Leadership

Khu Thao, PsyD, LICSW, LP, was selected as Canvas Health’s Chief Executive Officer in 2022.

Dr. Thao is a highly respected leader in the mental health care community and previously served as Vice President of Community Mental Health as well as Senior Director of Operations at Touchstone Mental Health in Minneapolis. Prior to that, her professional roles have included Clinical Manager at Amherst Wilder Foundation, Clinical Psychologist Fellow at the Indian Health Board of Minneapolis, clinician at Washburn Center for Children, and child protection social worker for both Hennepin and Ramsey Counties.

Thao has an Executive Leadership Certification for Nonprofit Management from University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business, a Psy.D. from Minnesota School of Professional Psychology, a Master of Social Work from the University of Minnesota, and a BA from Gustavus Adolphus College. She is a recipient of the prestigious Bush Fellowship and a Title VI-E Welfare Fellowship.

As Chief Financial Officer of Canvas Health, Hilke is responsible for all accounting services, financial services, human resources, information technology, property management, procurement, billing and receivables, and transportation for the parent company as well as all subsidiary companies.

Hilke has 20 years of leadership experience in the fields of accounting, finance, information technology, and senior management working for Fortune 500 companies as well as 5 years of experience as CFO of two nonprofit mental health organizations in the Twin Cities.  Hilke completed her undergraduate degree in Accounting at the University of Texas at Austin and her MBA in Finance at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. In addition, Hilke holds an active CPA license and is certified as a CMA.

Thomas is Canvas Health’s Chief Operating Officer (COO). In this role, Tom provides executive leadership in service development and organizational management and is responsible for strategic leadership, financial management, operational management, staff management and community relationship management.

Tom spent over 15 years with the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) at the State of Minnesota, most recently in the role of Director of Operations for Community Supports Administration. Tom has spent most of his career working with direct care services and designing public policy programs that serve persons with disabilities, mental illness or substance dependency. Tom has often been called upon to facilitate complex projects, including leading major transitions, restructures, mergers, and closures.

Tom most recently has been credited with helping to shift discussions between DHS and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) to focus on creating a state-wide strategy for HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and supports in Minnesota. Tom was instrumental in assembling and building community support for the $39 million in new mental health appropriations authorized by the Legislature in 2015.

As Director of Operations for the Substance and Mental Health Services Administration at DHS, Tom provided executive leadership and management to all internal operations, including communications, legislation, and Olmstead implementation.

Prior to assuming his current role, Tom was Director of Operations Support for State Operated Services, another division of the Department of Human Services. In this role Tom provided leadership to the areas of administrative services, learning and development, health information management, and physical plant.

Tom has over 15 years of experience leading strategy and coordinating legislative initiatives, managing governmental, public relations, and operations, creating communications and collaborating with others to establish public policy for populations with disabilities. He holds a mini-MBA (2005) in Healthcare Administration from the University of St. Thomas University and has a M.A. in Public Administration (1999) and B.A. in International Management (1995) from Hamline University. Tom is a 2009 graduate of the State of Minnesota’s Emerging Leaders Institute.  He has served on the board of directors of a number of community non-profit organizations, including the Minnesota State Retirement System, the organization responsible for administering $20 billion of assets for all retirement plans, health care savings plan, and the Minnesota Deferred Compensation Plan for over 160,000 current and former public employees.  Tom serves as the Audit Committee Chair for this organization.  Tom is also a past Moderator of the Twin Cities Area Presbytery and chairman of the Presbytery Leadership Team.

As Canvas Health’s Chief Marketing and Development Officer, Julia Yach is responsible for the agency’s fundraising, marketing, communications, and special events efforts.

Julia finds joy in spreading the word about Canvas Health’s mission of hope, healing, and recovery. She’s proud to serve alongside Canvas Health’s talented mental health and substance use clinicians, who carry out that mission each day.

Julia has over 20 years of experience in the marketing and communications field, including serving as Director of Marketing at the Autism Society of Minnesota. She holds her BA in Public Relations and Electronic Publishing from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.

