Saint Paul -- Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the appointment of Donald Gerdesmeier and Lynne Osterman to the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership Board of Directors.

Gerdesmeier, of Roseville, is the administrator of the Teamsters Service Bureau and the representative to the Teamsters' Minnesota D.R.I.V.E. He is also a representative of labor and vice chair of the Governor's Workforce Development Council (GWDC). Gerdesmeier will complete a four-year term that expires on January 2, 2006 for a labor representative from the GWDC. Gerdesmeier replaces Sandra Peterson, who resigned from the Job Skills Partnership Board after being elected to the legislature.

Osterman, of New Hope, is a non-attorney lobbyist with the law firm of Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty and Bennett in Minneapolis. She was a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives where she served on the Commerce, Jobs and Economic Development Policy Committee. She was also a legislative appointee to the Governor's Workforce Development Council and the Workforce Development Task Force. Osterman replaces Norbert Conzemius for a four-year term that expires on January 5, 2009.

The Minnesota Job Skills Partnership Board brings together employers with specific training needs with educational or other non-profit institutions which can design programs to meet those needs. The board consists of 13 members, including seven appointed by the Governor.