61 Notable alumni of
St Olaf College
Updated:
St Olaf College is 1083rd in the world, 393rd in North America, and 368th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 61 notable alumni from St Olaf College sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Brett Hull
- Occupations
- ice hockey player
- Biography
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Brett Andrew Hull is a Canadian–American former ice hockey player and general manager, and currently an executive vice president of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, and Phoenix Coyotes between 1986 and 2005. His career total of 741 goals is fifth highest in NHL history, and he is one of five players to score 50 goals in 50 games. He was a member of two Stanley Cup winning teams — 1999 with the Dallas Stars and 2002 with the Detroit Red Wings. In 2017 Hull was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history.
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Ernest Lawrence
- Occupations
- nuclear physicistuniversity teacherphysicist
- Biography
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Ernest Orlando Lawrence was an American nuclear physicist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1939 for his invention of the cyclotron. He is known for his work on uranium-isotope separation for the Manhattan Project, as well as for founding the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
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Brianna Brown
- Occupations
- actorfilm actortelevision actor
- Biography
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Brianna Lynn Brown is an American actress and producer. She is known for her television roles as Lisa Niles in the ABC soap opera General Hospital, Taylor Stappord in the Lifetime series Devious Maids and as Claudia Blaisdel in The CW reboot series Dynasty.
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Siri Hustvedt
- Occupations
- novelistessayistpoet
- Biography
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Siri Hustvedt is an American novelist and essayist. Hustvedt is the author of a book of poetry, seven novels, two books of essays, and several works of non-fiction. Her books include The Blindfold (1992), The Enchantment of Lily Dahl (1996), What I Loved (2003), for which she is best known, A Plea for Eros (2006), The Sorrows of an American (2008), The Shaking Woman or A History of My Nerves (2010), The Summer Without Men (2011), Living, Thinking, Looking (2012), The Blazing World (2014), and Memories of the Future (2019). What I Loved and The Summer Without Men were international bestsellers. Her work has been translated into over thirty languages.
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Robert Bly
- Occupations
- poettranslatorwriterlinguist
- Biography
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Robert Elwood Bly was an American poet, essayist, activist and leader of the mythopoetic men's movement. His best-known prose book is Iron John: A Book About Men (1990), which spent 62 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list, and is a key text of the mythopoetic men's movement. He won the 1968 National Book Award for Poetry for his book The Light Around the Body.
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Erik Paulsen
- Enrolled in St Olaf College
- In 1987 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- politicianbusinesspersoncongressional staff
- Biography
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Erik Philip Paulsen is an American businessman and politician who represented Minnesota's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2009 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1995 to 2009 and as majority leader from 2003 to 2007.
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Andrew Volstead
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Andrew John Volstead was an American member of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota, 1903–1923, and a member of the Republican Party. His name is closely associated with the National Prohibition Act of 1919, usually called the Volstead Act. The act was the enabling legislation for the enforcement of Prohibition in the United States beginning in 1920.
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Al Quie
- Enrolled in St Olaf College
- In 1950 studied political science
- Occupations
- politicianfarmer
- Biography
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Albert Harold Quie was an American politician and farmer. Quie served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1958 to 1979 and as Governor of Minnesota from 1979 to 1983.
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Christopher Hopkins
- Years
- 1964-.. (age 60)
- Occupations
- singer
- Biography
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Christopher Jon Hopkins, aka "The Makeover Guy", is an entrepreneur, author, speaker, media personality, singer and makeover artist.
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Bruce Laingen
- Occupations
- diplomat
- Biography
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Lowell Bruce Laingen was an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Malta from 1977 to 1979. Laingen is best known for having been the most senior American official held hostage during the Iran hostage crisis, while serving as the chargé d'affaires (head of diplomatic mission) at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
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Mark Rein·Hagen
- Occupations
- writerrole-playing game designergame designer
- Biography
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Mark Rein-Hagen, stylized as Mark Rein•Hagen, is an American role-playing, card, video and board game designer best known as the creator of Vampire: The Masquerade and its associated World of Darkness games. Along with Jonathan Tweet, he is also one of the original two designers of Ars Magica.
