Leadership
People who have come together to make our community a better place.
WeCAN Staff
Christopher Anderson
Executive Director
Chris joined the WeCAN team in the fall of 2019, with 20+ years of experience serving children and families in need. As Director of Community Outreach at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, Chris worked extensively with civic, school, community and church groups to build and grow collaborations to better serve the community. With a strong passion for service, Chris brings a broad and creative approach to providing social services to local families. With a marketing degree from the Carlson School of Management, he has considerable experience in managing operations, finances, and program development. As the Executive Director Chris is excited to work with the staff, volunteers, and Board of Directors to continue to build WeCAN’s positive impact in western Hennepin County.
Bobbie Lynn Bridges
Client Services Manager
Bobbie Lynn is proud to be the newest member of the WeCAN team. She is passionate about empowering others to reach stability and self-sufficiency. Bobbie Lynn has experience working with low-income families in Hennepin County both as a family advocate at Family Wise Services and as a Guardian ad Litem. She is also a former elementary school teacher who thoroughly enjoyed helping children reach their full potential. She is a Ph.D. candidate in marriage and family therapy at Mount Mercy University; and has an M.Ed. in Education and a B.A. in Child Psychology, both from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. In her spare time Bobbie Lynn enjoys gardening, raising her chickens, and kayaking on Lake Minnetonka.
Lorrie Ham
Office Manager
Lorrie manages many aspects of WeCAN daily operations, including providing administrative support and assisting with marketing and communications. Her background as a newspaper editor makes her a valuable asset with the many publications WeCAN produces. Lorrie also helps plan and orchestrate WeCAN's fundraisers and auctions. She loves helping people and knowing that she is making a difference in her community.
Kari Raaen
Volunteer Coordinator
Kari joined WeCAN with a strong background in volunteering and outreach. She led her church volunteer Food for Friends program for four years. She has also volunteered at both the First Nations Kitchen and Loaves and Fishes programs. Kari is dedicated to being of service to others. She is thrilled to be part of the WeCAN team serving the people of western Hennepin County.
Meals on Wheels Coordinator
Jackie came to WeCAN in 2023 after moving to Mound several years ago to be closer to family. After graduating from business school at St. Catherine’s University, she has held a variety of roles including sales, administration, and marketing. Throughout Jackie’s life, her two persistent passions have always been food and helping others. With 15 years in the food and hospitality business, nothing brings her joy like serving healthy, good food to people who need it.
Mobile Market Coordinator
Katie joins the WeCAN team with several years of experience in caregiving for seniors. She was a lead home health aide at Harrison Bay Senior Living here in Mound. Her new role as Mobile Market Coordinator at WeCAN will allow her to continue providing dignified services for a variety of members in the surrounding communities. She has a strong desire to help others and knows the importance of our amazing volunteers and community support. She is committed to the progressing development, growth, and essential needs of the Mobile Market. Katie is excited to be contributing to the “neighbors helping neighbors” philosophy at WeCAN.
Ross Rifkin
Employment Counselor
Ross began volunteering at WeCAN in 2017 as an employment counselor and driver for Meals on Wheels and Food Recovery. Ross is a former senior IT Manager that also led his division’s Green Team and Diversity Council. His staffing experience naturally lends itself to helping others with job searches, resume writing, interviewing skills and budget management. With advanced degrees in law and business, Ross has always had a keen interest in helping others improve their life situation and is excited to have the opportunity to do more with WeCAN.
Emily Graupmann
Data Entry Specialist
Emily has been a data entry and support services specialist at WeCAN since 2019. Her enthusiasm and energy are a welcome part of our family support programs. Emily is also a research coordinator for the University of Minnesota. In her spare time, she enjoys playing beach volleyball and running. She is happy to have a role in making people's lives better.
Board of Directors
Lori Springer, President
Westonka Public Schools
Lori Springer moved to the Westonka area in 2015 with her family, and she works in the Westonka School District as a School Social Worker. The connections Lori makes with students and families are priceless, which is one of the reasons she loves living and
working in this community! Lori enjoys spending time with her family and friends, cooking, traveling and spending time outdoors.
