On October 6th, 2022, GreenSeam brought together business, community, and educational leaders from across the region to learn about the challenges and opportunities when incorporating and accommodating international students and graduates into their organizations.

Event Details

When: Thursday, October 6, 2022

Time: 3:00 – 6:00 PM

Where: Pioneer Bank

Address: 1450 Adams St, Mankato, MN 56001

GreenSeam Retention & Expansion Committee

Jim Heilman (Chair) – Partner | CLA

Wes Beck (Board Liaison) – Owner | Beck Farms

Brent Meshke – Ag Loan Officer | MinnStar Bank

James Gordon – Vice President, Ag/Business Banker | Pioneer Bank

Annie Lerner, PhD – Nutrition & Research | Schwartz Farms

Tyler Petzel – Manager | Abdo

Ryan Vesey – Economic Development & Research Manager | Greater Mankato Growth

Jerry Kopel – Sr. Vice President, Ag/Business | Profinium, Inc.

Spencer Koch – Producer | Brown & Brown

Megan Roberts, Ed. D. – Executive Director | Minnesota State Southern Agricultural Center of Excellence (SACE)

Agenda + Speakers

2:45 – 3:00 PM – Registration

3:00 – 3:05 – Welcome

3:05 – 3:45 – Legal Perspective | Navigating the legal process to obtain international talent from colleges and universities. Presented by Erin Schutte Wadzinski, Attorney/Owner of Kivu Immigration Law PLLC in Worthington, MN

Erin Schutte Wadzinski is an immigration attorney and owns Kivu Immigration Law in her hometown of Worthington, Minnesota. Erin earned her Bachelor’s Degree from Yale and her law degree from UConn School of Law. After working for six years in Yale’s Office of International Affairs, Erin returned home to Minnesota in 2018 to start her legal career in immigration law. Erin received the Initiators Fellowship to launch Kivu Immigration Law, a social enterprise law firm that provides full representation on immigration-related legal matters for immigrants, their families, and their employers. Kivu Immigration Law is located in downtown Worthington and also serves clients virtually across several states.

3:45 – 4:05 – International Student/Graduate Perspective | Presented by Promeet J. Singh, Ed. D.

Promeet, originally from India, got his first MBA (Marketing) at a top-ten business school in India. After working for an advertising agency in Bombay, India for 3 years he moved to the US where he got an MBA (Finance) from James Madison University in Virginia. He worked in the DC Metro area before going back to India in 2001 where he helped start Dell’s first sales center outside the US. He then worked for IBM where he led a procurement team in Bangalore, India, at IBM’s largest procurement operations center in the world. He took academic leave of absence in 2010, and after earning a degree in Conflict Resolution from Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia in 2013 he decided to move into academics full-time. To this end, he earned a doctorate in Educational Leadership at Minnesota State University, Mankato. His areas of interest include leadership, conflict resolution, ethics, and community engagement. He currently teaches in the Business Department at Saint Paul College in St. Paul, MN.

4:05 – 4:25 – College & University Perspective | Connecting industry to students and graduates. Presented by Jacy Fry, PDSO/RO – Director of the Kearney International Center at MSU Mankato.

Jacy Corey Fry is the Director of the Kearney International Center at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She leads a team of ten full-time staff, 8 Graduate Assistants, and over 20 student staff, who is responsible for the recruitment and retention of international students. The team provides comprehensive services including cultural adjustment, immigration advising, employment and internship guidance, and community involvement. International students represent 10% of the MSU, Mankato student population. In fall 2022, the university enrolled over 1,400 international students.

Ms. Fry has over 17 years of experience from three higher education institutions in the United States. Prior to her leadership at MSU, Mankato, Ms. Fry worked in international education at University of South Dakota and Dakota State University. She earned her MA in Higher Education Administration at University of South Dakota.

4:25 – 4:40 – Industry Perspective | Company Case Study. Presented by Kimberly Phillips, Sr. HR Manager at AGCO Corp in Jackson, MN.

Kimberly has worked in Human Resources for 29 years and has an extensive background in Employee Relations, Recruiting, and Finance. After graduating from Briar Cliff University with a BS degree in HR Management and a Master’s Degree in Human Resources, she spent 18 years with Polaris Industries and AGCO Corporation for the past 11 years. She has been the Sr. Manager of Human Resources at AGCO for 7 years. She has 2 daughters, 1 granddaughter and a grandson on the way. Her husband, Steve, works as an outside salesman for Matheson Gas in Spirit Lake, Iowa.

4:40 – 5:00 – Panel 

5:00 – 6:00 – Happy Hour & Networking 

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