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Anthony Dexter
- Occupations
- actorfilm actorstage actor
- Biography
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Anthony John Dexter was an American actor known for his striking resemblance to silent film hero Rudolph Valentino, whom he portrayed in the 1951 biographic Valentino. Dexter sometimes used the pseudonym Walter Craig. He was known for portraying many real-life characters such as Captain John Smith, Captain William Kidd, Billy the Kid and Christopher Columbus.
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Jonathan Tweet
- Occupations
- role-playing game designer
- Biography
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Jonathan Tweet is an American game designer who has been involved in the development of the role-playing games Ars Magica, Everway, Over the Edge, Talislanta, the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons and 13th Age, and the collectible miniatures game Dreamblade. In 2015 Tweet released Grandmother Fish, a full-color, full-sized book about evolution aimed at preschoolers. In 2018 Tweet released Clades and Clades Prehistoric, two card games for children and adults which demonstrate the concept of a clade.
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Barbara Peterson
- Occupations
- beauty pageant contestantmodel
- Biography
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Barbara Elaine Peterson Burwell is an American philanthropist and beauty pageant titleholder. After being crowned Miss Minnesota USA 1976, she competed at Miss USA 1976, becoming the first woman from Minnesota to win the title. Afterwards, she represented the United States at Miss Universe 1976, where she was unplaced.
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Elizabeth Nabel
- Occupations
- cardiologistinternational forum participantscientist
- Biography
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Elizabeth Nabel is an American cardiologist and Executive Vice President of Strategy at ModeX Therapeutics and OPKO Health. Prior to this role, she served as President of Brigham Health and its Brigham and Women's Hospital, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Director of the NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
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Ward Sutton
- Born in
-
United States - Occupations
- cartoonist
- Biography
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Ward Sutton is an American illustrator, cartoonist and writer born in Minneapolis and based in Fort Collins, Colorado. His comic strip, "Sutton Impact", was published in The Village Voice from 1995 to 2007. In 2018, Sutton won the Herblock Prize for his work.
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Lisa Stevens
- Born in
- United States
- Occupations
- role-playing game designerscience fiction writer
- Biography
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Lisa Stevens is an American editor, CEO and founder of Paizo Publishing, and COO of Goblinworks. She began her career in games in the 1980s, working with Jonathan Tweet and Mark Rein•Hagen to help produce the tabletop roleplaying game Ars Magica. She later worked at White Wolf and Wizards of the Coast before founding Paizo. She announced her gradual retirement from her role in June 2020.
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René Clausen
- Years
- 1953-.. (age 71)
- Occupations
- choir directorcomposerconductor
- Biography
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René Clausen is an American composer, conductor emeritus of The Concordia Choir, and professor of music at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. His works are widely performed by high school and church choirs while his more technically demanding pieces have been performed and recorded by college and professional choirs. Among his many accolades, his recent recording, "Life & Breath: Choral Works by René Clausen," received three Grammy Awards at the 55th Grammy Awards in 2013.
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Karl Rolvaag
- Occupations
- diplomatpoliticiancommandant
- Biography
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Karl Fritjof Rolvaag was an American diplomat and politician who served as the 31st governor of Minnesota from March 25, 1963, to January 2, 1967, as a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party. He was the son of the author and professor Ole E. Rølvaag.
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Raffi Freedman-Gurspan
- Occupations
- LGBTQI+ rights activist
- Biography
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Raffi Freedman-Gurspan is an Honduran American transgender rights activist and the first openly transgender person to work as a White House staffer. She was also the first openly transgender legislative staffer to work in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. She served as director of external relations at the National Center for Transgender Equality, based in Washington, DC. She is a longtime advocate and public policy specialist on matters concerning human rights, gender, and LGBT people.
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Ian C. Kelly
- Occupations
- diplomat
- Biography
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Ian Crawford Kelly is an American retired Foreign Service Officer and Ambassador (ret.) currently serving as the Ambassador in Residence at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He is an American former statesman and senior foreign service officer who last served as the United States Ambassador to Georgia, from 2015 to 2018. He previously served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) from 2010 to 2013. Prior to his ambassadorship, Kelly held a variety of high-level roles at the U.S. State Department, including serving as the department spokesman under Secretary Hillary Clinton.
