Saint Paul -- Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the reappointment of Toni Amundson, James Collins, Jennifer Dunnam, Bonita Kallestad, and Carol Leaders to the Rehabilitation Council for the Blind.

Toni Amundson, of St. Paul, is a Career Counselor for Minnesota State Services for the Blind (SSB). She has been a SSB employee since 1975. Amundson received a M.S. in Rehabilitation Counseling from Minnesota State University. In 2003, she received SSB's Quality Service Award. Amundson is reappointed to the Council position for a qualified vocational rehabilitation counselor. She will serve a three-year term which ends January 1, 2007. Amundson was first appointed to the Council in 2001.

James Collins, of Duluth, is owner and operator of JC Vending in Duluth. He is a member and past chair of the Minnesota Business Enterprise Program (BEP) Operator Management Committee. Collins is a board member and past president of the Duluth Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired. He is reappointed as a representative of community rehabilitation program service providers. Collins will serve a three-year term ending January 1, 2007. He was first appointed to the Council in 2001.

Jennifer Dunnam, of Minneapolis, is Supervisor of Access Assistants and a Document Conversion Specialist at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. She also serves as Vice President of the National Federation of the Blind in Minnesota. Dunnam is reappointed to the Council position for a representative of an advocacy organization (National Federation of the Blind). She will serve a three-year term which ends January 1, 2007. Dunnam was first appointed to the Council in 2001.

Bonita Kallestad, of Willmar, is an attorney for the Minnesota Disability Law Center and serves SSB clients through the Client Assistance Program. She also works as an attorney for Western Minnesota Legal Services under the Older American Law Project. Kallestad received a J.D. degree from the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul. She is reappointed to the Council position for a representative of the client assistance program. Kallestad will serve a three-year term which ends January 1, 2007. She was first appointed to the Council in 2001.

Carol Leaders, of Columbia Heights, is a Nutrition Services Supervisor/Clinical Dietetic Technician at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. She previously worked as a Clinical Dietetic Technician for Total Renal Care in Minneapolis. Leaders is a member of the Minnesota Dietetic Association. She is reappointed to a Council position for a representative of business, industry, or labor. Leaders will serve a three-year term which ends January 1, 2007. She was first appointed to the Council in 2001.

The Rehabilitation Council for the Blind gives advice and recommendations to State Services for the Blind and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development concerning products and services for the blind. The Council consists of eighteen members appointed by the Governor, as well as an ex-officio member from the State Services for the Blind.