Executive Director.
*Requirements for Board Members include participation in monthly meetings, the second Monday of most months from 6:30-8:30 pm, regarding the oversight and guidance of the organization’s finances and to support the leadership team.
Dave Ufheil
Board President
Dave is an Executive Director with Ernst & Young in its financial accounting advisory practice in Minneapolis. In that capacity, he leads the Life Sciences practice for the Central region of the US, assisting finance leaders in addressing the strategic accounting and financial reporting challenges facing their business and the finance function. Prior to joining EY, he spent 22 years in the audit practice of KPMG in various offices in the US and Germany. Dave received his B.A. in Accounting from Indiana University – Bloomington. He holds active Certified Public Accountant licenses in Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan. Dave has previously been involved in the finance committee of Medina Golf & Country Club and the development committee of the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Jeff Griffing
Vice President
Jeff is married with two children and two dogs and works as CEO of a national advertising company called AllOver Media. He appreciates all the hard work that is done by the staff on behalf of hundreds of children that benefit from the MHG mission. He has seen firsthand how his son has grown emotionally through the MHG team programs, and he has also witnessed the amazing Adaptive programs that are so impactful.
Andrea Leet
Secretary
Andrea’s family has lived in Plymouth for 16 years and has found it a great place to raise a family. Having their children involved in Mini Hops, she has seen the value the organization can have on a child’s confidence and passions. Her hope would be to continue to foster that same experience for all families through helping the other members of the Board of Directors and staff continue to lead the organization according to the core values and impact statement. Her career as an HR professional for the past 18 years has afforded her to really embrace the experience of others and always advocate for those she serves. It would be her honor to use those skills to help continue such an amazing organization.
Jennifer Jackson
Treasurer
Living in Minneapolis with her husband and their 4 kids, Jen is currently leading the Capital Management team in Corporate Treasury at U.S. Bank. She is passionate about supporting families, communities, and advocating for and empowering the youth. She currently has 2 children in the team program and 1 daughter loving the recreational programming. Her family has been fully invested in Mini-Hops for over 5 years now and plan to be for many years to come. Mini-Hops has given her children such a positive emotional experience, a strong sense of belonging, dedication, persistence, and growth through setting goals and achieving them. She would be honored to serve on the Mini-Hops Board to do her part in ensuring the excellent programming and opportunities continue being successful and available to our families and communities.
Dina Barsky
Board Member
Dina lives in Maple Grove with her husband, two daughters, and their puppy. Dina is a very passionate, detail oriented, strategy focused finance professional. She has spent the last 15+ years in the corporate world both in small, and large organizations driving financial structure, growth, and profitability agendas. Mini-Hops has been such a large part of their family going back a decade when their children were enrolled in the recreational program, attended summer/ winter camps, open gym and since then their eldest daughter moved on to join competitive team program. She would like to join the board to continue to support Mini-Hops mission and vision and ensure that the gym can run as effectively as possible. Grateful for the amazing coaches that have instilled so many life lessons into young athletes, through constant encouragement, this has allowed athletes to conquer fears, and develop courage to continue to push through adversity.
Mark Kinney
Board Member
Mark’s family has been a part of the Mini-Hops community for over ten years. Both his daughters participated in many of the recreational classes and his son has grown up at Mini-Hops starting in Rec classes at age 3 to becoming a member of our Elite, Pre-Team, and Team. While here Mark has become familiar and engaged with Mini-Hop’s mission. His interaction with the coaches, the staff, and the families of Mini-Hops has inspired him to want to help guide the continued growth and progress of the organization. He has over 25 years of experience in the corporate world that will provide a solid skill-set to help the business success of Mini-Hops.
Paul Moon
Board Member
Paul’s children first started at Mini Hops a decade ago, and they have been a grateful part of the community ever since. They started in rec classes, joined the Academic preschool, and then joined the competition teams. He is proud that Mini Hops displays its core values front-and-center and lives it out daily. His children have been encouraged and praised yet challenged to tackle fears and safely push themselves to attempt new skills and reach for higher goals. He is so appreciative of the amazing life-skills they have learned. So many young people are afraid of failing, and thankfully, his children understand that failing is just another opportunity to learn and grow. As a parent, he is also grateful that Mini Hops cultivates a culture that promotes healthy self-image and self-confidence.
Mara Kaplan
Board Member
Mara Garcia Kaplan is a seasoned business lawyer with over 15 years of extensive experience leading cross-functional and cross-border teams in transactional settings. Mara has wide-ranging corporate/business experience, including M&A, global restructuring, joint ventures, strategic alliances, commercial transactions, licensing and distribution, and complex multijurisdictional reorganizations. She is currently Vice President and Senior Counsel at Wells Fargo & Company, where she manages and coordinates legal work and legal teams in support of Wells Fargo’s mergers & acquisitions and business development strategy. Mara counsels internal clients and provides strategic guidance and transactional support on M&A and other strategic transactions. Prior to that, Mara served as Senior Counsel at Target Corporation, where she was responsible for the legal aspects of Target’s M&A activity, and as general counsel for Dermstore.com, a Target subsidiary. Prior to her legal career, Mara spent five years the financial services industry. Mara and her husband have three children and live in Maple Grove.
Mara has served in various leadership roles both at the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) and the Minnesota Hispanic National Bar (MHBA) since 2004, including serving as President of the MHBA and Regional President of the HNBA. Mara has also served as a member of Advisory Board of the Institute for Mexicans Abroad, a decentralized agency of the Mexican Foreign Ministry.
In Loving Memory of Brad Thorsen
All MHG charitable campaigns are hosted in loving memory of Brad Thorsen. Brad served as a Board Member of Mini-Hops since 1997, serving as President from 2002-2005 and ran the MHG Special Olympics program until his passing in 2017. In 2018 we named the on-site board room after him in honor of his years of dedication.
In his retirement, he focused on his family (especially his beloved grandchildren), friends, and attending Vikings and Lynx games. He was also involved with and did volunteer work for the Patrick Henry H.S. Foundation and is a member of the Patrick Henry Hall of Fame.
For this reason, we continue to give back to our community in honor of Brad and his commitment to helping the community.