A native of Minnesota, Bernadine Joselyn spent the fifteen years of her professional life in Soviet (and then post-Soviet) Affairs. With a Master’s Degree in International Security Policy from Columbia University, she was appointed to the US Diplomatic Service, where after an initial tour in New Delhi India she served in a series of assignments in Moscow and Washington DC focused on the US-Soviet-Russian relationship. After the collapse of the Soviet Union she left the diplomatic corps to work on international academic and cultural exchange programs with the former Soviet States, and subsequently as the Director of the Moscow Office of the Eurasia Foundation, where she oversaw a $5 million annual grant program. In 2000 Bernadine returned to Minnesota to complete a second Masters Degree in Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute. Since 2001 she has directed Blandin Foundation’s Public Policy and Engagement program where she leads efforts to facilitate the building of knowledge and catalyze informed and effective action around issues and opportunities that align with the foundation’s mission of strengthening rural Minnesota communities, especially the Grand Rapids Area.