Jayne Conley Braun has 30+ years of experience working with mental health and substance use disorders with both adults and children. Her experience includes providing direct care services, clinical supervision of professional teams, and creating new programs and systems that are meaningful for all people. Her experience also includes working across the continuum of care from intensive in-patient programs to services provided in the community and in a persons home. Jayne’s clinical expertise includes diagnosis, treatment, and understanding of severe and persistent mental illness, PTSD, effects of chronic pain and illness on mental health, geriatric mental health, and co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders.

Sarah Brown is Canvas Health’s Director of Quality, Risk Management & Compliance, since December 2022. She oversees the organization’s quality and compliance programs, serves as the HIPAA privacy officer, and oversees all grievance responses. Sarah has over 10 years of experience as a healthcare compliance professional and is a licensed attorney in the state of Minnesota.

Ed Frickson has been involved in the mental health field for over 30 years, providing a range of services from client facing to executive leadership roles.  He has experience with program development, contracting with state and county services in both Minnesota and Wisconsin, insurance contracting, compliance, budget oversight, vendor relationships, operations, and overseeing outpatient and community based clinical services.

Prior to coming to Canvas Health, Ed has held leadership positions with Ramsey County Human Services, Family Innovations/Life Stance Health and Ellie Mental Health.  Early career experience included community outreach counseling, in-patient child psychiatric services for children ages 4-12, and outpatient youth and family therapy services.  Ed has areas of clinical interest in supporting youth with trauma exposure, anxiety disorders, and family/couples therapy.

Ed received his Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter Minnesota, and his Master of Science Degree in Counseling Psychology from St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud Minnesota.  He has been licensed with the Minnesota Board of Psychology since 1994.

Katie Pape has been with Canvas Health since 2005. She currently serves as the Director of Child and Family & Adult Intensive Services at the agency, which focuses on program development, grant writing, and building collaborative relationships with community partners.

Katie has more than 20 years of experience as a clinical social worker within behavioral health programs serving children, adults, and their families. Her work includes direct practice with clients and their families as well as providing program and clinical supervision.

Prior to serving in the director role at Canvas Health, Katie was a clinician at Family Focus and Volunteers of America Minnesota. She then served as Program Manager in Canvas Health’s Child & Adult Mental Health Case Management and MCHN Blue Program.

Katie received her Bachelor of Science in Social Work and Human Relations from St. Cloud State University and her Master of Social Work from the University of St. Thomas and College of St. Catherine.

Jay Theisen has been at Canvas Health since 2009 and has held the role of manager and was promoted to Director in 2015. In his current role he is responsible for clinic based Outpatient Psychotherapy, Mobile Crisis, HIPAA compliance, and Quality Management.  He provides oversite of these programs and also manages client complaints/grievances.

Prior to his director position he was overseeing outpatient psychotherapy, CTSS, ARMHS, and Functional Family Therapy at our Richfield location.  At that site he was also providing some supervision at Crisis Connection.  Prior to this position he was the director at Generations: Community Support Services.  He also has experience at Catholic Charities and Wilder Foundation.  Jay completed his Master’s Degree at the College of St. Catherine’s and University of St. Thomas Master’s of Clinical Social Work joint department in 1998, and has been a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker since 2000.

Lina joined Canvas Health in 2021.

Lina’s most recent role was in a nonprofit setting serving dairy farmers across nine and a half states. She has her BA from the University of St. Thomas in Business Management and MA in Human Resource Management from Concordia University.

Lina believes in Canvas Health’s mission and vision. She has a passion for evaluating staffing resources and recruiting strategies.

Outside of work, Lina enjoys reading, lawn care, and watching documentaries (anything on NatGeo). Her family of six includes her husband, three children, and chocolate lab. She’s looking forward to traveling again and making memories with family and friends.

Karen Dodson has served over 30 years in health care, most recently as the CEO of a small biotech company and the COO of NMDP/Be The Match.  Karen joined Canvas Health as a member of the Fundraising Committee in 2020 and as a board member in 2021. She has also previously volunteered for the Jeremiah Program, Minneapolis Regional Chamber and Be The Match Foundation.  Karen received her BA in Biology from the University of California, Riverside and a Master’s in Leadership from Augsburg University.  Karen and her husband Dean live in Lake Elmo and have two adult children and five grandchildren.

