Donald F. "Pat" Patierno
President of the Board
Mr. Patierno joined MAG America's board in 2005. Pat has a diverse and expansive background that spans nearly 38 years of military and civilian service with the US Federal government. He spent 20 years at the State Department alone, serving in such diverse and prominent positions as Executive Director of the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Director of the Office of Humanitarian Demining, and Executive Director of the Bureau of Public Affairs. As Director of the Office of Humanitarian Demining, Pat managed $60 million worth of funding that enabled humanitarian mine action assistance to over 40 countries. Mr. Patierno currently serves as the U.S. advocate for the Slovenian-based International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance.
Channapha Khamvongsa
Executive Director, Legacies of War
In 1979 at the age of six, Channapha and her family fled from their native country of Laos to the safety of a Thai refugee camp. They later immigrated to the United States. In 2004, Ms. Khamvongsa cofounded Legacies of War, whose mission is to educate and advocate for the removal of unexploded bombs in Laos, to provide space for healing wounds of war, and to cultivate peace. Ms. Khamvongsa currently advises philanthropic institutions on strategic planning at Public Interest Projects, a New York-based nonprofit. Previously, Ms. Khamvongsa was a Program Associate with the Ford Foundation's Peace and Social Justice Program. She worked on funding portfolios related to U.S. political participation and representation, and on strengthening global civil society. Channapha has worked with immigrant and refugee communities on topics ranging from education to health care access. She studied at George Mason University and Oxford University, and earned a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University.
Virgil Wiebe
Director of Clinical Education, University of St. Thomas
Mr. Wiebe has served on MAG America's board since 2001, and actively participates in efforts to curb the use of landmines and cluster bombs in armed conflicts. As a consultant to the Mennonite Central Committee, he has attended United Nations conferences on landmines and conventional weapons, and has addressed diplomats on international humanitarian law matters. Virgil has a strong background in refugee advocacy, including four years as Director of Immigration Services and Supervising Attorney for Interfaith Community Services in New York City.
Loddy E. Tolzmann
Immigration Attorney, Tolzmann and Nordell LLP
Ms. Tolzmann studied at the University of Minnesota (Carlson School of Management) and University of St. Thomas School of law, earning a Bachelor's degree in Business/Marketing and Juris Doctorate degree, respectively. Working in the field of immigration law, she has extensive and well-rounded experience serving the indigent in asylum, human rights, refugee resettlement, torture, human trafficking, gender-based violence, and deportation defense. She co-founded Twin Cities Boxing, an amateur boxing nonprofit program that serves at-risk youth in abstaining from gang violence, substance abuse, and juvenile delinquency. Through her childhood experiences, Ms. Tolzmann has made it her mission in life to do what she can to advocate and provide for those in need at various levels including locally, nationally, and abroad.
Gail G. Uilkema
CEO and President, Lantern Projects, Inc.
For over 35 years, Dr. Uilkema worked in the education field; first as a teacher and principal and then as the Superintendent of two nationally recognized school districts. In 2002, she received the National Superintendent of the Year award from the American Association of School Administrators. In 2003, she retired from the Superintendency, but she continues her work in education as an international consultant. Upon retirement, she founded Lantern Projects, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of individuals and communities around the world through projects in health, education, and the environment. She also is an active Rotarian and serves as a docent at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. She and her husband John have been involved in humanitarian mine action campaigns since 2006 when they took their first trip to Southeast Asia to view firsthand the devastation anti-personnel landmines can cause to a community. Dr. Uilkema joined the MAG America Board in early 2011.