Board of Directors

Shannon Ash

Serving since 2023

Shannon is a financial professional who has been serving the community for over 20 years. An active CPA, she is currently the Controller at Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. Shannon holds a BS in Business Administration and Psychology and an MBA with an Accounting focus. Her professional history includes nonprofit, government, and private organization accounting.

Shannon has been a member-owner since 1998 and recently discovered firsthand that food is medicine. Not only is healthy, local, and affordable food important to our personal health, but also to the health and well-being of the greater community — producers, Lakewinds employees, customers, and those who don’t shop at a co-op. The strength of Lakewinds’ future relies on collaborative strategy and diverse perspectives.

In her free time, Shannon enjoys cooking for friends and family, volunteering, travel, yoga, and all things healthy.

Emily Anthony

Serving since 2024

Emily is a healthcare marketing and strategy leader at Medtronic with more than a dozen years of experience working to bring new technologies to patients around the world. Emily believes that food is medicine, and how we source our food matters as much as what we eat. She is excited to serve on the Lakewinds board to combine her business experience in healthcare with her personal interests in wellness and sustainability.

A Minnesota native, Emily, her husband, and their two kids now live in Minnetonka, where they have been Lakewinds members since 2017. They’re grateful for the abundance the coop has brought into their lives, especially the produce section and bulk aisle! In her free time, you can find her working through her “to read” list, experimenting with new kombucha brews, and hiking and paddling on the North Shore.

Karin Broecker Smith

Serving since 2022

Karin’s position on the Lakewinds board will allow her to continue pursuit of her passion around sustainable food sources and the local food movement.

Karin has over 20 years of experience in technology consulting and sales. Her current role as a technology executive at Microsoft enables her to engage with Fortune 5 customers to solve complex business and industry challenges. She has worked with Fortune 100 companies in the Twin Cities, gaining a wide variety of industry experience having engaged with retailers, consumer goods companies and manufacturers. Her recent experience with health care organizations has highlighted the importance of access to affordable, healthy food.

Karin lives in South Minneapolis with her husband, two kids and three dogs.  She has been a Lakewinds member since 2018. In her free time, she enjoys running, golfing, reading, and cooking.

Jack Huerter

Serving since 2022

Jack is a cooperative lawyer at the Dorsey & Whitney law firm, and is a long-time devotee of the cooperative movement. In his practice, Jack advises food and ag coops on governance, regulatory compliance, antitrust issues, and internal policies, among other matters, and also represents clients in litigation in federal and state courts throughout the country. Prior to his current role, Jack worked in all three branches of government. He worked on Capitol Hill and advised multiple members of Congress in both the House and the Senate on food, ag, transportation, and banking policy. Jack also worked at USDA during the Obama Administration in the Office of the Under Secretary for Rural Development. Immediately prior to starting at Dorsey, Jack served as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Jack lives in Minnetonka with his wife, Claire, and his three kids, Lucy, Cal, and Alice.

Peter Nguyen

Serving since 2023

Peter is a sales leader with over 15 years of experience in the Consumer Goods industry. He is a natural/organic enthusiast whose passion lies in understanding wellness and sustainability trends. He attributes this passion to his experiences at the Kashi Company where the Certified Transitional program was developed to support farmers transition their land from conventional to organic growing methods. This experience opened his eyes to the challenges and opportunities to progress the food system.

Peter lives in Chanhassen with his wife and two kids. He has been a Lakewinds member since 2015 and enjoys walking the aisles of Lakewinds to find the latest innovation for everyday life. He is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the ecosystem, and ensuring the growth of Lakewinds’ vibrant community.  He is grateful for Lakewinds and is honored to serve its members.

Mary Rausch

Serving since 2024

Mary is a senior marketing professional with experience in education, health care, and medical device industries. She is a fractional chief marketing officer advising start-up medical device companies. Mary holds a bachelor’s degree in communication and a master’s degree in business with a focus on international management from the University of St. Thomas. She worked as a cashier in her hometown grocery store during high school and college to help fund her education. Her experience there sparked her interest in grocery stores and healthy eating. She loves to grocery shop! Mary brings her enthusiasm, knowledge and skills to her role on the board.

Mary moved to Minnetonka in 2010 and became a Lakewinds member/owner that same year. She appreciates the high quality, organic foods offered at the co-op.

Mary has a genuine interest in food sources, sustainability, “food as medicine,” and the overall health of the community. Having food allergies that were diagnosed in her 20’s, she appreciates the wide variety of food options at Lakewinds.

Mary lives with her Spanish Water Dog, Luna, and her son attends the University of Denver. When she isn’t grocery shopping, she enjoys gardening, volunteering, concerts, yoga, traveling, spending time with friends and family, and baking gluten-free!

Katie Semersky

Serving since 2021

Katie has over 20 years of experience in consumer product marketing and sales. She is currently a marketing consultant, helping businesses achieve sustainable growth.  She started her career at General Mills in sales with a territory of 25 grocery stores where she learned about store operations. She later progressed into a 17-year marketing career in consumer products at General Mills, 3M, and Cargill. Most of her career has been focused on product categories that are sold at Lakewinds, and she has visited dozens of farms to learn about farmers’ challenges and needs. She adores Lakewinds for its allergen transparency, organic focus, and outstanding staff. Katie’s background in business, marketing, and strategic planning has provided her with the skills and insights to contribute to Lakewinds’ board of directors.

Katie lives in Minnetonka with her husband and two sons. They have been Lakewinds member-owners since 2013. In her free time she enjoys anything outdoors, especially hiking, skiing, biking, and traveling with her family.

Bill Stevens

serving since 2020

Bill works in relationship management at AgriBank Farm Credit Bank. He holds a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice from Winona State University and a masters degree in business administration-finance from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. His business education and professional experience working for a financial cooperative will guide his service on the Lakewinds board of directors.

Bill’s interest in food production began at a young age being raised in a farming family in southeastern Minnesota. He still is able to enjoy food grown or raised on the family farm and appreciates knowing where his food comes from. The value Lakewinds places on the sourcing and production of the food it sells is important to Bill and his family, with his wife and daughter requiring a specialty diet. In his spare time Bill enjoys hunting, fishing and reading. Bill currently lives in Eden Prairie with his wife Stacey and two daughters.

Pam Werley

Serving since 2022

Pam is the host, recipe maker, photographer, social media influencer, and content creator behind Our Table 4 2 food recipe blog. Our Table 4 2 is a community for home cooks recapturing the joy of preparing and sharing a good meal when there are two at the table.

Making and eating food has always been a passion of hers. As a CSA member for over 25 years, Pam visited and worked at a local farm in harvesting, prep, and distribution. This hands-on-experience and farmer family relationship helped her understand some of the issues faced by the local farm community, and cemented the importance to her of supporting the local food system.

Having a career in customer and consumer insights, Pam has led a variety of Fortune 500 and entrepreneurial brand teams through structured, creative processes to build customer-centric brands.

Pam is excited to employ her talents and skills to help the Lakewinds community by:

• Fostering collaboration among board of directors and owner/members.
• Bringing creative new ideas about using Lakewinds’ products and food.
• Bringing to life supplier stories that build empathy with the member community, ultimately increasing member satisfaction and loyalty.
• Making a compelling case for owner/membership among a new generation of shoppers as they move into the area.