Polly Kruse is currently a Senior National Account Manager for Biocon Biologics, a biopharmaceutical company focused solely on developing biosimilar biologic medications.  Polly works with large hospital systems on contracting and pricing to ensure increased access to lower cost biologic medications for complex conditions in Oncology and Immunology. Previously, Polly worked as a Group Brand Director for Profero Group, LLC, a biopharmaceutical market access agency designed to help patients get access to complex therapies. Prior to this role, Polly spent 14 years at J&J in Behavioral Health where she worked with community mental health entities, hospital systems and payers providing products and services to help patients with severe mental illness. She also spent 4 years at J&J as a Sr. Strategic Account Manager in the Orthopedic Sports Medicine division.  Polly has a BA in Clinical Laboratory Science from The College of St. Scholastica as well as an MBA in Marketing from the University of St. Thomas. Polly and her husband Pat live in Somerset, WI and enjoy spending time with their five adult children and five grandchildren.

Chris Navin is Sr. Director of Finance for Andersen Corporation. He joined the Canvas Health Board in 2019. Chris has over twenty-five years of corporate finance experience within treasury and financial planning and analysis, starting his career at ING and Securian Financial Group and for the last twenty years, in various finance roles at Andersen Corporation. Chris obtained his B.B.A in Finance from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He grew up in Washington County and lives in Stillwater with his wife and kids.

Mike works for 3M Company where he is the Vice President & General Counsel for the Consumer Business Group.  In that role he leads a global legal team that advises on legal, regulatory, compliance, and related risk issues for manufacturing and selling consumer, safety, and professional products.  Mike’s previous legal experience includes working for a large Midwest-based law firm and for the United States federal court system.  He is a graduate of Wake Forest University, with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and History, and a Juris Doctor from the Wake Forest University School of Law.

Mike joined the Canvas Health Board of Directors in 2023 and serves on the Finance Committee.  He also works with and supports several other community, charitable, and legal services organizations.  Mike and his wife Dee live in Woodbury with their two children.

Karna Peters is a business owner and retiree from 3M Company. She joined the Canvas Health Board in 2017. Karna is also on the Board and a founding member of the Minnewaska Laker Foundation, which was started to keep activities available and affordable in the arts, athletics and music at the Minnewaska Area School. Karna also is a past Chair of the Board of Minnesota CLE (continuing legal education) and past President of her church council. Karna received her J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School and her bachelor’s degree from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, where she was inducted in the Concordia Athletic Hall of Fame as an individual (for golf) and as part of the 1982 AIAW Div. III Women’s Basketball Championship team. She has adult children and a grandchild and enjoys playing golf with her better half George.

Tammy Biery is the executive director at Career Solutions, a partner agency in CareerForce St. Cloud. Career Solutions’ focus is workforce development initiatives in Central MN. Services provided include dislocated worker programs, providing career and job-related programs for at-risk youth in the community, as well as assisting employers with their workforce needs. Tammy is responsible for organizing, directing, coordinating, measuring, and reporting outcomes about the operations of Career Solutions. Tammy works with multiple programs and partners to use resources to encourage joint participation and collaboration to achieve needed program/grant outcomes.

Tammy has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Management with emphasis in change leadership (double major) from The College of St. Scholastica. She also 25 years of experience in sales and marketing program development that have been designed to support corporate strategic initiatives.

Mike Boldenow joined the board in 2016. Mike has been involved in healthcare design for more than 30 years with BWBR. Over the past decade, a focus of his healthcare projects have been working with various institution’s behavioral and mental health programs. Mike’s experience within a large, healthcare focused, architectural firm has put him in a position of leadership. Mike’s been on BWBR’s Executive Committee since 2014. He leads multiple teams of architects, interior designers and engineers on a variety of healthcare projects, including mental health and substance dependency programs. Mike and his wife Kelly reside in Lake Elmo with their triplets.

