Millie Acamovic, Board Member
Millie is a successful finance and investment leader in both corporate and nonprofit contexts. Most recently, she served for 14 years as CFO of Northwest Area Foundation (NWAF) where she was responsible for all finance and administration activities, facilities, technology, grants and contracts management, as well as NWAF's $500+ million investment portfolio. Millie was also a primary liaison to the Board and its Executive, Investment, and Audit Committees, as well as its ad hoc Mission-Investing Committee whose work resulted in the development of a Mission Investing Strategic Plan, including expansion of NWAF's PRI portfolio. Previously, Millie was a Vice President with Ameriprise Financial Services, spending the majority of her career in the investment department responsible for Wall Street broker relations, commissions management, corporate governance and proxy voting, Six Sigma transformation activities, and risk management. Millie also did a stint at a local toy manufacturer, received her BA Economics from the University of Chicago and her MBA from the U of MN, is a native of the south side of Chicago, speaks Serbian, and lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Chris Wilson, and twin boys, Robert and James.
Bill Bodner, Board Treasurer
Bill is a Director at EisnerAmper and has over 15 years of financial and business process compliance experience. Bill received a BBA and a Master of Accountancy from UW-Madison and maintains a CPA among other auditing and compliance related certifications. Bill’s current focus is data security and privacy engagements for clients in the financial services and healthcare industries. Bill began his career at Ernst & Young (EY) in the Capital Markets financial audit practice, followed by a position at Valspar in the global SOX compliance and internal audit group. At Valspar, Bill lead audits in Italy, China, and Australia. Bill then moved to Lurie, LLP, a CPA firm that EisnerAmper acquired in 2022. Bill is attracted to entities with growth potential and he is excited to help Venn achieve new levels of impact. Bill has served in community outreach groups, participated on the boards of service organizations, and routinely volunteers a mediocre bass voice for fund raisers that require singing. Bill and his wife live in St. Louis Park and love spending time outdoors with their Great Dane Albert.
Michael Dai, Board Member
Michael is Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of 3M Company. He leads the Corporate & Securities Legal team advising on corporate governance, capital markets, corporate finance, securities law, and shareholder engagement. He previously served as general counsel to the company’s largest industrial division and as general counsel to a business group. Before 3M, Michael practiced law with an international law firm and lived and worked in New York and Hong Kong. As part of 3M’s skills-based pro bono engagement, he has traveled to Morocco to work with one of the country’s longest-standing social enterprise nonprofits to help enhance its infrastructure and governance as it tackles youth unemployment and other social issues. In the local community, Michael is a long-term volunteer lawyer for SMRLS (Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services) assisting low-income clients. He also served as Trustee for Mounds Park Academy, a pre-K-12 independent college preparatory school based in St. Paul.
Ramya Rauf, Board Member
Since 2015, Ramya has served as the Chief Financial Officer of YWCA Minneapolis. She has over 30 years of experience in corporate and non-profit sectors leading finance, accounting, risk management and treasury management teams. She is a CPA (MN) and a Chartered Accountant (Sri Lanka) and was named CFO of the year by the Minneapolis St Paul Business Journal in 2017. Ramya’s corporate experience includes 13 years with the Colombo, Sri Lanka location of Energizer Co. USA (formerly Union Carbide Corporation). She was Treasurer and CFO for seven years before she moved to Minnesota in 1999, where she continued her career with US Trust Company Minneapolis. Ramya began her transition to the nonprofit sector through management consulting work in feasibility studies for hospitals and then as Finance Manager for Lutheran Social Service MN. She is a Board member and Treasurer of One Village Partners, a MN nonprofit working to catalyze community-led transformation in rural Africa. Ramya comes from a family that values alleviating economic disparities in communities, and her passions are empowering women as well as racial and social justice. She enjoys travel and is an avid reader.
