Board of Directors
Molly M. Schreiber
Founder
CEO, Challenge to Change, Inc.
Molly is the owner of Challenge To Change Inc. She is the mother of four beautiful children; Sydney, Maggie, Jacob, and Maria and wife to tom. Through Molly's life experiences she came to love the practice of yoga.
Weaving together her background in education, her love for yoga and passion for creating peace and kindness in the world, Molly developed Challenge To Change—a place of health, wellness, yoga and peace for people of all ages.
Jordan Turner
Executive Director
Yoga in the Schools Director, Challenge to Change, Inc.
Jordan previously worked as an Elementary Teacher for 6 years in a title one building. Within those years she saw the need for social and emotional learning for students and teachers. She brought this into her school through yoga and mindfulness which then led her to Mindful Minutes for Schools. Besides her passion for yoga and mindfulness she is also a mother and wife to a Principal, who also shares the same passion with social and emotional learning.
She can not wait to bring all her passions together to continue to grow this wonderful non-profit and continue to spread their mission within our community and further.
Mae Hingtgen
Board President
School Worker & Yoga Teacher
As a social worker and yoga teacher, it's a natural fit for me to be involved in the Mindful Minutes for Schools board. Our mission brings together my two biggest passions - yoga and mindfulness with the well-being of children. Through my own practice, teaching others, and observing children practicing yoga, I know more than ever that the benefits of self-regulation, acceptance and kindness will be beneficial life-long skills for the children.
As parents, teachers and citizens, I know we all want this for the children in our lives, and I am grateful for the support already received. I am honored to serve as the board President, and I am committed to making these practices accessible to all children in our community.
Katie Wiedemann
Board Vice President
Director of External Relations, NICC
For 14 years I was a television news reporter in Dubuque, Iowa. I covered everything from fairs and festivals to natural disasters, tragic deaths and violent crimes. Through that experience, I routinely became involved with people who were experiencing the worst moments of their life. I became keenly aware of what happens to human beings when they don't practice mindfulness and self-care. The practices I have learned through Challenge to Change have helped me become a more centered person. As a mother of two young children, I want every kid to have the opportunity to learn self-regulation and mindfulness the way my own children have.
As a board member, I am honored to help promote the Mindful Minutes for Schools mission.
Corrie DeMuth
Board Member
Educator, Alternative Learning
Learning Mindfulness with Molly at Challenge to Change has given me the tools to practice with Students at the Alternative Learning Center.
I have watched our students embrace mindfulness from weekly meditations in a large group on site activities, and small group practicing.
Seeing students learning to self-regulate their emotions has been impactful.
Stephanie Grutz
Board Member
Family Nurse Practitioner, Integrative Medicine
I am honored to be a member of Mindful Minutes. As a nurse practitioner, I see what stress does to myself and to my patients on a daily basis. There are so many acute and chronic problems associated with ineffective coping skills, which are often developed at a young age.
This board is bridging the gap between mindfulness, effective emotional response and our youth. I see the large potential for Mindful Minutes, helping bring meditation and mindfulness to every student of all ages and all economic levels. I'm proud to be a member.
Andrea (Andi) Parrett, CPA
Board Treasurer
Associate President Finance
Andi is the Associate Vice President Finance at University of Dubuque. She has been practicing yoga regularly for more than three years.
Andi is an accounting professional
with 29 years’ experience in a variety of financial roles including financial reporting and analysis, budgeting, cash flow, banking and insurance, internal control and risk
assessment.
Naomi Weidman
Board Member
Director of Demand Center Operations, McGraw Hill
My entire career I have worked in the education space and know the impact of learning and it’s ability to change lives. Mindful Minutes for Schools is so in line with my passion for helping students grow and learn. Starting children out with a foundation of mindfulness is a wonderful gift.
Personally, the benefit of yoga and mindfulness has helped me throughout my life. I am honored to be Treasurer of the board.
Kristina Castañeda
Board Secretary
Art Educator, Dubuque CSD
As a middle school teacher, health coach, and mother of two, Mindful Minutes for Schools aligns with my need to advocate for equity, brain health, and celebration of the whole child.
An alarming 1 in 4 children has experienced trauma by age 4, and this number increases to over 2/3 of kids by age 16. 40% of children nationwide live within the instability of poverty. More than 1 in 3 children reports being emotionally bullied by peers, and school violence is on the rise, the roots of which are feelings of isolation, alienation, and exclusion. Suicide rates are escalating, and 70% of youth with diagnosable anxiety and depression are not getting treatment...
Jessica Reimer
Board Member
OFP Supply Management Specialist
I am originally from rural Sparland, Illinois just north of Peoria. I have been practicing Qigong exercises since I was a small child alongside my grandmother, who taught her own classes for many years and took me to workshops with her teachers. In addition, I am a certified Yoga, Pilates and Zumba instructor and have been teaching fitness classes since 2010.
After moving to Dubuque in 2013, I was fortunate to join John Deere and put my degree in Agricultural Economics to use. I also had the opportunity to teach fitness classes at the factory fitness center. Our Wellness committee chair asked me if I would be interested in creating a program to help employees develop greater resiliency...
Dr. Tom Ottavi, PHD
Board Member
Psychologist, Mercy Medical Center
The Mindful Minutes Board involvement is a positive connection opportunity both personally and with my career as a psychologist. It has been inspiring to see the many benefits of mindfulness practices and yoga for people of many ages over years of psychology work. I have personally felt the benefits of mindfulness practices and yoga and appreciate my teachers and opportunities to learn and practice. Advancing present moment connections and creative activities truly assists youth to move toward rich and meaningful experiences and directions in their lives.
I feel proud to be part of a board helping advance these practices in the schools and to further promote community and personal growth.
Christina Nugent
Board Member
Principal, Prescott Elementary School
Bringing yoga and mindfulness to schools is important to me because it builds life long skills. Just as it is important for students to learn basic skills like reading and math, it is just as important for students to learn to recognize and regulate their emotions.
Yoga and mindfulness practices are critical for students to navigate their future life.
Jessica DuBord
Board Member
4th Grade teacher, Prescott Elementary
I had first enrolled two of my sons in Challenge to Change's yoga for kids class in order to help them process some trauma we had faced as a family. Seeing the benefits they were gainging and my role as a teacher in a title 1 building I knew my students would benefit as well. Many of my students struggled with the effects of trauma, stress and the lack of emotional regulation. I took Challenge to Change's 95 hour kids yoga training. Through that training I not only grew my tool box to support my students, I saw how those tools helped me to process my trauma. So, I continued my training with C2C and got my 200 hour yoga certification. Now, I use all of those tools in my classroom everyday. Not only that, I have been blessed to be in a classroom where we get to have yoga teachers come into our classroom once a month. I am so blessed to be able to sit on a board that has had a direct impact on my life.