Kirby Dembele earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Science in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics from the University of Minnesota. He resides in Oakdale and works as an investigator for the FDA. In 2016, he retired from the army after numerous deployments throughout the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. He worked as a rater and then as a health benefits manager at the VA Medical Center. He is an active member of the Military Officers Association of America and the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

Kelly Fenton served two terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives, representing the people of District 53B in Woodbury. She was an Assistant Majority Leader and Vice Chair of both the Commerce and Regulatory Reform Committee and the Subcommittee on Workplace Safety and Respect. She also served on the Rules and Legislative Administration, State Government Finance, and Government Operations and Elections Policy committees.

Kelly brought extensive experience to the Minnesota Legislature as a former educator and school administrator for the fourth largest school district in the country. She also helped train educators receiving alternative certification through programs including Teach for America.

Kelly’s education includes a Bachelor of Arts in Education from Marquette University and a Master of Education from the University of Houston. Additionally, she is a graduate of University of Virginia Darden School of Business State Legislative Leadership Foundation and the Bowhay Institute of Legislative Leadership Development.

Kelly and her husband, Greg, live in Woodbury where they raised their three children.

With a professional background in social work, contract administration and information technology, Beth Leindecker has consistently demonstrated a commitment to making a positive impact in the community.  Beth is honored to serve as a board member for Canvas Health, bringing a wealth of experience and passion for the mission to “bring hope, healing and recovery to the people we serve”.

In her current role as Business Information Officer at Hennepin County, she possesses valuable insights and skills that contribute to the strategic direction of technology in the organization.  Beth was pleased to teach macro practice social work as an adjunct professor this past year and share her expertise and real-world experience at the University of Wisconsin – River Falls.

As a mother of 3 adult children in their 20’s, she has firsthand insights into the evolving needs and aspirations of younger generations.

Additionally, she serves as the District 5 Representative on the Washington County Citizen Advisory Board for the community development block grant.

Beth has a Master of Social Work from MSU-Mankato, a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota, and is a Licensed Independent Social Worker.  She has also held licensure as a Certified Professional in Supplier Diversity from the Institute for Supply Management.

Beth and her husband live in Woodbury.

Shannon Lorbiecki is a highly accomplished healthcare leader and consultant, bringing extensive expertise in business development, strategy, organizational transformation, financial management, physician relationships, and service line management. She excels in translating strategic visions into actionable plans, fostering successful implementations. Shannon is driven by a passion for innovating and effecting change in healthcare systems to expand coverage, enhance access and equity, and develop cost-effective, results-oriented healthcare delivery models.

Currently serving as a National Advisor with Manatt Health, Shannon provides strategic guidance to health systems, academic medical centers, children’s hospitals, health plans, state governments, and philanthropic organizations. Her focus lies in identifying growth opportunities, fostering innovation, and optimizing performance across strategic, financial, organizational, and operational aspects. With over fifteen years of consulting experience in healthcare, particularly in mergers and acquisitions, clinical integration, and delivery system transformation, Shannon navigates clients through the complex financial and operational challenges faced by modern health systems. Shannon’s expertise extends to academic health centers, health systems, and children’s health systems, emphasizing measurable outcomes in clinical growth, service line strategy, execution, affiliations, and partnerships.

In addition to her consulting career, Shannon has held key roles within provider organizations, overseeing operations, strategy, business development, and service line management. She has managed operations for physician practices at large academic medical centers, spearheading business development and transformative changes like clinical integration and improved patient access.

Committed to promoting women, inclusion, and equity, Shannon is an active member of the Leadership Council and a mentor at The Carol Emmott Foundation, which strives to accelerate gender equity and diversity in healthcare. She also contributes to the Programming and Leadership Development Committees of Minnesota’s Women’s Healthcare Leadership Trust and has served as a faculty preceptor for University of Minnesota MHA students for many years.

Shannon holds an undergraduate degree in Chemistry and a Masters in Healthcare Administration (MHA) from the University of Minnesota, underpinning her comprehensive understanding of healthcare dynamics and strategy.

Eileen McMahon, retired President/CEO of the Saint Paul Convention and Visitors Bureau, joined the Canvas Health Board in 2016. An Oakdale resident, she has been active in social service and educational nonprofit organizations in the St. Paul area, most recently The Friends of the St. Paul Public Library, Neighborhood House, Family Tree Clinic, and Alums & Friends & Families. Eileen received her B.A. in Journalism and Social Work from St. Catherine University and her Certificate in Organizational Management from the College of Charleston. Eileen and her husband, Steve Karbon, have two adult children and two grandsons.

