Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the reappointment of Jayne Hager Dee, Terry Dempsey, Susan Humphers-Ginther, and Beth Nelson, and the appointment of Michael Klatt and Mary Jane Thompson to the Minnesota Board on Aging. 

Jayne Hager Dee, of Northfield, is the regional director at the Farmington Regional Center of the University of Minnesota Extension Service.  She previously served as the director of the University of Minnesota Extension Service for Dakota County.  Dee currently serves as the Chair of the Diversity Committee on the Minnesota Board on Aging.  She is appointed to a four-year term which ends January 4, 2010.  Dee was first appointed to the Board in 2001.

The Honorable Terry Dempsey, of New Ulm, is a retired District Court Judge.  He also previously served fourteen years as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives.  Judge Dempsey also previously practiced law and served three years in the U.S. Air Force as a pilot.  He is appointed to a four-year term which ends January 4, 2010.  Judge Dempsey was first appointed to the Board in 2002.

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.  Dr. Humphers-Ginther is a member and former chair of the Coalition for Service Providers to the Elderly.   She is appointed to a four-year term which ends January 4, 2010.  Dr. Humphers-Ginther was first appointed to the Board in 2005.

Michael Klatt, of Belle Plaine, is the president and chief executive officer of the Lutheran Home Association.  He is a former vice president of the Belle Plaine Economic Development Authority and the founder of the Belle Plaine Community Foundation.  Klatt currently serves on the Board of Directors of Minnesota Health and Housing Alliance.   He is appointed to a four-year term which ends January 4, 2010.  Klatt replaces Larry Fortner on the Board.

Beth Nelson, of Battle Lake, is the strategic development manager for Public Programs at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota.  She was previously employed at the Minnesota Department of Human Services, serving as executive director of Minnesota Chore Corps as well as director of the Seniors Agenda for Independent Living (SAIL) program.  Nelson is appointed to a four-year term which ends January 4, 2010.  She was first appointed to the Board in 2001.

Mary Jane Thompson, R.N., of St. Paul, is a retired nurse.  She served as president of the MJT Management Consulting Firm from 1989 to 2001.  Thompson also previously served as director of nursing, director of quality assurance, and director of alternative services for the North Ridge Care Center Senior Campus.  She is appointed to a four-year term which ends January 4, 2010.  Thompson replaces James Bougie on 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.