Tammy Miller took office as North Dakota’s 39th lieutenant governor on January 3, 2023. A Brocket native, Lt. Governor Miller is a certified public accountant and former CEO and board chair of Fargo-based Border States Electric where, under her leadership, the electrical distributor grew from under $500 million in annual sales to nearly $2.5 billion. Miller earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master of business administration degree from Minnesota State University Moorhead and spent eight years early in her career as a public accountant. As lieutenant governor, Miller serves as president of the state Senate and chairs the Capitol Grounds Planning Commission, North Dakota Trade Office, Task Force for Military Issues in North Dakota, Northern Plains Unmanned Systems Authority, State Investment Board, State Board of Equalization and Early Childhood Council.
Mike Lafor has served in North Dakota’s House of Representatives since 2015 and became House majority leader in 2022. He has served on the House’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee and chaired the Industry, Business, and Labor Committee. Lafor is a Dickinson State University graduate and is the president of Blackridge Enterprises, LLC, a real estate firm based in Dickinson, ND.
Prior to being appointed commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Commerce in September 2022 by Gov. Doug Burgum, Teigen served as North Dakota Department of Commerce’s director of Economic Development and Finance (ED&F) for two years. His private sector experience includes nearly eight years in leadership positions with Mind Shift, an innovative business solution to chronic underemployment and unemployment of individuals on the autism spectrum, and serving as president and chief financial officer of Protosthetics, a 3-D printing company. Teigen currently serves on the board of directors for the Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corp.’s Growth Initiative Fund. Teigen earned a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship from the University of North Dakota and a certificate in alternative investments from Harvard Business School.
Doug Goehring has been North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner since 2009. A third-generation farmer, Commissioner Goehring, along with his son, Dustin, operates a 2,000-acre, no-till farm near Menoken, ND. Goehring is a member of the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association, the North Dakota Grain Growers Association, the North Dakota Soybean Association, the North Dakota Corn Growers Association and the National Association of Corporate Directors. Commissioner Goehring attended Bismarck State College and is a licensed medical laboratory technician. He and his wife, Annette, have six children, seven grandchildren and attend Evangel Assembly of God in Bismarck.
Rick Brandenburger is the president of Richland IFC, a specialty food-grade agriculture company that started in 1999. The company exports more than half of its products globally, and Brandenburger has more than 32 years of experience in senior management positions and exports throughout Europe and Asia. He has a passion for value-added ag processing for North Dakota and believes that the state will have a global impact. With experience in sales trips and trade missions to more than 28 countries, he understands many of the challenges and intricacies of exporting and is excited to be an advocate for North Dakota.
Beverly Bauman Flaten is Vice President of International Marketing for JM Grain in Garrison, North Dakota. After a career in education administration, she joined her son, Justin, and husband, Marvin, to found JM Grain, where they began exporting peas into Canada to help their family and local farmers in the Makoti-Roseglen area receive more value added for their products. They now export pulse products to 38 countries and won North Dakota’s Exporter of the Year award in 2012. Flaten received her bachelor’s from Minot State University, master’s in organizational leadership from Montana State University and a doctorate in organizational change from the University of Montana.
Kermit Nash counsels domestic and international clients on legal issues connected with their business operations, governance, strategy and investments. Privately held domestic and international corporations rely on Kermit to advise them on transactions ranging from mergers and acquisitions and sales development to distribution, licensing and financing. In his nearly 20 years of practice, he has represented both acquirers and investors, including private equity funds and venture capital firms, hedge funds and wealth funds. This breadth of experience, together with the hundreds of deals he has led, positions him to handle complex transactions involving multiple jurisdictions. Kermit advises offshore companies on their U.S. market-entry, including providing counsel on compliance, operational requirements and corporate strategies. He, in turn, works with U.S.-based companies on their offshore investments and relationships with non-U.S. partners. Beyond the borders his work crosses, Kermit is counsel to companies in industries including software, agribusiness, biotechnology, life sciences, energy, engineering, food processing, manufacturing, and e-commerce. Many of these industries are highly regulated, which demonstrates Kermit’s ability to guide clients through difficult legal environments. Kermit’s understanding of issues affecting businesses and their deals is also informed by several experiences beyond his law practice, including his studies in ethics and comparative international law at Rothberg International School, Hebrew University, in Jerusalem, Israel and his service on for profit and non-profit boards. Kermit also teaches business law, contracts, and business ethics as an adjunct professor at Northwestern College.
Bill is a 4th generation native North Dakota Rancher and Farmer, Educated in Center, North Dakota and college at North Dakota State University. Bill has been the managing partner of Price Cattle Ranch LLP and the managing partner of Missouri River Feeders LLP, a permitted feedyard and diversified farm. He also serves as a Governor of Quality Dairy Growers LLC, and Sunnyside Feeds LLC which is a partnership between Prices and Westway Group Inc. which is a Global manufacturer and distributor of liquid animal feed supplements with a extensive global network of 54 operating Facilities through out North America, Europe and Asia. Bill is one of the Board of Governors that had started Red Trail Energy which is a 55 million gallon Ethanol plant located in Richardton, North Dakota. Along with that Bill is also one of the founding partners and Governors of North Dakota Sow Center which is a 10,000 head isowean facility. Bill has also served as Chairman for the North Dakota Feeder Council, He is also a member of the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association, and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
Since 2002, Thomas Shorma has been CEO/President of Wahpeton-based WCCO Belting, Inc., a privately-owned manufacturer of agricultural and industrial rubber belting and conveyor products. During his tenure with WCCO, the company has received the President of United States E-Award for export excellence, the E-STAR Award for sustaining export growth and was named the 2003 North Dakota Exporter of the Year. Shorma currently chairs the North Dakota District Export Council. He is a business, marketing, and advertising graduate of the University of North Dakota and the North Dakota State College of Science. He lives in Fargo with his wife, Julie, and has four children.
Sherm Wehlander has more than forty years of experience in logistics, supply chain, manufacturing, export sales, import & export logistics, and trade compliance. He has served his entire career at Doosan Bobcat, and currently serves as the Director of Global Trade and Compliance for Doosan Bobcat and related companies, where he oversees all aspects of North America/Oceania import and export operations, as well as other trade and cross-border activities. Wehlander lives in Fargo with his wife, Sue, and his children and grandchildren live nearby. He is originally from the Milnor/DeLamere area of North Dakota.
