LEAD: Lead. Educate. Accomplish. Discover.

Brigadier General (ret) Dennis Schulstad distinguished himself in three careers. He was a 22 year elected member of the Minneapolis City Council (the only and last Republican); a successful political campaign consultant to candidates for U.S. Senate, Governor, State Legislature and other offices; and an officer in the Air Force Reserve retiring as a Brigadier General.

In “retirement” Denny is a member of several non-profit boards and commissions. He was appointed by the Secretary of Defense to be the Minnesota State Chair of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) where he selected, trained and led 125 volunteers (mostly attorneys and business executives) to assist mobilized military members with their civilian careers. The program won numerous national honors and awards during his unprecedented seven years as state chair.

He is a founder and emeritus board member of the Minnesota Military Family Foundation, an organization that has raised over $6 million to distribute to families of military members facing financial difficulty due to a deployment. He is a founder and the president of Minnesotans’ Military Appreciation Fund that has raised over $19 million and gives grants of $500 to $10,000 to all MN military members (active, guard and reserve) who have served in a combat area after Sept. 11, 2001.

He is the former president of the Airport Foundation, a group that provides all travelers assistance, armed forces service center, art, music, landscaping and anything else that makes the airport a more friendly and easy to use facility. He is also a trustee of the Air Force Academy Falcon Foundation.

General Schulstad is the former National President of the 63,000 member University of Minnesota Alumni Association. He also served for ten years as a board member of KARE-TV (NBC affiliate) Eleven Who Care program that recognizes the top volunteers in the community. Denny was the Commodore and President of the Minneapolis Aquatennial, a local festival that promotes the city and many lakes with over 1,000 volunteers and 500,000 spectators and an annual budget exceeding $5 million.

He chaired the committee to design, build and finance the Veteran Tribute (a $500,000 wall and stage with “thank you for our freedom” carved in stone) at the University of Minnesota football stadium.

General Schulstad’s military duties were primarily spent as a mobilization assistant with the active duty force. He served at Headquarters for Fifteenth Air Force, Tactical Air Command and Air Combat Command. His duties included Public Affairs and he worked closely with the integration and utilization of Air Reserve forces into the active duty structure.

He spent over 25 years as an additional duty Air Force Academy Liaison Officer and as the Congressional Relations Officer and Commander of the Minnesota ALO program. He retired in 2000.

As the most recognized Air Force person in Minnesota, he is invited to give over 50 speeches each year at civic and ceremonial programs and is often interviewed by various media outlets.

EDUCATION
1966 Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Public Relations, University of Minnesota
1971 William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, MN
1978 Squadron Officer School, by correspondence
1981 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
1984 Air War College, by correspondence
1989 Program for Senior Executives in Government, Harvard University

MAJOR AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
Legion of Merit, United States Air Force
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters
University of Minnesota Alumni of Notable Achievement (2004)
Air Force Academy Lifetime Achievement Award (2005)
State of Minnesota Distinguished Service Medal (2007)
The University of Minnesota Alumni Service Award (2008)
Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service (2008)
Air Force Distinguished Public Service Award (2011)
American Red Cross, Military Hero for Volunteer Leadership Award (2011)
Inaugural Hall of Fame, Roosevelt H.S. (21 of 50,000 graduates, 2014)
Legacy Award, Minnesota Humanities Center (2014)
Lifetime Achievement Award, Secretary of Defense ESGR Program (2021)

CIVIC AND PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION MEMBERSHIP
State Chair Emeritus of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve
Former National President, 63,000 member University of Minnesota Alumni Association
Board member and former President, Airport Foundation of MSP
Founder and emeritus board member, MN Military Family Foundation (over $6 million)
Founder and President, Minnesotans’ Military Appreciation Fund ($19 million)
Trustee, Air Force Academy Falcon Foundation

Nawal Noor is the Founder and CEO of Noor Companies (NŌR) a Social Enterprise that performs mission-based work in construction, real estate development and community engagement. Nawal is a Licensed General Contractor. She brings eight years of development experience and eight years of construction and project management experience and over 10 years of successful corporate finance, audit, strategy, and marketing experience working for Ecolab, a $16 billion global company in the Twin Cities.

Prior to that she has spent four years in asset management for Aeon (formerly CCHT), a nonprofit developer, owner and manager of high-quality affordable apartments and townhomes, which serve more than 4,200 people annually in the Twin Cities area.

She is a 2019 Bush Fellow and active in the community. She served and still serves on several boards and committees including, Emerging Entrepreneur State of Minnesota Board (Governor Dayton Appointed), State of Minnesota Disparity Study External Stakeholders, University of Minnesota National Diversity Advisory Board, ULI MN Housing Council, Hennepin Healthcare Community Advisory Board, Board Chair Nurul-Iman Institute/Mosque and Community Center. Nawal was the Vice President of the Board of National Association of Minority Contractors, past Board Member of Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (Governor Walz Appointed), past Board Secretary for Ecolab Credit Union, past Board Member of A Partnership of Diabetes (A-POD). Nawal is a graduate of the University of Saint Thomas, with a degree in Finance and Computer Science and MBA Northwester Kellogg (In process). She is also Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certified Project Manager.