The Lloyd K. Johnson Foundation is happy to welcome three new members to its board of directors. Kirsten Cruikshank, Doug Thompson, and Ed Crawford have each been elected to serve a three-year term with the Foundation.  

“We are excited to welcome at Kirsten, Doug, and Ed to the Foundation,” stated Erik Torch, Executive Director of the Foundation. “They will provide great insights, knowledge, and connections to guide the Foundation in our effort to serve North Shore communities.”

Kirsten Cruikshank has a Masters in Social Work degree from University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) and a background in community-based work with older adults and family caregivers. Kirsten was the Director of a nonprofit home and community based services organization for fifteen years, helping older adults live independently in the Two Harbors area. She then worked with the Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging (AAA) on service development under the statewide Eldercare Development Partnership Program, and administered Older American’s Act supportive services grants in the 7-county area. She is currently a community-based researcher for the Memory Keeper’s Medical Discovery Team UMN Medical School - Duluth Campus, working on Community Engaged Rural Dementia and Alzheimers Research (CERDAR). She lives in rural Lake County with her husband Dan, and has three young adult children in college. Kirsten and Dan are owners of Cedar Coffee Company, Spokengear Cyclery and CEDAERO Bikepack Manufacturing located in Two Harbors.  

Doug Thompson is an Assistant Professor in the American Indian Studies Department at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD). He teaches courses for the Master of Tribal Administration and Governance (MTAG) program, the Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship (MTRES) program, and the Tribal Administration and Governance (TAG) program. He is from the Redbone community of southwestern Louisiana.

Prior to joining the American Indian Studies Department at UMD, he served in various roles as an environmental attorney, Tribal advocate, and freelance writer on Tribal sovereignty and Treaty Rights. Doug also teaches the law of Sovereignty and Treaty Rights at the Leech Lake Tribal College and natural resources law at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Previously, he taught administrative and natural resources law at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Ed Crawford is currently an adjunct  instructor at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He retired in June 2015 as the Assistant Superintendent with the Duluth Public Schools.  He was principal at Duluth Denfeld high school for over six years, where he led a drop out prevention, retention, and graduation initiative.  He was also a Social Worker, Guidance Counselor, Assistant Principal and Co-Principal at East HS. He is a 1978 graduate of the College of St. Scholastica, earning a bachelor of arts degree in Psychology. He earned a Masters of Science in education from the University of Wisconsin – Superior and a sixth-year certificate in educational administration from St. Cloud State University. Ed received the College’s Sister Ann Edward Scanlon Award in 2005, and he was named the 2009 Northeast Division Principal of the Year.  He was inducted into the Duluth East High School Hall of Fame in 2019.  Ed currently serves on the Duluth Area Family YMCA Heritage Foundation Board of Trustees, The Northland Foundation Emeritus Trustee Group, the Duluth Sisters Cities International Board of Directors and the Harbor Point Credit Union Board of Directors.

The Foundation also acknowledges and thanks Susan Michels, Rick Smith, and Salaam Witherspoon for their service to the Foundation as they complete their terms. Their service to help the Foundation through leadership and board transitions is deeply appreciated. 

More information about the Lloyd K Johnson Foundation can be found at: https://lloydkjohnsonfoundation.org/about-us/