Development Staff

Keith Christensen
Vice President for Development
Keith oversees all aspects of development, alumni relations, and campus programming, focusing on building relationships with Luther's constituencies. Keith invites gifts from alumni, parents, and friends of Luther and also assists donors with estate and gift planning. An officer of the college, Keith serves on the President's Cabinet.
Ann Sponberg Peterson
Director of Development, Principal Gifts
Ann manages the team of development officers and encourages leadership gifts from alumni, parents, and friends of Luther. She travels throughout the United States. Together with Jeanie Lovell, Ann serves as co-director of campaigns.
Bethany (Bierman) Krepela
Leadership Giving Officer-Minneapolis
Bethany lives and works in the Twin Cities where she affiliates with Luther’s young alumni, inviting annual fund gifts and advancing young alumni programming. Bethany also invites President’s Council-level gifts from alumni, parents, and friends of Luther in the metro area.
Sue J. Drilling
Director of Special Programs
Sue coordinates Luther’s President’s Council donor recognition events and the Parents Council and Class Agent volunteer programs. She also oversees the Development Office web pages, coordinates Family Weekend annually, and works with Luther volunteers to encourage gifts to the Annual Fund.
Nate Ersig
Gift Planning Officer
Nate encourages leadership gifts from alumni, parents, and friends of the college. He travels in Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, California, as well as the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Areas.
Chris Frana
Director of Development Research
Chris directs development resources research and works to maintain accuracy in Luther’s donor records system. A trained attorney, she focuses especially on donor privacy and rights.
Mark Franzen
Head Men's Basketball Coach
Mark manages the efforts of the recently established Norse Athletic Association, raising funds in support of men's and women's athletics. He coordinates mailings, invitations for support, newsletters, and special events related to the NAA. In addition to his part-time development responsibilities, Mark serves as head men's basketball coach.
Jeff Leschensky
Gift Planning Officer
Jeff encourages leadership gifts from alumni, parents, and friends of the college. He travels in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, New Mexico, Alaska, as well as Arizona.
Jeanie Lovell
Dir. of Corp. and Foundation Relations and Campaign Co-Dir.
Jeanie oversees all aspects of corporate and foundation support for Luther and works with faculty and staff to secure research funding and support for teaching and learning. She also leads Women, Faith, and Finance, Luther’s collaborative women’s philanthropy initiative. Together with Ann Sponberg Peterson, Jeanie serves as co-director of campaigns.
Doug R. Nelson
Senior Gift Planning Officer
Doug encourages leadership gifts from alumni, parents, and friends of the college. He travels in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin, as well as Colorado, Missouri, Texas, Oregon, and Georgia. Doug also coordinates Luther’s endowed scholarship program, the Legacy Trust.
Chantel Olufsen-Lepa
Reunion Giving Officer
Chantel is a member of the annual fund team as well as the gift planning team. She promotes and invites reunion gifts from members of the 35-year and 40-year reunion classes, and works collaboratively with class volunteer leaders. She also travels regionally in Iowa.
Maria Smith
Director of Annual Giving
Maria coordinates components of the annual giving program with other staff and student, alumni, and parent volunteers. She also facilitates the work of the Annual Fund Council and coordinates reunion programs for the 50th reunion classes.
Rachel Vsetecka
Assistant Director of Annual Giving
Rachel facilitates programming that supports annual giving. She works closely with the Student Philanthropy Council, spearheads the annual Phonathon effort, works with the senior giving campaign, and coordinates young alumni giving components.
Michelle Einck
Administrative Assistant, Development
Michelle serves as the administrative assistant to the vice president and handles all related duties for that position, including scheduling, correspondence, and college business. She also coordinates the receipting communication process and supports communications with the Parents and President’s councils, and for donor recognition events through the Development Office.
Tracy Elsbernd
Administrative Assistant, Annual Giving
Tracy provides support for Annual Fund programs, including Class Agents and the Annual Fund Council. She keeps volunteer records and coordinates mailings.
Kathy Tollefsrud
Donor Records Coordinator
Kathy manages giving records and monitors giving trends through the use of computer reports and graphics. She also provides student worker supervision.
Nicole Waskow
Donor Records Coordinator
Nicole is responsible for the computer entry of pledges/gifts and receipting of gifts, and she coordinates corporate and matching gifts. She interacts with the Financial Services and Financial Aid offices as well as the Library and Information Services application development team.
Kelly Wedmann
Development and Gift Planning Coordinator
Kelly coordinates planned giving activities, events, and seminars. She also provides administrative support for Development activities, campaign events, and mailings.


















