Dr. Joseph M. Sertich, Jr.

President/CEO, Sertich Consulting

Dr. Joe Sertich's professional career includes serving as the founding president of the Northeast Minnesota Higher Education District from 1999 to 2008. The district consists of rural community colleges across northeast Minnesota with a combined enrollment of more than 8,000 learners and approximately 500 employees. Under President Sertich's leadership, the five-college district has developed a unique governance structure to preserve local autonomy, yet achieved economies of scale and non-duplication of service and program effort.

He spent 18 years teaching at the K-12 and higher education levels and was awarded Teacher of the Year for Wisconsin middle schools.

As the facilitator for the Regional Economic Development Group sponsored by the McKnight and Blandin foundations, Joe manages meetings and summarizes actions that lead to action agendas. He also facilitated a Leadership Council of the Applied Learning Institute consisting of 16 superintendents and five provosts. Their planning resulted in implementing a K-14 regional model of collaboration for the state of Minnesota.

Joe has been committed to economic growth through community development. He has received the David A. Martin Entrepreneurial Leadership Labo Award, which recognizes an individual who has a history of leadership in the economic development network of northeast Minnesota. Joe chaired the national Rural Community College Alliance and the Northland Foundation board of directors. Joe was designated as Preident Emeritus of the Northeast Higher Education District by the MnSCU Board of Trustees in July, 2008.

He has a B.S. in education, and a master's in educational administration from Bemidji State University. His Ed.D. degree is from The Leadership Academy of the University of Minnesota in educational policy and administration. Joe lives with his wife Nancy in Chisholm, Min., and has two grown children.

Joe has been president/CEO of Longyear Incorporated of Chisholm since its inception in 1983. Sertich Consulting is a wholly owned division of Longyear.