Meet the Board of Directors
Steve Laux
Steve is an active community volunteer with previous board experience at Helping Paws of MN and the Courage Center. His leadership in giving has been acknowledged in both the not for profit sector as well as corporate sector, having earned the National Philips Award as a leader in the disability community and the esteemed Medtronic Mission in Motion Corporate Leadership Award. Steve is a devoted parent of three with an ultra supportive wife allowing for his extracurricular endeavors. He has a Masters in Biomedical Engineering from University of Michigan and a MBA from Carlson School of Management. He is a marketing strategist at Medtronic. He has a spinal cord injury at the C5/6 level.
Shawn Dean
Shawn is an attorney, blogger (One Man’s Access and the EasyStand Blog), and disability advocate who lives in Minneapolis. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and a Juris Doctor from William Mitchell College of Law. Shawn is a graduate of the Minnesota Bar Association’s Leaders Impacting the Nonprofit Community program. As a Boy Scout he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout and Brotherhood of the Order of the Arrow. He has a spinal cord injury at the C-6/7 level.
Jeanne Olson
Jeanne has served people with disabilities for over 30 years. She has managed the delivery of therapy services and program development within hospital, acute rehabilitation, transitional care, outpatient, adapted fitness and home and community settings. She is currently the Manager of Aquatics/Fitness and ABLE for the Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute (part of Allina Health). She has a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy from the University of North Dakota, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas.
Joey Carlson
Joey is an experienced marketing professional and active volunteer. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Augsburg College and a MBA from Carlson School of Management. He has served on the Greater Minnesota Speedskating Association Board of Directors and was a featured patient advocate for AdvaMed in Washington D.C. In recognition of his volunteer activities, he received Target Corporation’s Volunteer Scholarship. He has a spinal cord injury at the C5/6 level. Learn more at Joey’s website.
Jennifer Theis
Jennifer has been an occupational therapy practitioner for 18 years. She received her undergraduate training in psychology from Carleton College and her Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy from Boston University. Jennifer's primary therapy passion is spinal cord injury care. She is a senior staff occupational therapist and is also the Program Coordinator for the Spinal Cord System of Care at Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute. She has presented for care providers across disciplines regarding functional outcomes of spinal cord injury and best practices related to safe handling techniques for promoting increased communication across disciplines. She has been published in peer reviewed journals on topics pertinent to spinal cord injury and safe patient handling as well is an author of case studies for occupational therapy assistants and a chapter on assessing sensation for occupational therapists. She holds an associate researcher position at the Courage Kenny Research Center.
