Team

Meet the SBDC Team

Our consultants provide professional expertise and guidance.

Christine Fischer

Regional Director

As Regional Director, Christine is often the first point of contact for the Southwest Small Business Development Center. She has been with the SBDC since 2016 and is based out of Southwest MN State University in Marshall. She is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) and the Program Coordinator for Junior Achievement in the Lyon County Area. Christine has a passion for numbers and is excited to help business owners or future business owners achieve their dreams.

Christine has a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education as well as an MBA from SMSU.

In addition, Christine spent 25 years working for a local company and has experience in many aspects of business. Christine spends her free time at the lake, attending dirt track races, or reading a good romance novel.

Kris Boedigheimer

Associate Regional Director

Kris is the Associate Director of the Southwest Small Business Development Center. Kris is excited to assist southwest Minnesota residents achieve their business goals. Kris has a strong technical background having worked as a software developer. She also has experience as a business analyst providing solutions to business problems. She has worked in the medical software and retail industries including numerous areas of business including: tax accounting; accounts payable; procurement; and document management.

Kris has a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Southwest Minnesota State University. Kris is also the Program Coordinator for Junior Achievement in the Lyon County area. She is a conference speaker, group fitness instructor, 3^rd degree black belt in Taekwondo, and certified self-defense instructor. She enjoys spending her free time enjoying family, traveling, sewing, and reading.

Ruth Ann Karty

Professional Business Consultant

Ruth Ann has been a Professional Business Consultant for the SW MN SBDC for more than 25 years. Her areas of expertise include business planning, cash flow projection, loan packaging, financial and profitability analysis, exit/succession planning, managing record-keeping, financial literacy, resolving pre-start and post-start issues, and various other aspects of business development.

Ruth Ann has worked with all types of businesses across the 18 County Region of Southwest Minnesota. Ruth Ann was honored to be selected Minnesota’s SBA Financial Services Champion in 2014.

Ruth Ann and her husband live on a farm in Yellow Medicine County. She is a grandmother of nine. Ruth Ann is dedicated to supporting economic development, education, and job creation in Southwest Minnesota to provide opportunities for future generations to live and work here.

Pamela Lehmann

Professional Business Consultant

Since 2015, Pam has served as a Professional Business Consultant with the SBDC, leveraging her extensive experience in economic development, vocational education, finance, management, human resources, recruitment, sales, and marketing, including social media and basic website design. Pam provides assistance with pre-venture planning, business planning, cash flow projections, profitability analysis, loan packaging, succession planning, digital marketing, business branding, human resources, bookkeeping, financial literacy, and various other business development or expansion projects.

Pam is currently certified by the National Development Council as an Economic Development Finance Professional and has completed training for the QuickBooks Desktop ProAdvisor examination.

Pam lives in rural Boyd MN on the family farm with her husband Dean and they are blessed to have all of their children and grandchildren living nearby.

Berny Berger

Professional Business Consultant

Berny has been an SBDC consultant since January of 2017. Her prior experience encompasses owning her own small business, 20 years in business accounting and office management, and a 19-year tenure within the business finance program at Southwest Initiative Foundation. During her time there, she spent 17 years managing their SBA and USDA Microloan programs. Berny also assists her husband in their farming operation near Gibbon, MN. She thoroughly enjoys working with entrepreneurs and loves the work she is able to do to assist them.

Liz Struve

Professional Business Consultant

Liz has filled many roles within the SBDC, with over 20 years previously serving as the SBDC regional director.

In her new role as a Professional Business Consultant, she provides confidential one-on-one assistance to current or prospective small business owners.

Liz and her husband live in rural Slayton and enjoy spending time with their three children and six grandchildren.

Paul Pierson

Professional Business Consultant

Paul Pierson provided services to southwest Minnesota for over thirty years as a USDA Business and Industry Area Specialist.

Paul has maintained his role as a Professional Small Business Development Center consultant for the Southwest SBDC, providing guidance to both startup ventures and existing businesses within the region.

Duane Hoversten

Professional Business Consultant

Duane has been a part time consultant with the SW Minnesota SBDC for 25 plus years. He has a BS degree from Mankato State University and an MBA from Cardinal Stritch. Duane has started and owned a number of his different businesses. He also taught Small Business Management at Ridgewater College and South Central Colleges for 20 years, giving a broad background and experience to work with small businesses in the region.

Ryan Jurgenson

Professional Business Consultant

Ryan worked as an engineer at Hutchinson Technology for nearly 10 years and then started AKI with 4 other engineers. Ryan has lived in Hutchinson with his wife Stacy since 1988. He and Stacy have three daughters and six grandchildren, who all live in the Twin Cities. Ryan’s Hobbies include golf, hunting and fishing and chasing the grandkids.

Cynthia Zimmer-Robinson

Professional Business Consultant

For more than 5 years, Cindi has served as a dedicated business consultant at SBDC, also playing a crucial role as the link between SBDC and the Lower Sioux Community. Drawing from her own experience as a business owner, she possesses a deep comprehension of the requirements specific to Native American entrepreneurs.

Alongside a colleague, Cindi will be taking the lead in hosting workshops throughout the upcoming autumn and winter seasons, with a special emphasis on Native American arts and crafts.

Residing in Redwood Falls, Cindi shares her home with her husband, with her children and grandchildren living nearby.

Southwest Minnesota State University and the Minnesota SBDC Network is a proud part of the Department of Employment and Economic Development in the State of Minnesota. It is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact the Southwest Minnesota Small Business Development Center or call 507.537.7386.