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Staff
Jim Kelley—Founder
Jim has over 30 years of experience in working with youth and youth programming - all in the Lexington-Hamline neighborhood. Jim grew up two blocks from the Youth Express office. During his teenage years, he experienced a number of personal struggles that threatened to derail his life. From this adversity, Jim committed himself to helping young people maximize their potential, first as an employee of St. Paul Parks and Recreation, then as the program director of Neighborhood Connection, and finally as Youth Express’ Executive Director until the fall of 2010. As Founder, Jim focuses on building key partnerships with individuals, businesses and organizations that strengthen and support Youth Express programs.
Chris Ohland—Executive Director
Chris has worked as part and full-time staff at Youth Express since 1998. He was program director at the Express Bike Shop until 2001, when he shifted to the Director of Communication position to assume communication and fundraising duties. As of 2007, Chris became Director of Education and Communication, which expanded his duties to responsibility for curriculum development, training for part-time staff, and assisting with small business and employment training through the Urban Apprentice Program, and evaluation. He holds a BA in Communication from Concordia University, St. Paul and received his teaching license (Communication Arts/Literature, grades 5-12) through the Master of Arts in Teaching Program at Hamline University. He has represented Youth Express at the National Forum for Entrepreneurship Education and the Social Enterprise Alliance Summit. In fall 2010, he became Executive Director at Youth Express.
Randy Treichel—Enterprise Director
Randy joined the Youth Express in 1993 after twelve years in sales and management positions in the health care and video products industries. He is a life-long resident of the Lexington-Hamline neighborhood and has served, in a volunteer capacity, with a variety of youth and economic development organizations over the past 30 years. Randy was awarded a Leadership in Neighborhoods Fellowship from the St. Paul Companies in 2000 to research and visit organizations throughout the country that had done exemplary work with social entrepreneurship. Since 2002, he has served as Enterprise Director with the Youth Express responsible for the development and management of Urban Business Adventures. He earned the Certified Entrepreneurship Teacher designation with the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship in 2000 and has recently completed a Master of Public Affairs degree through the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota with concentrations in Economic Development and Entrepreneurial Studies.
Mark Finn—General Manager/Express Bike Shop
Mark joined the Express Bike Shop in 2007 as General Manager. He has a life-long passion for all things bicycling, strong mechanic skills and a heart for teaching. Prior to joining the Express Bike Shop, Mark was a Senior Production Operator at FedEx/Kinkos and invested six years at The Grease Pit, a volunteer-run bicycle workshop in Minneapolis. Mark holds an AA degree in Graphic Design from Dunwoody Institute and has taken classes in youth development methods through the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation.
Wendy Koon—Minister without Portfolio/Express Bike Shop
Wendy joined the Express Bike Shop in 2009 as a Minister without Portfolio, after 8 years (4,000+ hours) as a mechanic and CFO at the Grease Pit, a volunteer-run bicycle workshop in Minneapolis. Wendy’s work at the Grease Pit included teaching bicycle repair skills to people from all walks of life, as well as managing the business end of a teeny, tiny not-for-profit. Wendy was born down the street from the Grease Pit, and grew up down the street from Express Bike Shop. Prior to her career in bicycles, she spent 6 years as an Independent Contractor - working in residential remodeling, landscaping and property maintenance. In her spare time, Wendy enjoys both the out-of-doors and competitive eating.
Stella Richardson—Co-Founder/Sales Manager
Stella is currently a senior at St. Paul Central High School. She was part of the original taskforce that came together to create the newest social enterprise at Youth Express and was primarily responsible for drafting the business plan. She continues to do much of the graphic design for flyers and mailers. In addition to her work with Express Yourself Clothing, she is active in Admission Possible, and performs with the Central High School Symphonic Band.
Perquila Rogers—Co-Founder/Assistant Manager
Perquila graduated from Highland Park Senior High School in 2010. She was part of the taskforce of four young women that worked for over a year to research business opportunities, develop the business plan for Express Yourself Clothing and, ultimately, open our newest social enterprise. In June 2010 she was promoted to Assistant Manager - the youngest person in the history of Youth Express to earn that responsibility. In the fall, she will attend Minneapolis Community and Technical College with plans to transfer to a four-year college the following year.
Jennifer Ohland—Retail Consultant
Jennifer is a Concordia University graduate with a BA in Communication. She is currently a Therapy Coordinator with Lifetrack Resources. Her experience with fashion began in 1995 as a sales associate at American Eagle. During her time at Concordia, she was a manger at Aeropostale Clothing and worked as a marketing intern at the Mall of America, where she planned and implemented events such as fashion shows for teens. Her most recent experiences include working at Nordstrom’s Department Store as a designer handbag specialist and as an event coordinator.
Tara Niebeling—Marketing Consultant
Tara is a recent graduate from the University of St. Thomas with degrees in Advertising and Communication Studies. As an active member in Advertising Federation and National Student Advertising Competition, Tara has award-winning experience in not only personal social media strategy, but also professional digital media strategies focused on marketing objectives. Tara was the Account Executive Intern at Space150, one of the top digital agencies in the Twin Cities, where she worked on Dairy Queen’s innovative social media campaign by utilizing facebook, twitter, e-mail and blogging on a national level. Tara also is responsible for locally marketing the Express Yourself Clothing Drive on the St. Thomas campus, resulting in over $15,000 of gently used inventory for Express Yourself Clothing Store.