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Anton Armstrong
- Years
- 1956-.. (age 68)
- Occupations
- conductorchoir director
- Biography
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Anton Eugene Armstrong is the conductor of the St. Olaf Choir as well as the Harry R. and Thora H. Tosdal Professor of Music at St. Olaf College of Northfield, Minnesota, in the United States. Armstrong became the fourth director of the St. Olaf Choir in 1990, continuing the tradition begun by the choir's founder F. Melius Christiansen in 1911, sustained and developed by his son, Olaf Christiansen, and strengthened and enhanced by Kenneth Jennings. Armstrong teaches conducting in the Sacred Music department at Luther Seminary and also conducts some pieces in "Northfield Youth Choirs".
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John Marty
- Enrolled in St Olaf College
- In 1978 graduated with Bachelor of Arts in ethics
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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John J. Marty is a member of the Minnesota Senate, representing District 40, which includes parts of Ramsey County in the northern Twin Cities metropolitan area. As a young state senator, he ran for governor of Minnesota in 1994. He won the DFL nomination and the Democratic primary but lost the general election to the incumbent governor, Arne Carlson. Marty ran for governor again in 2010, but withdrew from the race after failing to win his party's endorsement.
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Chris Raschka
- Occupations
- children's writerwriter
- Biography
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Chris Raschka is an American illustrator, writer, and violist. He contributed to children's literature as a children's illustrator.
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David Minge
- Enrolled in St Olaf College
- In 1964 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- Occupations
- judgelawyeruniversity teacherpoliticianconsultant
- Biography
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David Raymond Minge is an American former judge and politician. David Minge served as a judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals from 2002 until retiring at the end of March 2012. Previously, Minge was a Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party member of the United States House of Representatives serving in the 103rd, 104th, 105th, and 106th congresses, from 1993–2001, representing Minnesota's 2nd congressional district.
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Amanda Cox
- Occupations
- journalistdata scientiststatistician
- Biography
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Amanda Cox is an American journalist and executive editor of data journalism at Bloomberg News. Previously she was head of special data projects at USAFacts. Until January 2022 she was the editor of the New York Times data journalism section The Upshot. Cox helps develop and teach data journalism courses at the New York University School of Journalism.
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J. B. Van Hollen
- Occupations
- lawyer
- Biography
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John Byron Van Hollen is an American lawyer and politician who served as Attorney General of Wisconsin from 2007 until 2015. A Republican, he was elected to the office in November 2006 and took office on January 3, 2007, succeeding Democrat Peg Lautenschlager. Van Hollen did not seek reelection in 2014 and left office on January 5, 2015.
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Frank Pooler
- Years
- 1926-2013 (aged 87)
- Occupations
- conductorchoir director
- Biography
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Frank Mairich Pooler was an American choirmaster and the director of choral studies at California State University, Long Beach. He also collaborated with pop music group The Carpenters.
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Eric C. Tostrud
- Occupations
- lawyer
- Biography
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Eric Christian Tostrud is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.
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Arlen Erdahl
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Arlen Ingolf Erdahl was an American commercial farmer and politician. He served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1963 to 1970, Minnesota Secretary of State from 1971–1975 and was a U.S. Representative from Minnesota, serving the first district from 1979–1983, in the 96th and 97th congresses.
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Abbie Betinis
- Occupations
- composer
- Biography
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Abbie Betinis is an American composer. She has composed music for a variety of musical ensembles, and is best known for her choral music and other vocal works.
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Joan N. Ericksen
- Occupations
- judgelawyer
- Biography
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Joan Nancy Ericksen, formerly known as Joan Ericksen Lancaster, is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.
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David Rose
- Occupations
- product designer
- Biography
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David L. Rose is a product designer and entrepreneur, and the CEO of Clearwater AR.
