As a Private Independent Family Foundation, the Board of Trustees is primarily comprised of family members and descendants of the founders Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Andersen. As with any 501c3 organization, the trustees make important oversight decisions regarding the administration of the foundation. The board also convenes to make decisions regarding grantmaking for the organization.
Directors and Officers
Julian L. Andersen, President & Director
Julian Andersen was raised and schooled in Minnesota, graduating from Carleton College in 1964. He completed a 30 year professorial career at a Washington community college in 1996, and now shares his time with his family in Seattle and a few Minnesota endeavors. He enjoys reading, live music, travel, major junior hockey, and the terrain and the terroir of the Washington Cascades.
Amy Andersen, Vice President & Director
Amy Andersen has served on the Elmer L. & Eleanor J. Andersen board since 1995. Formerly an outdoor educator and bookseller, she is currently engaged with several nonprofits in rural Wyoming, and has a special interest in libraries and the arts.
Charles (Chuck) Dayton, Director
Chuck Dayton is an environmental lawyer who practiced in Minneapolis for 40 years, representing environmental groups as well as corporations. He led the fight in the 1970’s to increase the Wilderness protection for the Boundary Waters Wilderness, and was named by the Minnesota Chapter of the Sierra Club as the Environmentalist of the Decade for that and other work. Since his retirement, he has served as a volunteer on energy and global warming issues and is a frequent speaker on those issues, to student, civic and church groups.
Mari Oyanagi Eggum, Treasurer & Director
For twenty years Mari Oyanagi Eggum was employed as the Foundation Administrator of the Elmer L. & Eleanor J. Andersen Foundation and the Trillium Family Foundation and now, in retirement, serves as a trustee for both foundations. She has served and is serving as a volunteer and board member for several community organizations and foundations. With undergraduate and graduate degrees in mathematics education from the University of Minnesota, she is a former teacher. In addition to serving as a community volunteer, she enjoys family and friends, reading, travel, yoga, and origami.
Todd Otis, Director
Todd Otis was raised in Minnesota by a family with a strong sense of public service. He graduated from Harvard with a BA in History and received an MS in Journalism from Columbia. His public service has included serving in the Peace Corps in Senegal; serving for 12 years in the Minnesota House of Representatives; and advocating for clean energy and early childhood education. He is now a Senior Vice President at Think Small. He enjoys tennis, reading, spiritual exploration, movies and being a father and grandfather.
Terry L. Slye, Secretary
Terry Slye is an attorney at Briggs and Morgan, where he co-chairs the firm’s Nonprofit Organizations team. He is active with a number of non-profit organizations and foundations, and is a frequent speaker and writer for Minnesota Continuing Legal Education. He enjoys golf, travel, reading and Italian discussion group.
Staff
Kate Lawson, Foundation Administrator
Kate has been with the Elmer L. & Eleanor J. Andersen Foundation since 2017. Formerly in corporate philanthropy, she holds a master’s degree in arts administration from St. Mary’s University. She’s passionate about the arts and the philanthropic community. She enjoys family, DIY projects and travel.
