Board of Directors
Rebecca Sandberg
Rebecca Sandberg is the Secretary and a director of the Foundation. She is Senior Counsel in the legal department of Pine River Capital Management L.P., a global asset management firm based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. During her legal career, Rebecca has focused her practice in the areas of securities law, corporate and venture finance, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and compliance. Rebecca received her Juris Doctorate from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota and her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Katey Taylor
Katey Taylor is the President and Co Founder of the Abbey's Hope Charitable Foundation. Abbey Taylor was disemboweled in a kiddie pool June 29th 2007, she was entrapped on a faulty main drain. There have been at least 83 pool & spa suction entrapment cases nationwide in the last ten years. In March of 2008 Abbey lost her battle but Abbey's hope was that what happened to her would never happen to another child. In her name, Abbey's Hope Charitable Foundation is formed in July 2008. And to fulfill her legacy Katey along with her husband Scott work to advocate and educate others of the dangers in and around pools. Katey has a Bachelor of Science in family education, child protection and public health from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. In December 2008, Katey received her Certified Pool/Spa Operator (CPO) certification from the National Swimming Pool Foundation. She is on the Advisory Board of Minnesota SafeKids, a member of the National Drowning Prevention alliance, as well as a member of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.
Scott Taylor
Scott Taylor is the Vice President and Chairman of the Foundation. Scott is first and foremost a husband to Kathryn and a father of four beautiful daughters, one of whom is Abigail Taylor, at whose request this Foundation was created and for whom it is named. Scott has been employed in the financial communications industry for 19 years as a Senior Vice President of Sales for Bowne & Co. for the past 10 years, and with Merrill Corporation for the preceding nine years as an Account Executive and Project Manager. His responsibilities have included client relationship management, creating new business opportunities and assisting clients with all aspects of their IPO, debt and equity transactions, mergers and acquisitions, virtual dataroom, and reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as well as mentoring and training of new staff members. Scott attended Minnesota State University at Mankato, studying business marketing and industrial psychology. Scott has volunteered with several local nonprofit charitable organizations, including Children’s HeartLink, Child Guidance Program at Washburn Center for Children, and St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church. He has also been very active in local fundraising by attending and donating to several charitable events each year, including Children’s Cancer Research Fund, the Children’s Miracle Network and many others.
Kim Ess
Kimberly Ess is the Treasurer and a director of the Foundation. She is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Halleland Lewis Nilan & Johnson P.A., a mid-sized law firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For more than ten years, Kim has been in charge of the everyday operations of the firm, including the areas of Finance, Human Resources, Information Systems, Marketing, Office Services and Research Systems. She is directly involved in strategic plan development and implementation, short and long-term financial planning, and hiring decisions. Prior to joining Halleland Lewis, Kim was a Certified Public Accountant in the Audit and Small Business Services Departments of Boulay, Heutmaker, Zibell & Co. PLLP in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her experience includes rendering interim accounting and tax planning for various sized businesses, providing controllership services on a short-term or transitory basis specializing in general ledger management, internal accounting procedures, payroll, employee benefit plan administration, financial statement preparation and analysis, and coordinating various attestation engagements for non-profit companies. Kim received her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Minnesota State University at Mankato and graduated Magna Cum Laude. She became a licensed CPA in 1993, although her CPA license is currently inactive.
Andy Olsen
Berthel A. Olsen (Andy) is a director of the Foundation. Andy is a cofounder of Carlson Olsen Financial Partners, a financial and investment planning firm. He has been in the financial services industry since 1997, beginning his career with RBC Wealth Management. Prior to 1997, Andy spent three years with Arthur Andersen & Company in the small business consulting division and 14 years with Kimberly Clark Corporation in finance and brand management/marketing. His 25-plus years of diverse business and life experiences give him the ability to look at issues differently, ask the right questions and ultimately provide a well-rounded approach to creating the “right solutions” for clients based upon needs in a given situation. His philosophy is built around doing the “next right thing” for his clients, acting with independence and integrity always. Andy has earned designations as both a Certified Financial Planner and an Accredited Asset Management Specialist. As a believer in ongoing continued life learning, he has recently begun working on his Certified Management Investment Consultant designation through The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
James Paugh
James Paugh is a director of the Foundation. He is a Vice President responsible for the Custody and Fund Accounting for the Senior Loan Services relationships at State Street Bank in Boston, Massachusetts. Jim has been with State Street Bank since January 1994 and has 15 years experience in the financial services industry. His teams provide the day-to-day custody, fund and partnership accounting and senior loan services for over 70 client relationships with over $100 billion in assets. Jim began his career in Fund Accounting at State Street Bank after moving from Minnesota in 1993. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minnesota.