Board Members
Silas Danielson
Maria Bevacqua
Victoria Hanson
Pat Earle
Al Kluever
Mary Bliesmer
Deanna Henderson
Lori Hodapp-Betterton
Anna Gronewold
Victoria M. Hanson, MSW, LICSW is Director of Behavioral Health, Family Focus and Social Work Services at Immanual St. Joseph's - Mayo Health System in Mankato. She is also an adjunct instructor in the Department of Social Work at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and a PhD candidate at Indiana University School of Social Work. She completed her Master's thesis on healthcare personnel's knowledge, attitude, beliefs and behaviors when working with domestic violence victims. She has worked as an advocate in two domestic violence shelters, as a victim advocate in the Minneapolis and Indianapolis courts as well as volunteered for the Ramsey County sexual assault hotline. She is married and has two children. She began her term on the CADA Board of Directors in February of this year.
Silas Danielson is an attorney at the Blethen Gage & Krause law firm. He has been there for 14 years, practicing business and estate planning and business litigation. He is also an adjunct professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato. He serves on the YMCA and the MRCI boards. He grew up in Denton, Texas; graducated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, in 1987; worked as a CPA for four years; and graduated from Hamline University Law School in St. Paul in 1994. He enjoys spending time with his wife and children, playing handball, reading and running.
Al Kluever currently works for MnSCU at South Central College in the Center for Business and Industry in the areas of Law Enforcement and Emergency Preparedness and act as Security Director for the College as well. He retired from Mankato Department of Public Safety in 2005 and had spent 28 years with Mankato DPS in varying positions. Al has over 34 years of service in the public safety profession. His expertise is inclusive of the disciplines of law enforcement, fire service, hazardous materials response, and emergency management. Additionally, Al is certified as a firefighter II and holds certification as a technician and specialist in hazardous materials response as well as certification in clan lab mitigation. Al is married with two grown children and has lived in the Mankato area for most of his life.
Mary Bliesmer has taught for over 30 years in the School of Nursing at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She also serves on two other community boards at this time: Pathstone Living in Mankato and Bethlehem Lutheran Church. Mary’s educational background includes degrees from Mankato State College (now Minnesota State Mankato), the University of Minnesota and Rush University in Chicago where she earned a doctorate of nursing science in 1994. Mary lives in North Mankato with her husband Barry who is retired. Her daughter’s family also lives in North Mankato and when Mary retires in May, she will have more time to spend with her 3 grandchildren, ages 15, 12 and 10.
Deanna Henderson is originally from Spring Valley, MN; 30 miles south of Rochester, Deanna moved to the Waseca area in 1993 and is employed by US Bank as a mortgage banker. Deanna graduated with an AAS degree in the legal secretary field, and although she has spent most of her career in banking, she always enjoyed the time spent working in the legal profession in the areas of family law and criminal defense. Claim to fame is two of the attorneys that she worked for were appointed to the Bench. Deanna has a daughter, Jennifer, in her junior year at MSU studying social addictions; enjoys cooking, reading and spending time with her fiancé of 19 years, Kevin.
Lori Hodapp-Betterton attended St. Cloud State University and received a degree, with honors, in Criminal Justice with a pre-law emphasis. She began working for the Minnesota State Patrol in 1984 as a Trooper and now serves as the District Commander of 2200 - Mankato, serving the 10 south central counties of Minnesota. Lori is also a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command, the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Program, and the FBI National Academy. She also holds a certificate from the International Association of Chiefs of Police Leadership in Police Organizations Course. Lori has been given a variety of assignments, and enjoyed opportunities for advancement and continued training within the field of law enforcement. Lori is married to Ken, a motivational speaker and personal trainer and have two children, Nathan and Nolan, ages 18 and 20. Lori lives in New Prague, MN.
Anna Gronwold is the mother of Ashley Sullivan and widow of Chester Gronewold who were murdered January 17, 2010 as a result of domestic violence. She is a nurse and a fulltime grandparent to Ashley’s two young children, Jaymes age 7 and Audrick age 2 ½. Anna has spent much of this past year speaking out about domestic violence. She gave testimony at the state capitol last March to help strengthen laws to keep perpetrators in jail to prevent them from being able to harm others. Anna has been out in the area schools speaking to teens about teen dating violence and how to build healthy relationships. This past November, she and her daughters organized the first annual Speak Out Against Domestic Night. Currently, Anna and her daughters, Alesha and Amanda, are working on creating “The S.O.A.D.A. Foundation” in memory of Ashley and Chet. The foundation will offer support to area families of victims of domestic violence, offer scholarships to area youth who wish to have a career in a domestic violence related field of study, and offer financial support to MCBW to host a yearly weekend retreat for families who have suffered domestic violence loss. Anna lives in Lake Crystal MN.
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