Board of Directors
FIRE is currently seeking new board members!
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Maria Olson
Maria is a volunteer tutor and Board Member with
FIRE. She was formerly a senior research specialist with the Foreign
Service Institute, Philippines as well as a international studies
lecturer at two universities in the Philippines. She has also studied
International Studies in the Philippines and Human Resource Management
in Australia.
Kristin Riegel
Kristin Riegel is a sophomore at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota where she is majoring in Humanities, Media, and Cultural Studies and minoring in Sociology. Kristin was introduced to FIRE in September 2006 through Macalester’s Lives of Commitment program. Since this time, Kristin has worked as a Children’s Literacy volunteer and as the Thursday night coordinator. In addition to FIRE, Kristin is involved in numerous organizations on the Macalester campus including Mac Protestants, the Macalester Multifaith Council, and Chiasma. In her spare time, Kristin enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
Wendy Slade
Wendy Slade started at FIRE as an intern in April 2005. She never intended to become a tutor, or thought she would enjoy teaching, but she did both, and fell in love with the FIRE mission. Her students meant so much to her that she convinced her advisor to allow her to do another internship to continue her work at FIRE! Wendy graduated from Metropolitan State University with her B.A. in Social Sciences in May 2006, and has continued her volunteer service with FIRE. She transitioned from tutor to morning lead position and joined the Board in March 2007.
A "Navy brat," Wendy grew up in Puerto Rico, Gulfport, Mississippi, and Greece. Both her parents were from St Paul, so when her dad retired, they naturally moved here. She understands first hand how difficult it is to communicate when you don't share a language.
Wendy is joyfully married to John and they both love raising their boxer dog, TaTonka, Queen of the Prairie. They live on the east side of St Paul and enjoy traveling anywhere, gardening, socializing and entertaining.
Nathan Thompson
Nathan Thompson is an ESL teacher and co-founder
of FIRE. He has worked and volunteered in the ABE field for over ten
years. He currently works as an ESL teacher at MORE Multicultural
School, and was a volunteer ESL teacher at Hmong-American Partnership
from 1998-2004. As a co-founder of FIRE, his desire is to be a part of a
program that empowers the people it serves. He is also the primary
writer of FIRE's mission statement and concept paper, and has worked on
the school's curriculum from its beginning days. Nathan has a B.S. in
English from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and an M.A. in
Liberal Studies from Hamline University. He was also born and raised in
St. Paul, and considers FIRE's work to be an extension of giving back to
the community he grew up in.