The relationship between WeCAN and the communities it serves is so important and having connections with the school district helps to make it even stronger. She is proud to be part of the connection between WeCAN and Westonka Schools, together they support students and their families in so many ways.
Sherry Valley, Vice President
Minnesota Lakes Bank
Sherry Valley has been in banking for over 30 years. Sherry started her banking career in Bamberg, Germany. From the teller line to the President’s office, Sherry has held several positions over the years. Sherry’s current position
as Commercial Lender for
Minnesota Lakes Bank is by far Sherry’s favorite. Serving customers in her career has provided Sherry the skills and knowledge to serve the customers of WeCAN as a member of their Board of Directors.
Stephanie Shea, Treasurer
Community Volunteer
Stephanie Shea is small business entrepreneur who has owned and operated multiple wholesale optical laboratories. Stepping away from the business world in 2019 she wanted to make a concerted effort to connect with the people living in the
surrounding communities of the western suburbs in which she
resides with her husband Pat. Stephanie enjoys playing tennis, attending fitness classes and serving as ambassadors at Twin Cities hosted sporting events.
“Upon touring the WeCAN office I came across the impressive birthday shelf and I was immediately immersed into their sphere of services. My experience with the staff, clients and volunteers has been so eye-opening, inspiring and meaningful to me that I decided to invest more of my energy into become an active member on their board of directors so I could contribute to WeCAN’s positive impact.”
Tera White, Secretary
University of Minnesota
Tera White has been an cccupational therapist for close to 30 years. As a healthcare professional, she has a mission to walk alongside people during challenges to help improve their lives in meaningful ways. This aligns with how WeCAN partners with clients to support them
along their own challenges! She currently works for the University of MN in the Disability Services office to help UMN employees with health related impacts at work and partners with supervisors and HR to ensure disability best practices are being followed.
Tera joined the Board of Directors in 2022 after learning how WeCAN is a one stop resource for our neighbors with financial insecurity and the huge impact the services have on so many lives. She feels privileged to play a role in supporting WeCAN!
Dave Netznik
Community Volunteer
Dave is a retired financial planner with 30 plus years of experience with several investment firms. His experience in the financial world with assisting clients to reach their goals applies to his ability to assist the WeCAN Board of Directors.
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Dave has an extensive background in volunteer organizations, but WeCAN is his first opportunity to be a member of a board of directors. Dave enjoys serving and assisting his local community to grow and prosper.
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Dave and his wife, Laurie, have lived in the WeCAN area since 1998. They enjoy biking, cross-country skiing, golfing, and traveling -- especially to National Parks.
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Rick Rohrer
Community Volunteer
Rick has retired from a career in engineering and management for Fortune-500 companies. His experience solving problems and leading projects applies well to tackling the issues that WeCAN faces on a day-
to-day basis. Rick has a broad background in volunteer service and leadership. Rick says he chose to volunteer for WeCAN because he wants to serve the community where he lives.
“I simply can’t accept the idea that people in my community – my neighbors – are struggling to meet the basic needs of life unless I’m doing something to help them.” This philosophy drives all that Rick does for WeCAN. Rick and his wife, Sonja, have lived in WeCAN’s service area since 1996. They enjoy fishing, boating, and traveling.
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Emma Springer
Watertown Public Schools
Emma Springer is a Middle School Social Worker for the Watertown Public School District. Her background in social work has also included working with incarceration and housing programs in Minnesota and Iowa. After
finishing grad school in Duluth she moved to Colorado to work with a non-profit but missed Minnesota and moved to Mound in 2022. She enjoys spending time outside and hanging out with her dog, Millie!
Emma started with working with WeCan because she wanted to support a program that would provide anyone the opportunity to live in our awesome community!
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Karl Weisenhorn
Community Volunteer
Karl Weisenhorn and his wife, Julie, have been Mound residents for over 30 years. Karl recently retired from his national technical sales career and wanted to spend more time enjoying
the lake area beauty and the close community feel that Westonka offers. He is a part time musician with a local band, The Abiders, and enjoys making live sound and recording music. His retirement has morphed into a time to assist family, neighbors, and friends on multiple levels. Joining the WeCAN team fits well with his focus on helping those in the community that he cherishes.
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