Staff Directory
Duane Benson is the Executive Director of the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation. He also was the Executive Director of the Minnesota Business Partnership from 1994 to 2003. Benson served in the Minnesota Senate from 1980 to 1994, and was the Senate Minority Leader for a period during that time. He graduated with honors from Hamline University. Benson was drafted into the NFL and played eleven seasons as a linebacker for the Oakland Raiders, Atlanta Falcons, and Houston Oilers. He continues to own and operate a cattle farm outside of Lanesboro and is active in numerous civic and charitable organizations. Benson is also a member of the Minnesota State Colleges & Universities Board of Trustees. Barbara Yates is the Director of Program and Operations for the Minnesota Early Learning Foundation. Yates, a veteran state education official, was a key early learning administrator for Governor’s Carlson, Ventura and Pawlenty. For the past ten years, she focused on leading, coordinating and evaluating early childhood care and education programs for the state of Minnesota. Yates has many years of earned wisdom and expertise in assessing the policy issues, designing flexible and community-driven solutions to defined needs and evaluating programmatic challenges in efforts to ensure that all children reach kindergarten ready to succeed in school. She has over twenty years of experience managing grants programs at all levels of state government. She served as Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner in the Minnesota Department of Education, as well as in a variety of managerial positions.
|
