Member Profiles

Connie Berg

Connie Lee Berg is enrolled as a member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians and is a resident of the Red Lake Indian Reservation. She currently serves on the Bemidji State University/Bemidji NW Technical Institute as an American Indian Advisor. She has served as the Director, Giniw Waakaa’igan [Golden Eagle House] for an accumulative of 30 years. She has served as a Board Member for Red Lake Homeless Shelter and Little Rock Community Board and is an Instructor for American Red Cross of CPR/AED/First Aid, and Narcan Administration. Connie was in San Diego for a few years with Sycuan Inter-Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation Services. Connie also has also worked at Bemidji Merit Care Clinic in Administration. She was part of the Tribal Social Services as Commissioner of the Indian Child Welfare Act Board and served as Secretary for the Commission. She was appointed for several terms by several governors and served on State Rehabilitation Council for the Blind, Former Chair of the Statewide Independent Living Council and served on the State Task Force for Suicide Prevention. Connie has also worked as a certified tenant services specialist, with the Energy Assistance Program, with Law Enforcement and Summer Youth Programs. Connie holds several degrees and has had vast training in VR, Chemical Dependency, MH, and disability specific training too numerous to mention.

Frank Eller

Hello, my name is Frank Eller. I am originally from Belcourt, North Dakota where I grew up on the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians Reservation. I earned an Associate of Arts degree at Turtle Mountain Community College. I have lived in the Twin Cities since December 2016. I love learning foreign languages and I am currently studying French, Spanish and Mandarin with a few friends. I am currently learning how to cook using techniques for the blind and visually impaired. I have been serving on the State Rehabilitation Council for the Blind for two and a half years, and I am looking forward to serving again for my second term.

Sue Fager

Sue Fager has more than 40 years of experience working within government, non-profit, and community-based organizations. She has provided advocacy, training, and technical assistance to the disability community, families, and supporting professionals with a focus on transition-aged youth, through her work at PACER, the Independent Living and Developmental Disabilities systems. Sue brings a passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion driven by lived experience. She specializes in translating complex information so that it is useful for the people it is meant to support and enjoys tracing historical events in civil rights legislation. Sue is the new Transition to Adulthood Coordinator at PACER.

Tom Heinl

Tom Heinl is a 79-year-old blind man who has been blind for over 50 years. He has been a lifelong resident of St. Paul and Maplewood. He was employed for 30 years with Ramsey County as a Property Tax Information Specialist. He belongs to United Blind of MN. He is a widower and has one son. His hobbies include electronics and computers.

Patricia McGee

Hello, my name is Pat McGee recently reappointed to the State Rehabilitation Council – Blind (SRCB). I have a degenerative eye condition called Retintis Pigmentosa which progressively decreases vision over time. My Mother and older brother both had the disease so I have known my entire life that blindness was my fate as there is no cure. I have four daughters, two of whom also have the disease. My mother and brother basically gave up on life to stay home because of decreasing vision. I want to be a role model for my kids so I try to stay active. I love to travel, especially to warm weather beaches during our winters. I hope my membership on the Council may help others with later onset vision loss to realize that life continues to be good.

Jeff Mihelich

I have been past President of the American Council Of The Blind of Minnesota, I currently am an active participant in that organization. I also am a member of blind pride, international, and American Council Of The Blind national affiliate. I have attended vision loss resources in the past for adjustment to blindness, training, and have used that skill set for my employment over the years. I currently manage residential rental property in South Minneapolis.

My husband and I currently live in Crystal, he works for Fairview Southdale Hospital, he is an emergency room CT technician.

Last year we installed a waterfall in the backyard, we are both looking forward to spending a lot of time outdoors this summer, and enjoying the sounds and sites of the waterfall and the birds it will attract.

Corbb O'Connor

Corbb became a member three years ago. He has chaired the SRCB for the last two years. He is entering serving his second term.

Judy Sanders

Judy Sanders grew up in Boston and Denver graduated from the University of Colorado where she studied to be a teacher of public speaking and social studies. Judy experienced a rude awakening when the Denver Public Schools would not hire anyone with less than 20/40 vision in the better eye. Judy is not totally blind and could not be considered for employment. It was because of this problem that she discovered the National Federation of the Blind. Through her connection with the NFB she obtained a position as a substitute teacher. Some other careers involved serving as the director of the Minnesota office of Congressman Jerry Sikorski and working with blind children and adults through BLIND, Inc. and State Services for the Blind. Judy is retired and continues to volunteer with NFB. She serves on the Statewide Independent Living Council and the State Rehabilitation Council for the Blind.

Ryan Strunk

Ryan has been an advocate for fellow blind people for his entire adult life through more than twenty years of membership in the National Federation of the Blind. Since 2017, he has served as the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota, where he has led a variety of legislative and social initiatives. Ryan's advocacy work extends to his professional career as well. He has worked as a political fundraiser, a Braille and technology instructor for the Ho'Opono Center for the Blind in Hawaii and BLIND Inc. in Minnesota, and an accessibility consultant for Target. He currently works as an accessibility manager at UnitedHealthcare.

In his free time, Ryan enjoys music composition and production, and he performs improvisational comedy.