Special Olympics Minnesota Board of Directors Announces New Members

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Special Olympics Minnesota has elected six new members to its Board of Directors, including five corporate leaders and one Special Olympics Minnesota athlete:

• Nancy O'Brien, Minnesota Twins Senior Director, Advertising
• Robert Abele, U.S. Bancorp Executive Vice President, Corporate Payment Systems
• Kate Nau, Schwan's Consumer Brands Vice President Finance & Division CFO
• Troy Bader, International Dairy Queen, Inc. Chief Development & Legal Officer
• Lori Larson, Keystone Advisors, LLC Principal
• Danielle Liebl, Special Olympics Minnesota athlete

The new Board Members were elected at the recent Special Olympics Minnesota Board meeting, and their official terms begin in January 2011. For a current list of Special Olympics Minnesota board members, visit www.specialolympicsminnesota.org.

New Board Member Profiles

Nancy O'Brien, a member of the Minnesota Twins organization since 2000, was named Senior Director, Advertising in 2009. She leads the club's development of creative and media strategies and is instrumental in building the team's brand. O'Brien holds a B.A. in Economics from St. Olaf College and an M.B.A. in Marketing from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management.

As head of Corporate Payment Systems for the past ten years, Robert Abele leverages more than 23 years of bank management and operations experience to direct the U.S. Bank Corporate Payment Systems business. This business consists of Corporate, Government, Purchasing, Fleet, and Aviation cards, as well as a business-to- business payment product (Syncada) which in total comprise over $45 billion in processed annual sales volume. Prior to U.S. Bancorp, Abele held positions with Citicorp Diners Club in Fairfax, Va.; Fidelity Bank in Philadelphia, Pa. and Certainteed Corporation in Valley Forge, Pa. Abele holds a B.S. in Economics and Finance from Lehigh University.

Kate Nau is currently Vice President Finance & Division CFO for Schwan's Consumer Brands, a $1.5 billion division of The Schwan Food Company. Nau began her career in Finance with Procter & Gamble and also spent several years with Nestle in the United Kingdom. In addition, Nau ventured into Marketing with Pulte Homes in Ohio and has also held various consulting and non-profit positions throughout her 22-year career. She has been with Schwan's since 2005. Nau has a bachelor's degree from The University of Washington where she was a scholarship athlete in gymnastics. She received her M.B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis.

Troy Bader is Chief Development & Legal Officer for International Dairy Queen, Inc. In his position, Bader is responsible for managing the Company's franchise recruitment, real estate, leasing, design and construction, legal and franchise contracts and services functions.  Before joining International Dairy Queen in 2001, Bader was a principal with the Minneapolis law firm of Gray Plant Mooty where he was co-chair of that firm's franchise and product distribution practice group. Bader earned his law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School and his undergraduate bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of North Dakota.

Lori Larson formed Keystone Advisors, LLC in 2006 and has provided consulting services since that time to various developers and owners of commercial real estate in the areas of investment, finance and asset management. Prior to forming Keystone Advisors, Larson held positions with CB Richard Ellis, Opus Corporation and St. Paul Properties. Larson's professional experience has resulted in several billion dollars of transaction volume, and her tenure includes extensive work in the areas of property management, asset management, leasing, finance, investment sales, joint venture structuring and corporate real estate consulting. Larson has served on the Board of Directors for many Minnesota nonprofits and is a past president of the Minnesota Chapter of NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association.

Danielle Liebl has been active with Special Olympics Minnesota since she was 11, including involvement in the Athlete Leadership Program where she trained as a spokesperson and leader for the organization. Liebl spoke with Minnesota representatives in Washington, D.C. last January at Special Olympics Capitol Hill Day and was invited to attend a White House celebration in October for the enactment of Rosa's Law. She is currently a freshman at College of St. Benedict and is involved with the Special Olympics Project UNIFY® National Youth Activation Committee.

About Special Olympics Minnesota

Special Olympics Minnesota offers children and adults with intellectual disabilities year-round sports training and competition. Through Special Olympics' athletic, health and leadership programs, people with intellectual disabilities transform themselves, their communities and the world.

SOURCE Special Olympics Minnesota