Priya Elayath, Deepak Ganapathy, and Spiwe Jefferson were elected as new members of the Eden Prairie Community Foundation’s board of directors on June 16, and Jay Lotthammer was elected board chair for 2022-23.
Elayath, an Eden Prairie resident since 2015, is an assistant attorney general at the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, advising health-related licensing boards and representing them in litigation. She has been a volunteer with the Foundation’s strategic-planning team that works on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues. She and her husband have two young children.
Ganapathy is vice president of the FACTS Business Unit at Danfoss Power Solutions in Eden Prairie. He has been a resident of Eden Prairie for 15 years, and has been a part of the Foundation’s strategic planning process and co-leader of its team working on hardship-related issues.
Jefferson is deputy general counsel of Amplify Education, Inc., a K-12 curriculum and assessment company. A five-year Eden Prairie resident as well as a wife and mom, she is a certified mindfulness practitioner, mindfulness coach, and author of the book, “Mindful in 5.”
New board members serve a three-year term and are eligible for a second three-year term.
Lotthammer, a member of the Foundation’s board of directors for the past six years, has been the City of Eden Prairie’s director of parks and recreation since 2007. Previous to that, he held a similar position in Brooklyn Park for 18 years. He previously was the board’s vice chair.
Rounding out the Foundation’s team of officers for 2022-23 are Mary Jayne Crocker, vice chair; Tom Wargolet, treasurer; and Janet Eian, secretary. Other directors who continue to serve are Pastor Rod Anderson, Mary Battista, Alfonso Chicre, Mark Freiberg, Tori Hill, Astrid Mozes, Pastor Paul Nelson, Tina Palmer, and Jill Scholtz.
Another change at the Foundation is that Greg Leeper takes over as the executive director in July. A longtime Eden Prairie resident, Leeper was hired earlier this year to succeed Mark Weber, who was executive director for 8½ years but retires on June 30.
Primarily known as a grant maker, the Foundation has assisted individuals and families living in poverty, funded vital services to older adults and individuals living with disabilities, strengthened community services, and provided scholarships and access to after-school programs for local youth.
For more information, visit its website at www.epcommunityfoundation.org.