Minnesota Public Radio Welcomes Jeannine Befidi, Mike Palmer, Bryan Phillips & Mandy Tuong to Board of Trustees

Apr 20, 2021

ST. PAUL, Minn., April 20, 2021 – The Minnesota Public Radio Board of Trustees has elected Jeannine Befidi, Mike Palmer, Bryan Phillips and Mandy Tuong as its newest members. The four valuable additions to the board represent a wide array of industries and areas of expertise, ranging from development and law to communications and financial strategy.

“We are eager to welcome these impressive and accomplished leaders to our board,” said Jim Dwyer, Chair of MPR’s Board of Trustees. “Jeannine, Mike, Bryan and Mandy share a passion for our mission, and with the terrific knowledge they hold in their respective fields, we’re excited to learn from them and add their perspectives to our public service.”

Jeannine Befidi is Vice President and Head of Internal Communications and Change Management for Thomson Reuters and brings 20 years of experience in strategic communications with a skillset and passion for employee engagement, change management, and reputation and culture work. Befidi has been an MPR member for nine years and holds a Master’s in Journalism from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s in Business and Administration from Washington University in St. Louis. A Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Befidi is also a Certified Wellness Coach through Mayo Clinic.

Mike Palmer, President of Winslow Capital Management, is responsible for the firm’s strategic direction and business management for the $30 billion growth equity asset manager. Following his return to Minneapolis a decade ago from New York and London, Palmer has been a consistent MPR listener. He earned a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Wheaton College. Palmer has forged strong connections with MPR, both as co-chair of the Horizon Fund Advisory Board at American Public Media’s Glen Nelson Center and as a longtime supporter of YourClassical MPR and Marketplace.

Bryan Phillips is Inspire Medical Systems’ in-house General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, a role he began in January 2021. Phillips returns to the MPR board after moving back to Minnesota, following his work as Chief Legal Officer at Cerevel Therapeutics, a bio-pharma company in Boston. An MPR member of over 20 years, he has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Kansas and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School.

Mandy Tuong is President and CEO of Thrivent Charitable Impact & Investing. Prior to her appointment as president and CEO, Tuong served as the organization’s Senior Vice President and General Counsel. Tuong’s resume also includes the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation in Palo Alto, California, one of the country’s ten largest private foundations, which supports environmental conservation, patient care and science research. Tuong has been an MPR member for 20 years. She earned a J.D. with honors from the University of Minnesota Law School, and she holds undergraduate degrees from Oberlin College in History (Bachelor of Arts) and Oberlin College Conservatory in Piano Performance (Bachelor of Music). She is also an alumna of Stanford University’s Executive Program.

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About Minnesota Public Radio
Minnesota Public Radio® operates a 46-station radio network serving nearly all of Minnesota and parts of surrounding states for more than 50 years. Reaching nearly 1 million listeners each week, MPR and its three regional services—MPR News, YourClassical MPR and The Current®—produce programming for radio, digital and live audiences. Programs produced by American Public Media Group’s national programming division, American Public Media®, reach nearly 17 million listeners via approximately 1,000 radio stations nationwide each week. APM is one of the largest producers and distributors of public radio programming in the world, and produces award-winning podcasts spanning the best in investigative journalism, food, business and entertainment.

For more information on MPR, visit minnesotapublicradio.org. 

Source: Data are copyright Nielsen Audio, PSA and PPM Persons 12+, Spring ’20.