Dan Gasner
My Friends Call Me Gaz
Dan Gasner is a business teacher at Bloomington Kennedy High School with three decades of experience. He has written a memoir titled “My Friends Call Me Gaz,” which details his experiences growing up in Rochester, Minnesota, and surviving significant loss and heartache. The book also touches on his own mental health struggles, including panic attacks that were managed with medication. Despite the challenges, Gasner’s memoir celebrates life and emphasizes the importance of living fully in the present.
Join us in celebrating EPAM Rotary's 50th anniversary on Thursday, October 29th! To register, go to "Upcoming Events" on this page and click on the 50th anniversary notice.
Michael Martin, Founder/CEO
r.World and Effect Partners
Described by Billboard magazine as the “Guru of live event greening”, Michael Martin is an innovator in business-based tech and social change campaigns leveraging culture for impact. He is the founder of several successful companies, including being CEO and Founder of Effect Partners and r.World, two purpose-driven organizations committed to creating global awareness of and meaningful change in environmental sustainability.Michael contributed to helping Earth Day become the world’s largest secular event, and developed the first-ever national global warming campaign with Ben & Jerry’s and Dave Matthews Band, uniting the nation’s top 20 environmental groups and putting the concept of climate change on the map.
Please click on the link below to read and review the notes from the September 14, 2026 meeting:
Cathi Williams, Executive Coach
Healthy Leadership
Cathi Williams is an executive coach, keynote speaker, workshop facilitator and wellness expert with more than 20 years of experience in the wellness field. She helps entrepreneurs and executives manage stress, build confidence, and achieve lasting results by focusing on emotional intelligence, psychological safety, and the ability to channel energy into what truly matters. Her approach is grounded in real life experience and designed to create meaningful change both at work and at home. A triathlete and mom of two, Cathi brings grounded energy, authenticity, and insight to every session.
Please click on the link below to read the notes from the September 1, 2026 meeting:
Carolyn Kinzel, Founder and Executive Director and
Amanda Novak, Board Member
Brighter Days Family Grief Center
Carolyn and Amanda from Brighter Days Family Grief Center will talk about the work they do for families in grief. Their presentation will include a video showing Camp Erin
Click on the link below to review the notes from the August 18, 2026 meeting:
Teresa Heupel, M. Div.
Steady Leadership in a Reactive World
Teresa Heupel is the founder of Healing With The Rev, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ with a Master of Divinity in counseling ministry, and the creator of Steady By Design, a grief and emotional wellness app. With 25 years of experience in grief and healing work, Teresa has walked alongside individuals and families through some of life's hardest transitions, drawing on training in hospital chaplaincy through clinical pastoral education, as well as spiritual healing practices developed over decades of ministry.
She is the author of Healed to Healer, a composer and pianist, and writes a monthly grief column, "All Things Grief," for Eden Prairie Local News.
Today, Teresa channels her calling into Steady By Design, an app built to help people move through grief and difficult emotions with steady, practical tools grounded in both science and spirit.
In her talk, "Steady Leadership in a Reactive World," Teresa shares what 25 years of sitting with people in crisis has taught her about staying grounded, present, and clear headed when everything around you is reactive, insights that inform her work as both a minister and an app creator.
At the close of her talk, Teresa will introduce The Steady Journey, a three-session private coaching package for anyone ready to move through grief or emotional overwhelm with personal, one on one guidance.
Please click on the link below to read the notes from the August 4, 2026 meeting:
Leif Hagen
District Governor
Leif Hagen grew up in Stevens Point, Wisconsin and graduated from St. Olaf College in 1988 with a BA in German and French. His early career included teaching languages in Zug, Switzerland, and high school English in Gero, Japan. In 1992, he entered the financial services field as a financial planner with Lutheran Brotherhood, later joining LPL Financial in 2002. He now owns Achievement Financial in Eagan, Minnesota, offering financial planning and Medicare supplemental insurance services.
Leif has held multiple leadership roles within Rotary, including two terms as President of the Eagan Rotary Club and serving as the two-year charter president of the MN Pride Rotary Club. His Rotary involvement includes leading a GSE team to Bangalore, India, hosting GSE visitors from Finland and Brazil, serving as District Conference co-chair, Assistant Governor for Area 2, and currently serving on the District Foundation grant committee. He is a Paul Harris Society member, a Major Donor, and has attended Rotary International conventions in Birmingham, New Orleans, Bangkok, Hamburg, Calgary and Taipei. He serves as Rotary District 5950 Governor for 2026–2027.
Leif lives in Eagan with his partner, Valdir Oliveira, and has three daughters - Kajsa, Svea, and Britta. He enjoys foreign languages, international travel, collecting art and attending art shows.
Leif has held multiple leadership roles within Rotary, including two terms as President of the Eagan Rotary Club and serving as the two-year charter president of the MN Pride Rotary Club. His Rotary involvement includes leading a GSE team to Bangalore, India, hosting GSE visitors from Finland and Brazil, serving as District Conference co-chair, Assistant Governor for Area 2, and currently serving on the District Foundation grant committee. He is a Paul Harris Society member, a Major Donor, and has attended Rotary International conventions in Birmingham, New Orleans, Bangkok, Hamburg, Calgary and Taipei. He serves as Rotary District 5950 Governor for 2026–2027.
Leif lives in Eagan with his partner, Valdir Oliveira, and has three daughters - Kajsa, Svea, and Britta. He enjoys foreign languages, international travel, collecting art and attending art shows.
Please click on the link below to read the notes from the July 21, 2026 meeting:
Dave Snider, Senior Partner
Redemption Project
Building Stronger Communities Through Reentry Support
Dave Snider brings a powerful story of transformation and purpose. After being sentenced in federal court in 2009 as a career offender, Dave spent over 14 years in prison—an experience that ultimately became a turning point in his life. While incarcerated at FMC Rochester, he served in the inmate hospice program, supporting men at the end of their lives and gaining a deep appreciation for service, accountability, and the value of each life.
During his time inside, Dave also spent seven years speaking to high school and college students about the impact of life choices, learning to turn his past into a tool for growth and education. He is trained in Restorative Justice and advocates for its broader application in communities.
Dave helped shape the founding mission of the Redemption Project through his insights on reentry and was part of its first cohort. Today, he continues to invest in the program’s growth, using his journey to inspire change and help others break cycles of harm and build meaningful futures.
Please click on the link below to read the notes from the July 7, 2026 meeting:
Blake Cadwallader, EPAM Rotary President
Rotary New Year
Our new Rotary President will present plans for our club for the coming year. Come and learn how you can help make this an outstanding year for our club.
Rick Getschow, City Manager Eden Prairie
Momentum in the Prairie -- An Update on Projects and Priorities
The EPAM Rotary Foundation Board has approved the following Spring 2026 grants totaling $13,000:
Their generous support helps sponsor all that our club does in our community and around the world!
Interested in becoming an Eden Prairie AM Rotary Club Sponsor? CLICK HERE
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
United States of America