The EPAM Rotary Foundation Board has approved the following Spring 2026 grants totaling $13,000:
Please click on the link below to read the notes from the June 2, 2026 meeting:
Gina Lindquist
Executive Director
Gina is passionate about non-profit, mission fueled work. Her professional experience includes marketing, development, strategic planning, and outreach. Gina is an avid outdoor adventurer with most of her free time dedicated to volleyball, camping, hiking, and movies with her beloved cats, two large dogs, and loving husband
Click on the link below to read the notes from the May 19, 2026 meeting:
Kelly Gaddis, Owner and Chief Energy Officer
IGNITE Dance Connections
Kelly Clement Gaddis is the Owner & Chief Energy Officer of IGNITE Dance Connections, a Minnesota-based quality dancewear and custom costume company serving dance clients around the world. Known for her creative vision and innovative approach to costuming, Kelly has helped ignite the dance industry by designing looks that elevate performance, tell powerful stories, and inspire confidence in young athletes.
A lifelong dancer and creative entrepreneur, Kelly is also a choreographer, dance educator, and dance judge with more than 45 years of experience in the artistic and athletic world of dance. Before launching IGNITE Dance Connections in 2015, she spent 15 years in Corporate America leading apparel merchandising and global production teams for a Fortune 100 retailer. Drawing from both her dance background and apparel expertise, Kelly built IGNITE to solve a need she personally experienced as a teacher and choreographer — finding unique, high-quality costumes that truly bring a dance to life.
Today, IGNITE Dance Connections creates thousands of costumes annually and continues to grow while partnering with studios and teams across the globe.
Originally from Eden Prairie, Kelly currently resides in Minnetonka with her husband, Bill Gaddis. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business from University of Minnesota. Kelly is also a proud alumna of the University of Minnesota Dance Team and the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders. Passionate about giving back to the dance community, she continues to mentor and inspire the next generation of dancers and performers.
Please click on the link below to read/review the notes from the May 5, 2026 meeting:
Sierra Lyon, Manager of Corporate Partnerships
Make-A-Wish Minnesota
Sierra Lyon is the Manager of Corporate Partnerships at Make-A-Wish Minnesota, where she connects companies with opportunities to help grant life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. Sierra is from La Crosse, Wisconsin where she received a Bachelor's of Business Administration in Marketing from Viterbo University in La Crosse. She began her fundraising career when she founded Abilities in Harmony, a nonprofit that provides adaptive show choir camps to individuals who wouldn't ordinarily have the opportunity to perform on stage. Before moving to Minnesota, she was a fundraiser and event planner for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. In her free time, Sierra enjoys golf, waterskiing, dance, and traveling. A former member of the Rotary After Hours Club of La Crosse, Sierra is passionate about community engagement and continues to live out the Rotary value of “Service Above Self” through her work.
Please click on the link below to read the notes from the April 21, 2026 meeting:
Richard Thieme
Thinking Like a Hacker in the Age of AI
Richard Thieme (thiemeworks.com) is an author and professional speaker who speaks about the challenges posed by new technologies and the future, how to redesign ourselves to meet these challenges, and creativity in response to radical change. He has published numerous articles and short stories, thirteen books, and has delivered hundreds of speeches. His Mobius Trilogy, which includes "Mobius: A Memoir," illuminates the impacts of security and intelligence work on practitioners. The trilogy was lauded by a 20-year CIA veteran as one of the five best works of serious spy fiction--ever. He spoke in 2025 at the noted security conference Def Con for the 27th time. He has keynoted security conferences in 15 countries. Clients range from GE, Microsoft, Medtronic, Bank of America, Allstate Insurance, and Johnson Controls to the NSA, FBI, US Dept of the Treasury. Los Alamos National Lab, the Pentagon Security Forum, and the US Secret Service. He has delivered dozens of guest lectures for universities, most recently Georgetown, George Washington and Purdue Universities - and for seven years for the University of Minnesota's OLLI program. He has lived in the Twin Cities since 2017.
Please click on the link below to read the notes from the April 7, 2026 meeting:
Matthew Eickman, CEO Abra Kadabra Environmental Services
Home Grown Hustle
Matthew Eickman is a nationally recognized leader in pest and wildlife management based in Minnesota. Under his leadership, the company has expanded to a multi-service platform offering pest control, attic remediation, and whole home wildlife proofing. Matthew’s approach combines operational scale with field-level expertise. As a commercial property owner, he brings a dual perspective to wildlife management in both residential and commercial settings. Abra Kadabra is supported by a staff of 37 and a fleet of 20+ vehicles.
Matthew founded the Homegrown Hustle Podcast in 2024, to spotlight Minnesota business owners and upcoming entrepreneurs who are building sustainable businesses from the ground up — sharing honest stories, practical lessons, and hard-won insights to help the next generation grow with confidence. The podcast has hosted over 115 episodes, providing valuable insights to professionals across industries.
Please click on the link below to read the notes from the March 17, 2026 meeting:
Prima Sisini, Director of Development and Communications 
PROP Food Update
Prima Sisinni leads fundraising, community partnerships, and communications to support neighbors experiencing food insecurity and housing instability across Eden Prairie and Chanhassen.
A lifelong Eden Prairie resident, Prima is deeply committed to strengthening the community she grew up in. In addition to her work at PROP, she serves on both the Eden Prairie Historical Society Board and the Eden Prairie Heritage Preservation Commission, where she helps preserve and celebrate the city’s history while contributing to its continued growth.
Prima holds both a Master’s degree in Nonprofit Management and an MBA, and she is passionate about bringing people together—businesses, civic leaders, volunteers, and neighbors—to create innovative solutions that ensure everyone in the community has the opportunity to thrive.
Outside of her professional and civic work, Prima enjoys staying active and finding new ways to engage with and support the Eden Prairie community.
Please click on the link below to review the notes from the March 3, 2026 meeting:
Chai Vang, Senior district Executive
North Star Scouting
Chai has been with Scouting America for 3 and a half years. He started his commission with the Northern Lights Council in Fargo ND in 2022 and transferred to Northern Star Council in 2023. He grew up in St. Paul and went to school on the east side until he left for College in 2009 where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with emphases in Ceramics and Drawings. He teaches community art classes around the metro when he has time and continues to pursue art every chance he gets.
Their generous support helps sponsor all that our club does in our community and around the world!
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Eden Prairie, MN 55344
United States of America