Meet Board President Ivan Ludmer
In November, Simpson Housing Services elected several new members to its Board of Directors. It also appointed new leaders to the board’s Executive Committee. That includes Ivan Ludmer, who is taking on his new role as president of the board.
Ivan has been on Simpson’s board since 2018. He first got involved with the agency through connections from a previous position at Dorsey & Whitney, and remained invested after taking on a new role as an assistant city attorney for the City of Minneapolis.
His reasons for why are pretty straightforward. He believes housing is a “fundamental” part of the human experience.
“We know that the effects of lack of secure housing last for generations, and it doesn’t take long into a lack of secure housing to start feeling [those effects],” he says.
But on a more personal level, he believes housing programs helped his family get to where it is now.
“My mother was a refugee from Hungary in the communist period,” he says. She never ended up homeless, and he credits that fact to the availability of agencies along her journey – first in Vienna, then in Germany, and then in Canada – that could help. Being able to take that “leap of faith,” as he calls it, and safely land, is not something everyone is fortunate enough to do.
“With the unwillingness or inability of government to step in and solve these issues, it becomes so important that organizations like Simpson are there,” he says, “As part of, at least, the solution to help work to stop the cycle of homelessness.”
One of Ivan’s goals for his term is keeping his fellow board members integrated as a team and involved in Simpson’s day-to-day work. That includes volunteering (Ivan has been involved in serving meals and Simpson’s tutoring program). That can be a little tricky during a time of distanced meetings, but he’s confident his colleagues can meet the challenge head on. Vice Chair Lee Thoreson and Governance Chair Patricia Harmon are contributing to this by helping to pioneer a “board buddy” system so tenured members can mentor and acclimatize their newer colleagues.
Ivan’s also eager to watch the progress of Simpson’s campaign to rebuild its shelter and add two floors of affordable housing – particularly the increased level of dignity that can be achieved for shelter guests, and the better outcomes by offering greater access to resources and services.
We’re thrilled to welcome Ivan to his new leadership role. The following are the members of Simpson’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors:
Executive Committee
- President: Ivan Ludmer
- Vice President: Lee Thoresen
- Secretary: Malissa Adams
- Treasurer: Victor Okoye
- Former President: John Green
Board members:
- Sharon Anders-Mahto
- Dan Griep
- Patricia Harmon
- Raegan Henderson
- Rachel Clark Hughey+
- Jill LaViolette
- Megan Mahony
- Dominic McQuerry+
- John Nolan+
- Steve Proeschel+
- Jan Russell
- Kim Senn
- Tony Szczepaniak
- Don Vermillion+
- Audra Williams
(+Board member beginning their first term)
Learn more about our board members here.