Chief Brian Mueller is currently the Chief of Police for the City of Stillwater. He began his law enforcement career in 1998 with the White Bear Lake Police Department. Shortly after he accepted a position with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Chief Mueller has spent the majority of his 25-year career working in narcotics, investigations and SWAT. In 2017 Brian was appointed by Sheriff Dan Starry to be the Chief Deputy, overseeing all Sheriff’s Office Operations.

Chief Mueller graduated from the University of St. Thomas with a BA in Criminal Justice, minor in Business Administration and an MA in Police Leadership and Education.

Chief Mueller serves on the Executive Board of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association and is the Past-President of the Special Operations Training Association of Minnesota (SOTA), Past-Treasurer for the Lakes Center for Youth and Family in Forest Lake and Past-Chair of the Minnesota Violent Crime Coordinating Council (VCCC).  Chief Mueller lives in Stillwater with his wife Lori and 5 children and is a strong believer in providing services for those living with substance use disorders and mental illness.

Conrad Nguyen joined the Canvas Health Board of Directors in 2021. He is the owner and president of Kortech, a facility management and contract staffing firm.  He pursued his dream of entrepreneurship after spending 20+ years in various business leadership roles in corporate.

Difficult challenges in his early life  — poverty, addiction, and violence — have made Conrad passionate about helping others.  He joined the Canvas Health Board because he believes in the mission to bring hope, healing and recovery to the people we serve.

Nic Rahrich is Vice President of Commercial Banking for Magnifi Financial Credit Union, where he directs commercial banking in the metro market and additional locations throughout MN. Nic has spent his career in banking and finance, serving in leadership assignments with both corporate and community financial institutions.

Nic has a background in board and committee work, including experience in mental health advocacy and accessibility. As a board member of Canvas Health, Nic is focused on fostering collaboration and advocating for resources. He is proud to serve on the board and is committed to the growth and effectiveness of Canvas Health.

Nic earned his bachelor’s degree from Minnesota State University Moorhead and his MBA from the University of Mary. In addition to banking, Nic spent 17 years as an adjunct online lecturer at Bismarck State College. Nic and his family live in Eden Prairie and they enjoy traveling, hiking, and music.

Dr. Taiwo joined the Canvas Health Board in 2020. He is responsible for the development of 3M’s global health strategy, as well as the leadership and management of the medical organization.

Dr. Taiwo serves on the board of directors of American Cancer Society (ACS) and Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI).

Prior to joining 3M, Dr. Taiwo was Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Occupational & Environmental Medicine Fellowship Training Program at Yale University School of Medicine. He also served as Corporate Medical Advisor to Alcoa Inc. in a unique academic/private partnership for 17 years.

Dr. Taiwo received his medical degree from College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Nigeria and a master’s degree in public health from the University of Alabama, He completed residency training in Internal Medicine at Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee and fellowship training in Occupational & Environmental Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine.

Bode is married with 3 daughters. He enjoys traveling and playing electric bass guitar.

Jeff Uecker is currently the CFO for Goodwill Easter Seals Minnesota, a local non-profit that has connected people to jobs since 1919 by using store proceeds to support nearly 20 free programs that help job seekers reach higher levels of employment and reach life goals.  Jeff has over 25 years of non-profit experience, including previous work at the Center for Victims of Torture and the National Marrow Donor program.  He has a BS Accounting degree from Minnesota State University at Mankato as well as an MBA from the University of St. Thomas. Jeff and his wife Laura live in Ramsey, MN and have two adult children.

Kris Young is the Vice President of Digital Banking at Lake Elmo Bank.  Kris has over 24 years of experience in the financial industry working on research and development of digital banking products.  As a member of Lake Elmo Bank’s management team, Kris has held many leadership positions including roles in strategic planning, technology steering, and overseeing bank operations and compliance. With a passion for helping others with substance abuse and mental illness, she joined the Canvas Health Board in 2023.  Kris and her husband reside in the Town of St. Joseph.