Our Board of Directors provides the direction and oversight needed to ensure the continued growth and success of Camp Odayin and our mission, while maintaining the fiduciary and governance oversight to protect the interest of our donors.
Camp Odayin is a wonderful, well-run organization. It is amazing to meet children who have attended a camp or hear from parents whose lives have been affected by Camp Odayin’s work. Camp Odayin provides a place for kids with heart disease to be themselves and connect with others to have great experiences and form life-long friendships.
– Former Board Member, Matt Graham
Dr. Joseph Camarda
Dr. Joseph Camarda is a board certified pediatric cardiologist who works at Ann & Robert H Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. He treats patients with congenital heart disease as well as connective tissue disorders. He also specializes in cardiac imaging, specifically echocardiography and cardiac MRI. He has been at Lurie for 12 years. He completed his pediatric cardiology fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin and stayed there for an extra year for his advanced imaging fellowship. It was during that time that he first volunteered as a camp doctor with Camp Odayin. He is originally from the Midwest / Chicago. He has two children, an 8 year old girl who plays hockey and softball and an 11 year old boy who plays hockey and baseball. He comes from a big Italian family and enjoys cooking and gardening.
Dr. Adam Cassidy
Dr. Adam Cassidy, is a pediatric neuropsychologist and Associate Professor of Psychology and Pediatrics at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Adam completed his PhD in developmental psychopathology and clinical science at the University of MN Institute of Child Development, his predoctoral internship in lifespan neuropsychology at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta/Emory University, and his postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology at Boston Children’s Hospital. After fellowship, he remained on staff at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School for eight years, until 2020, when he joined the faculty at Mayo Clinic. Adam’s clinical, research, and advocacy efforts focus on promoting optimal neurodevelopmental and psychosocial outcomes for every individual with congenital heart disease, and he sees heart camp as an important step in that direction. In his free time, Adam enjoys traveling, running, and spending time with his wife Megan and their two energetic and fun-loving boys.
Phil Ebeling, Chair
Phil is currently the President and CEO of Emstop, Inc. He has spent his career in “Medical Alley”, which includes executive roles at Boston Scientific, St. Jude Medical (Abbott), and Inspire Medical Systems. Phil holds a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas. He completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP 185) at Harvard Business School in 2013.
Pediatric causes are especially important to the Ebeling family. They have been longtime supporters of Camp Odayin, dating back to Phil’s time on the St. Jude Medical Foundation board. He and his wife Jennifer have four children (Will, Emma, PJ, and John) and currently reside in Maple Grove.
Andrew Holm
Andrew is a shareholder at the Fredrikson & Byron law firm in Minneapolis where he works with physicians, dentists and other healthcare professionals on mergers and acquisitions and compliance with healthcare regulations. He’s a graduate of the University of Iowa and the University of Wisconsin Law School. Andrew and his wife, Rachel, live in Chanhassen with their son, Henry, and daughter, Ellie. Camp Odayin’s mission is incredibly important to Andrew as the parent of a heart hero (Ellie), and he loves being a part of the board and supporting such a wonderful organization.
Dr. Brian Joy
Brian is the medical director of the CVICU and co-director of the Pediatric Heart Center at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital where he works as both a pediatric cardiac intensivist and pediatric cardiologist. Brian received his medical degree from the University of Minnesota. After completing his residency at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, he completed his fellowship training at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago in both pediatric cardiology and pediatric critical care medicine. He took his first job at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, OH before coming back here in 2016 to the University of Minnesota. In his free time, Brian enjoys spending time with his wife and three boys. Brian has volunteered at Camp Odayin as a camp doc for multiple years and is also currently serving as the Minnesota Medical Director for Camp Odayin.
Sara Meslow
Sara is the Executive Director and founder of Camp Odayin, a lifelong camper, and a heart patient herself. She has worked and volunteered at many camps and holds undergraduate degrees in Social Work & Communication from Concordia College, Moorhead MN, and a graduate degree in Youth Development Leadership from the University of Minnesota. Sara is very familiar with the cardiac care world. She has had a catheter ablation to correct her supraventricular tachycardia, and had an Implanted Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) as a result of ventricular tachycardia. She believes in the positive impact summer camp can have on everyone, especially children with special heath concerns.
Charlie Nelson
Charlie is a born and raised Minnesotan and Camp Odayin lover. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Business and Marketing with minors in Psychology and Sustainability. Charlie grew up attending Camp Odayin as a camper for eight years and spent three summers working at Camp Knutson, the site of MN residential camp. He loves working with people of all abilities, and works at Primal Health as their Director of Operations. Charlie loves Camp Odayin for the opportunities and community it provides for kids with congenital heart defects and disease. Charlie was born with Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA) and had an open-heart surgery at four days old. As a former camper, Charlie has great memories of meeting friends, having fun experiences, and growing up with the Odayin family. In his free time, Charlie enjoys spending time with his friends, skiing, biking, playing board games of all varieties, and volunteering for groups specializing in community experiences for kids of all abilities.
