Nate Hultgren is the CEO of the Hultgren Farms. He is a fourth generation farmer and farms in partnership with his brother, Noah, and father, Duane. Hultgren Farms is a diverse crop farm raising sugarbeets, corn, soybeans, kidney beans, sweet corn, peas, industrial hemp and alfalfa. The company also has a pastured cow-calf beef operation and sells this beef at retail through farmers markets, subscription delivery, and online. Hultgren Farms is a partner in Meadow Star Dairy, which is located adjacent to the farm and milks 8,500 cows. Hultgren Farms is a partner in CY Harvesting, which chops forages for the dairy. Nate serves as chairman on the board of directors for Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative and is past president of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association. He is a 1995 MACCRAY graduate and has a Finance degree from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He and his wife Jaime have five children: Lily, Nora, Elias, Ruby, and Oliver. In his spare time he enjoys golf and fantasy football.

I am the Ag Lender Vice President at Bravera Bank in Kerkhoven. Working at a small community bank, I have the opportunity to wear many hats. My primary role is an Ag Lender. I am grateful for the path that has lend me to lending and the experiences I've received along the way. I have three kids. The KMS district is where we call home. We enjoy four wheeling, camping, fishing and road trips. I am excited to be part of West Central MN CEO and look forward to watching the communities come together to make this program a success.

Liza Fagen is a founding Board member of the West Central MN CEO program, representing Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative (SMBSC). She is enthusiastic about the unique, non-traditional educational opportunities the CEO program offers to four local school districts.Year after year, Liza has seen firsthand how the program elevates students' sense of responsibility, professionalism, and communication skills. She firmly believes that students who fully engage and challenge themselves in the CEO program gain a significant competitive edge in the real world. In her professional role, Liza serves as the Executive Administrative Assistant to the President and CEO of SMBSC in Renville. SMBSC is a farmer-owned beet sugar extraction cooperative founded in 1972. The cooperative produces refined sugar, liquid sugar, pulp pellets, molasses, and separator molasses solubles (SMS) from three to four million tons of sugarbeets annually. Liza is a graduate of BDRSH High School (now Renville County West) and earned a degree in Agricultural Business Management from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She and her husband, Brent, reside in rural Sacred Heart with their two daughters, who attend Central Minnesota Christian. The family enjoys traveling, taking side-by-side rides, sports, and spending time at the lake.

Rachel Aeikens owns December Day Creative LLC, a marketing consulting agency. Many small businesses want to take advantage of social media but get held back by too little time and attention needed to plan and implement their marketing strategy. Rachel and her team step in to help these businesses tell their stories, build their brands and follow through on consistent marketing that serves their customers and communities. Rachel graduated from South Dakota State University in 2015 with a degree in Advertising. She has worked in many areas in the marketing world over the years, including jobs in non-profits, retail, and manufacturing. After the birth of her son, she started DDC in 2019. She lives with her husband, Jeremy, and three children outside of Maynard. Rachel enjoys sending handwritten cards, going outside, and spending summers at the lake!

Jon De Groot is the Superintendent of Central Minnesota Christian School. His passion is to develop leaders and prepare students to encounter Jesus throughout their educational journey and equip them for life. Before coming to CMCS, he spent nine years planting a church in Sioux Falls and another nine years working as a campus minister and theology professor at Dordt University. He obtained a Master of Divinity with an emphasis in Transformational Leadership from Bethel University. He is happily married to Kara, his wife of 19 years, and is the proud father of two active boys, Moses and Griffin. Jon is a cycling enthusiast and triathlete. He loves to read broadly, roast his own coffee, lead worship, and dabble in Jazz.

Peyton Mills is the High School Principal at Renville County West. Prior to coming to RCW, Peyton was a high school social studies teacher in central Minnesota for one year in Parkers Prairie and two years in Waubun Ogema White Earth. Peyton is excited to join the West Central CEOprogram as he feels like it is a great way to provide authentic education to students. The program allows students to practice real world skills and to prepare themselves for whatever their plans might be after high school, whether that be post secondary enrollment or out into the job force.

Jordan Zeller is Renville County’s Economic Developer. He has nearly 20 years of economic development experience working with entrepreneurs looking to start businesses, and well as helping existing business grow and thrive.