Dan Heins, President

In addition to serving as the president of the Austin Public Education Foundation, Dan serves on the church council at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, the board of the Hirsch Family Foundation, the board of Parenting Resource Center and as treasurer on the board of the Lutheran Institutional Ministry Associaton. He is currently employed by the United States Postal Service as the Postmaster in Stewartville, Minnesota.

Dan and his wife, Karen, have four children, all of whom have graduated from Austin High School.

In addition to the volunteer duties, in which he is involved, he enjoys geocaching and reading.

Erin Schoen, Vice-President

Erin graduated from Austin High School in 1987. After graduating from Mankato State University with degrees in Elementary and Special Education, she started her teaching career in South Dakota. She returned to Austin 2 years later. Erin taught Special Education for Austin Public Schools for 12 years and is currently a 4th grade teacher at Southgate Elementary School.

Dewey Schara, Secretary

Dewey grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with a degree in Secondary Education, Speech, and English. He taught in the Southland school district for two years and at Ellis Middle School for nine years in the Language Arts Department. He then served as the Middle School assistant principal for three and a half years. Dewey has been the principal at Neveln elementary for the last two years. His son is in first grade at Neveln and daughter in sixth grade at Ellis. He states that he always considered himself lucky to work in the Austin school district because of programs like the foundation. "It is very exciting to be able to help teachers equip their classrooms with exciting and innovative learning materials," he said.

Tom Klapperich, Treasurer

Tom was born and raised in Austin. He graduated from Mankato State University and worked in Rochester for 2 years before returning to Austin. He is currently the Market President for Home Federal Savings Bank. Tom has 4 daughters, 2 granddaughters, and 1 grandson. Two daughters are graduates of Austin High, one is in 10th grade and the last is in preschool. He enjoys being on the foundation board, seeing all the benefits the foundation does for the local schools. 

Mary Clare Wadding, Executive Director

Mary Clare was born and raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where she was a business owner until relocating to Austin in August 2009. She has always been involved in fundraising. Having raised 4 children, she feels that a strong education is so important to our future, noting, "Getting involved with the foundation in Austin is one way to contribute and help make a difference."

Jeni Lindberg

Jeni graduated from Austin High School in 1973. She serves as chair of the AHS Alumni & Friends Association. She also chairs the Association’s Distinguished Alumni celebration that is held in conjunction with Homecoming. In 2002 when her son graduated, there were 4 living generations of Austin High graduates in her family. Jeni and her husband Brad have two grown sons.

Nancy Ulwelling

Nancy was born and raised in Austin. She has been married and raised four children with Jerry, they enjoy their eight grandchildren. She has been in Real Estate in Austin since 1986 and owns hers office across from the high school. She serves on the Minnesota State Professional Standards Committee for real estate ethics and arbitration. She says she loves seeing all the good that comes from the grants that the APE foundation is able to give.

Diana Wangsness

Diana graduated from high school in Ramsey, New Jersey, and came west to attend Luther College, where she received her degree in Elementary Education and then her Masters in Special Education at Mankato State. She is a retired teacher, having spent 33 years in the classroom. Currently she is on the Austin School Board. "Having served on the foundation board years ago, and having received a grant as a teacher, I know first hand all the wonderful things the foundation does to help bring exciting materials and events to our classrooms," she said. Diana and her husband, Robert, have 3 daughters, who all graduated from Austin Public Schools.

Dorothy Krob

Dorothy Krob is a retired teacher. She taught for 27 years, 20 in the Austin Public Schools. She has a deep interest in maintaining the educational excellence in our district. Dorothy joined the board in the fall of 2010. She is excited to be a part of granting money to fund innovative, teacher-initiated projects. Dorothy is a native of Austin, with three generations of AHS graduates in her family.

Lori Marco

Lori grew up on a farm near Brewster, Minnesota. She received her B.A., with High Distinction in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Minnesota-Morris. She earned her J.D., Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School. She is currently vice-president of External Affairs and general counsel at Hormel Foods Corporation. Lori and her husband, Bruce Quitmeyer, have three sons, ages 9, 5, and 2. Lori is new to the foundation and is looking forward to learning about the foundation and the ways in which it benefits the schools.

Jayna Heimark

Jayna Heimark graduated from Austin High School in 1982 and Macalaster College in 1986. She currently resides in Austin with her husband and two children. She is also a member of the board at the local YMCA.