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Mark W. Olson
- Occupations
- banker
- Biography
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Mark Walter Olson was an American economist and bank executive who served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors from 2001 to 2006. Filling an unexpired term to end on January 31, 2010, he resigned on June 21, 2006, in order to run the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
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Kelly Kaduce
- Years
- 1974-.. (age 50)
- Occupations
- singer
- Biography
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Kelly Kaduce is an American soprano. She was born in Winnebago, Minnesota, United States of America. A graduate of St. Olaf College and Boston University (where she studied under Penelope Bitzas), Kaduce won the 1999 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
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Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer
- Years
- 1951-.. (age 73)
- Biography
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Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer is an American academic. He sought the endorsement of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party as a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2008, but was defeated by Al Franken.
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August H. Andresen
- Enrolled in St Olaf College
- Studied in 1912
- Occupations
- lawyerpoliticianbureaucratfarmer
- Biography
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August Herman Andresen was an American lawyer and politician from Minnesota. He served in the U.S. Congress as a Republican for thirty-one years.
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Erin Hart
- Occupations
- novelist
- Biography
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Erin Hart is an American author of crime fiction.
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David Bly
- Occupations
- politicianeducator
- Biography
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David Bly is an American politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represented District 20B, which included portions of Le Sueur and Rice counties in the southeastern part of the state. He is also a retired teacher.
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Matthew Peterson
- Occupations
- composer
- Biography
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Matthew Peterson is a classical composer of operas, choral works, orchestral and chamber music.
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Timothy Mason
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Timothy Peter Mason was an American playwright. He wrote a number of plays, including Levitation, Only You, Babylon Gardens, The Fiery Furnace and Bearclaw. He also wrote the novels The Last Synapsid, The Darwin Affair, The Nightingale Affair, and the book and lyrics for the Broadway musical, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
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Bradley Ellingboe
- Occupations
- conductorcomposerchoir directormusic teacher
- Biography
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Bradley Ellingboe is an American composer, conductor, and bass-baritone singer.
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John Nilson
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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John Nilson is a retired Canadian politician in Saskatchewan. He was the member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for the Regina Lakeview constituency from 1995 to 2016, representing the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party. A former lawyer with the Saskatchewan law firm Macpherson Leslie and Tyerman, he was first elected in the 1995 provincial election. He announced his retirement prior to the 2016 provincial election
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Harold Hagen
- Enrolled in St Olaf College
- Studied in 1917
- Occupations
- journalistpoliticianeducator
- Biography
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Harold Christian Hagen was a Minnesota politician. He was a Farmer-Laborite and then a Republican, serving the ninth district from 1943 to 1955.
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Kristine Gebbie
- Occupations
- nurseuniversity teacher
- Biography
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Kristine Elizabeth Moore Gebbie was an American academic and public health official working as a professor at the Flinders University School of Nursing & Midwifery in Adelaide, Australia. Gebbie previously served as the AIDS Policy Coordinator (or "AIDS Czar") from 1993 to 1994.
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Olaf Christiansen
- Occupations
- choir directorcomposerconductor
- Biography
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Olaf C. Christiansen was an American composer, professor, and conductor in the Lutheran choral tradition. He succeeded his father as the second conductor of the St. Olaf Choir, which he led for 27 years.
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Jay Xiong
- Years
- 1980s
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Jay Xiong is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Xiong represents District 67B, which includes parts of Saint Paul in Ramsey County, Minnesota.
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Jim Meffert
- Biography
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Jim Meffert is an American politician and a Senior Consultant at Tecker International, LLC. He was the former Executive Director of Jefferson Action and the Jefferson Center. Before that, he served as the Executive Director of the Minnesota Optometric Association and president of the Minnesota Parent-Teacher Association. He previously worked for the American Medical Association and the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. Meffert lives in Edina and was the Democratic nominee for Minnesota's 3rd congressional district in 2010.
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Hal Erickson
- Occupations
- player of American football
- Biography
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Harold Alexander "Hal" Erickson, born Harald Alexander Ingvald Eriksen, was an American football back who played for three teams over eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL), four with the Chicago Cardinals, including the 1925 NFL Champion team.
