1. ND EPSCoR
  2. About
  3. ND EPSCoR State Steering Committee

ND EPSCoR State Steering Committee

The ND EPSCoR State Steering Committee is composed of individuals with representation from the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education; legislative branches; North Dakota Commerce and Public Instruction Departments; tribal college, primarily undergraduate, master’s college/university, and research university campuses; as well as private business and research university technology parks. The committee's directives are to

  • Provide direction to ND EPSCoR regarding research in focal areas that are based on the strengths of our research universities. 
  • Contribute to North Dakota's Science and Technology Plan (S&T Plan). One of the requirements of NSF EPSCoR is that each state develop and approve an S&T Plan that provides a broad perspective of the economic and educational goals of the state.
  • Ensure that North Dakota's NSF RII Track-1 efforts are meeting the needs of the state and reflect the priorities laid out in the S&T Plan.

John Warford, Committee Chair, DDS.
Member, State Board of Higher Education
Committee Appointed by NDUS Chancellor
Warford Orthodontics, Bismarck
john.warford.sbhe@ndus.edu

Representative Corey Mock
Democrat
Term End: 06/30/2023
District 18, Grand Forks
crmock@nd.gov

Twyla Baker, Committee Vice Chair, Ph.D.
President
Term End: 06/30/2026
Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College
tbaker@nhsc.edu

Senator Merrill Piepkorn
Democrat
Term End: 06/30/2023
District 44, Fargo
mpiepkorn@nd.gov

Representative Vicky Steiner
Republican
Term End: 06/30/2026
District 37, Dickinson
vsteiner@nd.gov

Steve Snow
Assistant Director
Committee Appointed
School Approval & Organization
North Dakota Department of Public Instruction
fsnow@nd.gov

Andre DeLorme, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair, Science Department
Term End: 06/30/2026
Valley City State University
andre.delorme@vcsu.edu

Colleen Fitzgerald, Ph.D.
Vice President, Research and Creative Activity
Committee Appointed
North Dakota State University
colleen.fitzgerald@ndsu.edu

Megan Gelinske
Director, DNA Product Technology
Term End: 06/30/2026
Aldevron
meagandeegelinske@msn.com

Amy Whitney, Ed.D.
Director, Center for Innovation
Committee Appointed
University of North Dakota
amy.whitney@und.edu

Chris Nelson, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, Graduate School
Committee Appointed
Associate Professor, Graduate School
University of North Dakota
chris.nelson@und.edu 

Kelly A. Rusch, Ph.D., P.E.,  BCEE (ex-officio member)
ND EPSCoR Executive State Director and PI
Professor; Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering
North Dakota State University
kelly.rusch@ndsu.edu

Senator Ray Holmberg
Republican
Term End: 06/30/2022
District 17, Grand Forks
rholmberg@nd.gov

John Mihelich, Ph.D. (ex-officio member)
ND EPSCoR Associate Project Director and Co-PI
Interim Vice President for Research and Economic Development/Faculty Fellow
Division of Research & Economic Development
University of North Dakota
john.mihelich@und.edu

Brian Kalk, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Committee Appointed
NDSU Research and Technology Park
brian@ndsuresearchpark.com

Jean Ostrom-Blonigen, Ph.D., CPA (ex-officio member)
ND EPSCoR State Project Administrator and Co-PI
ND EPSCoR State Office
North Dakota State University
jean.ostrom@ndus.edu

James Leiman, Ph.D.
North Dakota State Commerce Commissioner
Committee Appointed
jleiman@nd.gov