Minneapolis, MN (January 12, 2016) – Minnestar, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing education, instruction, training, and mentorship to Minnesota’s technology community, recently added four members to their Board of Directors; Jim Dahline, Bil MacLeslie, Jenna Pederson, and Jeff Sellner.

Jim Dahline is Director of Marketing at Sport Ngin, a Northeast Minneapolis-based sports technology company serving the coaches, volunteers, administrators, and families of youth sports organizations around the world. During his nearly 15 years of SaaS marketing experience, Jim has led product, marketing communications, and brand building teams. Born and raised in Minnesota, Jim is passionate about connecting young Minnesotans with opportunities in technology through university engagement, mentoring, and networking. Jim holds a BBA in Marketing from the University of Minnesota-Duluth and an MBA from the University of Nebraska.

Bill MacLeslie is the CEO of ipHouse and Technology By Design. With over 30 years of online community and internet experience, he is known to have a strong reputation for getting things done. Bil started his online career operating a BBS out of his house from 1984. At the same time he was also working at the University of Minnesota operating networks for the Biochemistry Department. In 1994 he joined Visi.com which led to starting ipHouse in 2004. In 2014, he founded a technical support services company, Technology by Design. Bil also helps monitor regulatory issues relating to telecom and the internet in MN as a member of MHTA Governmental Affairs Committee.

Jenna Pederson is an engineer, a leader, and a catalyst. She is the founder of 612 Software Foundry where she helps small businesses and startups with technical strategy and implementation. She is passionate about creating a welcoming and supportive tech and startup community for everyone. Since early 2014, she has led the Twin Cities chapter of the Geekettes. She facilitates workshops, networking events, and co-founded the Twin Cities’ first all-women hackathon, Hack the Gap. Jenna holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota Duluth and a M.S. in Software Engineering from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.

Jeff Sellner is a principal at CliftonLarsonAllen LLP. Since joining the firm in 1998, Jeff’s practice focuses on providing consulting, tax and assurance services to software developers, life sciences, and other high growth businesses. He has experience working with entrepreneurs on various issues including business strategies, profitability modeling, capital planning, intellectual property management, risk mitigation and succession planning. Jeff leads the firm’s technology industry group and has been a speaker on topics such as strategic and business planning, raising capital, entrepreneurship, and starting a business.

“I’m very excited to welcome these new members to our board. Each of them brings an exciting background that will enhance the success of the Minnestar mission,” said Casey Helbling, Chairman of the Board. “We’ve got some big plans for the organization in 2016. Fresh perspectives will be integral to achieving our goals.”

Since 2006, Minnestar has connected Minnesota’s software developers, designers, entrepreneurs, and investors. The organization hosts many events through the year including a technology BarCamp or (un)conference, MinneBar, and several made-in-Minnesota tech product show-and-tell mixers, MinneDemo.

For more information:
@minnestar
@jdahline
@bilmacleslie
@jennapederson
Jeff Sellner