Katelyn Nye
Katelyn Nye has been a Camp Odayin volunteer for over a decade, beginning as a camp counselor at fall family camps, then joining the Board of Directors in 2024. She also has a special heart, actually two – her birth heart and her donor heart! After 20 years of living with Medtronic ICD implantable defibrillators, she received a heart transplant at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN to treat bi-ventricular arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. She is incredibly grateful to her donor and donor family for their Gift of Life. Katelyn is an electrical engineer by training, turned a medical device product developer and business manager. Her entire professional career has been with GE HealthCare, focused on CT, X-ray, and Ultrasound medical imaging technology advances. She has been granted 20+ US invention patents, with the majority regarding applications of artificial intelligence (AI). She humbly joined the 2024 Class of Milwaukee’s Business Journal 40 Under 40. Katelyn and her wife, Danielle, are the proud parents to four children and live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Laura Philippsen
Laura Philippsen joined the Camp Odayin Board of Directors in 2026. She brings experience in strategy and marketing across the healthcare and life sciences sector, along with a strong commitment to community service and mission‑driven organizations. Laura currently serves as Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Solventum. Prior to Solventum, her career included leadership and advisory roles at TE Connectivity, Medtronic, McKinsey & Company, Celgene, Altana Pharma, and Johnson & Johnson, where she worked across medical devices, biopharmaceuticals, and management consulting. Laura holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the University of Minnesota. She also serves on the board of the Twin Cities American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women initiative. She lives in Minnesota with her daughter, Hannah, and enjoys travel, spending time outdoors, watching live music, and being with family and friends.
Cindy Resman
Cindy Resman leads the Marketing, Communications and Education teams for the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation. She has 25+ years of experience in healthcare and med tech communications. Her background includes independent consulting as founder of Point Forward Communications, partner and lead for communications with Projectory, and various leadership roles in global communications for Medtronic, Baxter Healthcare, Abbott Laboratories and Golin-Harris International. Cindy holds a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Drake University. She lives in Maple Grove with her husband and three children. Cindy intentionally focused her career in healthcare, and Camp Odayin’s mission fits perfectly in her passion for heart health, celebrating life and supporting inspiring young people who are on their own heart journey!
Bill Shields, Vice Chair
Bill Shields is the proud father of a Camp Odayin camper and has spent over a decade developing new technologies to treat structural heart disease. Currently, he is the Vice President & General Manager, Transcatheter Mitral & Tricuspid Therapies at Medtronic, where he has worked for 13+ years. Prior to Medtronic, Bill worked in product development at Stryker Orthopaedics where he developed numerous hip implant platforms. He holds a Bachelors of Engineering from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Outside of work, Bill loves spending time with his family (wife + 2 boys-11 & 13) traveling, eating and laughing.
Michael Stuart
Michael is a Senior Institutional Advisor with First Midwest Bank in Chicago where he provides fiduciary and investment management solutions to institutional investors in the Midwest including privately owned middle market companies, non-profit organizations and public pension funds. Michael earned an M.B.A. with concentrations in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling with his wife and two sons, volunteering, and playing golf.
Dr. Shweta Stuart
Shweta is a parent to a heart hero and a general pediatrician. Shortly after their son’s second open heart surgery, Shweta and her husband Michael, became actively involved with The Children’s Heart Foundation. With the CHF, she has successfully co-chaired black-tie galas and heart walks, and been involved with several other events to raise awareness around congenital heart defects. In the pre-COVID era, she was also an active volunteer at her kids’ school. Shweta received her medical degree at the University of Illinois in Chicago and completed her residency training at Rush University. After that, she worked in a private pediatric practice for 5 years, before transitioning roles to become a Pediatric Hospitalist. Shweta often jokes that this role has given her the opportunity to be both a full time mom and a full time pediatrician! She resides in Chicago with her husband Michael and their two sons, Noah and Caden. In her free time, Shweta enjoys exercising, baking, traveling, and watching sports.
Tanya Sullivan, Treasurer
Tanya is the Vice President, Global Financial Services for Boston Scientific. Tanya has been with BSC for 20 years holding various roles in Finance supporting strategic planning, investment valuations, acquisitions, & manufacturing, and a few years within R&D supporting portfolio and project management. She has been an active member of the Women’s Network between the MN global and more recently at the Global level. She currently is the Co-Lead for the Global Women’s Network employee resource group. Tanya has a BS in Accounting from MN State University, Mankato and an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management. She lives with her husband and teenage boy/girl twins. She enjoys traveling, spending time outdoors in the summer gardening & biking, and playing volleyball and golf. Tanya is a current supporter and participator within the Epilepsy Foundation of MN, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Amy Weiler
Amy Weiler is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at the Children’s Heart Clinic/Children’s of MN Hospital. She works primarily on the inpatient cardiac unit following the step-down patients; co-manages the single ventricle clinic and interstage home monitoring program. She received her undergraduate nursing degree from the College of St. Benedict and began her nursing journey at Children’s of MN. She later spent a year working at Boston Children’s hospital on their CVICU, followed by a few years at The Emily Program’s adolescent residential facility while attending graduate school at St. Catherine University to obtain her Master of Arts in Nursing and Pediatric Nurse Practitioner degree. After working as a PNP at Gillette Children’s Hospital for 2 years, she moved into her current position. She first joined the Odayin family in 2003 as a volunteer counselor and returned to camp as a nurse. She has always held a passion for pediatrics and cardiology, and has loved the opportunity Camp Odayin has provided to see the amazing heart heroes she cares for in the hospital thrive in a worry free environment. In her free time, Amy enjoys spending time with her husband, Shawn, and 2 young children, reading, playing games with friends, taking walks, and knitting. As her professional and family life have made it difficult to stay closely involved in Camp Odayin over the last several years, she is so excited for the opportunity to re-engage by serving on the Board.
Alador Yemaneab, Secretary
Alador is a Senior Solution Architect at ServiceNow, bringing with him more than 17 years of experience in healthcare. He began his career as a Pharmacy Technician at a local health system before transitioning into healthcare IT, where he served as a Senior Epic Analyst. Alongside his professional career, Alador has volunteered for over 18 years across summer, winter, family, and day camps. Most recently, he has taken on an active role with the events committee, helping to plan Happy Hearts Happy Hour. Known for his ability to connect effortlessly with campers of all ages, Alador is truly a kid at heart and has a gift for building lifelong family connections. He’s often remembered for his outgoing, fun-loving energy – and, of course, his legendary costumes.