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Diane Havlir
- Occupations
- scientist
- Biography
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Diane Havlir is an American physician who is a Professor of Medicine and Chief of the HIV/AIDS Division at the University of California, San Francisco. Her research considers novel therapeutic strategies to improve the lives of people with HIV and to support public health initiatives in East Africa. She was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2019.
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Kristina Halvorson
- Years
- 1971-.. (age 53)
- Enrolled in St Olaf College
- 1989-1993 graduated with bachelor's degree
- Occupations
- writerchief executive officermanagerorganizational founderpodcaster
- Biography
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Kristina Halvorson is an American writer, entrepreneur, speaker, podcaster, and expert on the subject of content strategy. She is the founder and CEO of Brain Traffic.
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Harold Lovre
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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Harold Orrin Lovre was an American Republican who was elected as a member of the United States House of Representatives.
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Tom Saxhaug
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Tom Saxhaug is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represented District 5, which included portions of Beltrami, Cass, Hubbard, and Itasca counties in the northern part of the state.
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Alan M. Olson
- Occupations
- philosopheruniversity teacher
- Biography
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Alan M. Olson is a professor of the Philosophy of Religion, emeritus, at Boston University. He received his degrees from Saint Olaf College, Luther Theological Seminary (M.Div., Theology), Nashotah House, where he studied with Arthur Anton Vogel, and Boston University (Ph.D.) where he studied with Peter Anthony Bertocci, Erazim Kohak, Harold H. Oliver and John N. Findlay. He served as Chairman of the Religion Department at Boston University, 1980–1987, and Chairman of the Philosophy Department, ad interim, 1987–1989. During the 1970s he was Program Coordinator of the Boston University Institute for Philosophy and Religion; and was executive director of the Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy in Boston, 1998. He was a Senior Fulbright Research Fellow at University of Tübingen, Germany, in 1986, where he studied with Klaus Hartmann; and a Senior Fulbright Research Fellow and visiting fellow at the Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen, Vienna, Austria, in 1995, where he worked with Krzysztof Michalski. He served on the Board of Officers of the American Philosophical Association, 2000–2003; and is past president of the Karl Jaspers Society of North America. He delivered the Jaspers Lectures at university college, Oxford in 1989; and was co-editor, with Helmut Wautischer, of the philosophical journal, Existenz from 2006 to 2015. He lives on Cape Cod with his wife, Janet L. Olson, professor emerita, College of Fine Arts, Boston University. They have two daughters, Maren Kirsten, Sonja Astrid, and one grandson, Søren.
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Stuart E. Barstad
- Occupations
- military officer
- Biography
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Chaplain Stuart E. Barstad, USAF (August 9, 1929 – August 25, 2009) was an American Air Force officer who served as Chief of Chaplains of the United States Air Force from 1985 to 1988.
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George Thompson
- Occupations
- politicianlawyer
- Biography
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George Thompson was Attorney General of Wisconsin from 1963 to 1965.
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David Oppegaard
- Occupations
- novelistwriter
- Biography
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David Oppegaard is an American novelist.
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Kenneth T. Neilson
- Occupations
- banker
- Biography
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Kenneth T. Neilson is an American banker and business executive. He is the former president and chief executive officer of Patriot National Bancorp, Inc. and Patriot Bank, N.A. He has served as director since October 2010.
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Kurt Westerberg
- Years
- 1950-.. (age 74)
- Occupations
- composer
- Biography
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Kurt Westerberg is a composer who was born in Naperville, Illinois in 1950. His mother was a mezzo-soprano and pianist which sparked an early interest in music. He began his musical studies at age five with piano lessons. By age ten he was composing his first pieces for himself.
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Arthur E. Thompson
- Years
- 1891-1969 (aged 78)
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Arthur Edwin Thompson was a North Dakota politician and teacher who served as the North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1933 to 1946.
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David Ede
- Years
- 1935-2008 (aged 73)
- Occupations
- Islamicistreligious studies scholaruniversity teacher
- Biography
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David Ede was an American scholar of Islam.
