Saint Paul - Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the reappointment of Sandra Anderson, Betty Ann Penda Kane, and Mary Koep, and the appointment of Dean Fenner, Maria Gomez, Maree Gilbert, and Susan Humphers-Ginther to the Minnesota Board on Aging. 

Sandra Anderson, of Brooklyn Center, is a Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank and co-founder of Wells Fargo Elder Services.  She has been employed by Wells Fargo and its predecessor, Norwest, since 1979.  Anderson is a member of the American Society on Aging.  She currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Minnesota Board on Aging and is a trustee of the University of Minnesota School of Nursing Foundation.  Anderson is appointed to a four-year term which ends January 5, 2009.  She was first appointed to the Board in 2001.

Dean Fenner, of White Bear Lake, retired from the 3M Company in 1985 after a 34 year management career.  He also previously served as the Mayor of White Bear Lake.  Fenner served on the Minnesota Board on Aging from 1985 to 2000.  He currently serves as a board member of the Willow Wood Senior Housing facility and as a "Meals on Wheels" volunteer driver.  Fenner is appointed to a four-year term which ends January 5, 2009.  He replaces Richard Luk on the Board.

Maree Gilbert, of Vadnais Heights, is retired small business owner.  She has been actively involved in her community for the past sixty years, participating in her parent teacher association (PTA) and serving on church boards in Little Canada, Maplewood, and White Bear Lake.  Gilbert has three children, ten stepchildren, sixteen grandchildren, and fourteen great-grandchildren.  She is appointed to a four-year term which ends January 5, 2009.  She replaces Kathleen Jones on the Board.

Maria Gomez, of St. Paul, is a former Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS).  In 2004, she received the Dutch Kastenbaum Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Gerontology.  Gomez also received a 2005 National Public Service Award from The American Society for Public Administration and The National Academy of Public Administration.  She is appointed to a four-year term which ends January 5, 2009.  Gomez replaces Helen Cummings on the Board.

Susan Humphers-Ginther, Ph.D., of Moorhead, is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Minnesota State University-Moorhead (MSUM).  She also serves as coordinator of the Gerontology major at MSUM.  Humphers-Ginther is a member and former chair of the Coalition for Service Providers to the Elderly.  She is a member of the Minnesota Gerontological Society.  Humphers-Ginther is appointed to a term which ends January 2, 2006.  She replaces Laurie Laner on the Board.

Betty Ann Penda Kane, of St. Paul, is a management analyst at the Minnesota Department of Finance.  She previously served as an accounting officer at the Departments of Finance and Public Safety.  Kane has served on a number of boards and committees in her neighborhood, the Summit-University area in St. Paul.  She received a M.S. in Gerontology from St. Cloud State University.  Kane is appointed to a four-year term which ends January 5, 2009.  She was first appointed to the Board in 2001.

Mary Koep, of Brainerd, currently serves as a member of the Brainerd City Council.  She previously served sixteen years as Crow Wing County Commissioner.  Koep is a former chair of her local Area Agency on Aging.  She currently volunteers at a local elementary school and at an assisted living facility.  Koep is appointed to a four-year term which ends January 5, 2009.  She served on the Minnesota Board on Aging from 1994 to 2002.  In October 2003, Governor Pawlenty reappointed her the Board. 

The Minnesota Board on Aging was established in 1956 to plan for and meet the needs of Minnesota's seniors.  The board administers more than $30 million in federal and state grants every year.  The board consists of 25 members appointed by the Governor.