Susan Sands, Board Member
Over the past 40 years, Susan has started and grown two businesses, including S&B Properties which focuses on real estate development consulting with nonprofit service organizations. Since joining the National Association of Women Business Owners board of directors in 1990, Susan has served on many boards including Western Bank and the F.R. Bigelow Foundation. Most recently, she chaired the national governing board for the Jeremiah Program, which works to end the cycle of poverty for women and their children, two generations at a time. She also has served as board chair for District Energy St. Paul, Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches, and the James J Hill Reference Library. Susan has received numerous awards including being named to the Minnesota Women Business Owners Hall of Fame in 2013. She has received an Outstanding Achievement Award for leadership in business from the YWCA and an honorary Doctorate from United Theological Seminary. Susan received the Carlson School of Management’s Outstanding Achievement Award from the University of Minnesota in 2010. Susan is passionate about creating systemic change to increase economic independence for women and people of color. She also has a special interest in supporting entrepreneurs with innovative products and ideas that create social impact.
Rob Scarlett, Board Member & Past Chair
Rob has spent 50 years working in international business development with small and mid-size manufacturing companies. For 15 years, he served as Board Chair of Durex Products, Inc., an international manufacturer of custom equipment for the mining industry - a family business which he converted into a 100% employee-owned company. Rob currently serves as board member or advisor for several start-ups and small to mid-size companies.
Jaclyn Schroeder, Board Chair
Jaclyn draws on over two decades of leadership success in nonprofit development and service to the community. Currently serving as a Senior Philanthropic Advisor for U.S. Bank, Jaclyn works exclusively with private foundations, public charities, families, and businesses to help maximize the impact of their charitable goals. Her professional experience spans a variety of roles including as Director of Philanthropic Planning for The Saint Paul Foundation and practicing corporate law with Stinson LLP after earning a JD from Mitchell Hamline School of Law in 2018. Jaclyn has a passion for innovative approaches to social enterprise and impact investing, and she is excited to help PRIs become a mainstream tool in philanthropy.
Jeanne Voigt, Board Member
Jeanne is the founder and former CEO of MindWare, creator and distributor of Brainy Toys for Kids of all ages. Jeanne founded MindWare in 1989 and sold majority interest in 2003; in 2013 the company was again sold to Berkshire Hathaway. Prior to MindWare she was an executive with First Banks (now US Bank) where she worked in strategic planning, internal cash management, securities operations, and the discount brokerage company. In addition to serving as president of the Jeanne M Voigt Foundation, she has served on the boards of Fair Anita, Fat Brain Toys, Nguku (a Nairobi-based chicken processor), Rockler (a MN based hobbyist retailer), Highlights for Children and DRG (a hand made craft direct marketer). She has also served on the boards of the MS Society of MN, Minnesota Children’s Museum and the Federal Reserve’s Small Business Advisory Board. She received the 1997 SBA Small Business Person of the Year award and is also a member of the 2014 cohort of the MN Women Business Owners Hall of Fame. Jeanne is an active philanthropist, which she couples with on the ground pro bono consulting and related impact investing in Africa and in Minnesota. She is passionate about mentoring social enterprises. Jeanne was raised in a small ND town and received a BS in Music Education and an MBA, both from the University of Minnesota.
Jeff Ochs, Board Member & CEO
Jeff is a successful cross-sector entrepreneur. He founded and directed Breakthrough Twin Cities, a nonprofit college access and teacher training program, and he has helped launch a number of business and social enterprises. Before founding Venn Foundation, Jeff served as the Executive Director of an angel investor network; managed the University of Minnesota’s Discovery Capital program; and consulted for foundations making program-related investments into social enterprises. Jeff has a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Minnesota, and he played a leadership role in drafting and advocating for Minnesota's Public Benefit Corporation statute. He was recognized with the “40 Under 40” award by the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal in 2015, as "100 People to Know in 2020" by Twin Cities Business, and as a Minnesota Young American Leader in 2024, and as “Who’s Who in Impact Investing” in 2024 by Impact Finance Center.