Aaron Zimmerman (he/him) is a career fundraiser and non-profit manager. He has served as PFund Foundation’s Director of Development, as a Major and Planned Giving Officer at Twin Cities PBS (TPT), and as the Director of Development and Communications at Domestic Abuse Project, a Minneapolis-based domestic violence therapy and advocacy program.

He holds a B.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin — Madison and has a Master of Arts in Philanthropy and Development from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. He wrote his capstone on the history and practice of white supremacy in philanthropy and fundraising in the United States.

Mercedes Plendl (she/her) leads the design, implementation and evaluation of grant making programs at the foundation. Mercedes worked for a decade as the Program Officer at Better Way Foundation, supporting indigenous leaders and organizations through systems change and culturally-affirming programs.

Mercedes completed her Masters Degree in Public Policy through the Leadership and Nonprofit Management track at the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota, and also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in German and Theater Arts from the University of Minnesota.

Kevin Kjonaas (he/him) leads the fundraising and communications efforts at PFund Foundation. Most recently, Kevin served as Associate Director of Development and Communications at Avenues for Youth. Kevin’s ability to cultivate relationships and drive organizational growth through effective communication strategies supports PFund’s efforts to ensure resources are available for grantmaking, entrepreneur investments and scholarships for LGBTQI+ communities in the Upper Midwest.

Kevin completed his Bachelors Degree from the University of Minnesota in Political Science.

Sami Sahu (he/him) administers, monitors and refines the process for new and existing grant and scholarship programs and other strategic investments and partnerships as PFund's Grants Management Associate. Sanmit is a Data Analytics and Software Development Professional with a Masters degree in Computer Science from the University of Southern California.

Lilly Knopf (they/them, she/her) supports the distribution of scholarships and grants while conducting outreach to connect PFund to LGBTQ+ communities across our five-state region as PFund's Program Associate. Lilly has experience in higher education and arts education, and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BA in Linguistics.

Lauren Rimestad (she/her) has nearly two decades of experience in nonprofit administration in the Twin Cities and Portland, Oregon. At PFund Foundation, Lauren pairs creativity with careful planning for engaging campaigns that connect people through philanthropy. Lauren completed her bachelor’s degree at the College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.

Brett Rawlings (he/him) manages key administrative and structural tasks to enable the PFund Foundation team to reach maximum effectiveness as the Executive Assistant to the Executive Director.

Before PFund Foundation, Brett attended Texas Christian University, where he graduated with a BFA in Musical Theatre.