“With enormous gratitude I complete my 12 years on the school board. Board service provided me the privilege and honor to serve with dedicated board members, visionary leaders, and education professionals who hold student learning at the center of their work and life.”
Dr. Ellen Iverson 
Ellen was first elected to the board in 2008. She came to the board as a parent of two Northfield Public school students. As both a parent volunteer at Greenvale Park Elementary school and as a community member on the district’s Educational Program Advisory Council, Ellen from the on-set understood the challenges and opportunities facing the district.
Time and time again the board benefited immensely from her expertise as the Director of Evaluation at the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College. This knowledge and unique understanding of how to evaluate programs aimed at improving teaching and learning, was invaluable to the board as we reviewed curriculum and staff-development programs. As a member of the Northfield Promise’s Data Action Team, Ellen’s vast knowledge aids them in making critical program decisions. This vital work has led to student achievement gains that our district could not achieve alone.
Ellen was fiercely dedicated to her board work. She willingly stepped forward to volunteer as the school board liaison on a number of district committees. Her work with the District’s Youth Council helped them to understand how to harness their energy and enthusiasm to effectively provide the student voice to the board’s decision-making process. During her time as Board Chair, her strength of leadership helped the board to navigate the decision-making process on two important initiatives: the District Master Facilities Plan and the Transformational Technology-iPad Initiative.
As a board, we have profound respect for her work. She was quick to acknowledge the hard work of our administrators and staff for the great work they do for students. Ellen’s approach to decision making was first and foremost what was in the best interest of students. Her board service will be marked with great passion, dedication and commitment to Northfield students and their families.
Thank you, Ellen, for your 12 years of service to the board. You will be greatly missed.
“It has been a privilege to spend the past eight years as part of a remarkable team that prioritizes students, service, and stewardship. Dr. Hillmann always says that public education is a people business, and in the Northfield Public Schools I have worked with the best people in the business. I am humbly grateful to the voters of the Northfield school district for giving me the opportunity to serve them.”
Dr. Rob Hardy 
Rob was first elected to the board in 2012. He came to the board with an intense interest in education and educational issues. He served as a community member on the district’s Educational Program Advisory Council. Rob is one of the founders and former board chair of the Cannon River STEM school, a K-8 Charter School.
Rob’s work on the board reflected his intense passion and concern for the well-being of Northfield students and their families. He is an ardent supporter of the district’s TORCH program. His work on the TORCH Advisory Committee was instrumental in the program’s successful growth.
What we valued most about Rob was the approach he used in making decisions. He was committed to having a thorough understanding of all aspects of the issues at hand. He devoted a great deal of time to conduct comprehensive research in order to ask all the right questions. He placed a high priority on understanding on how the board’s decisions would impact individual students and staff members. One of his greatest strengths is to view board issues through an equity lens. Rob served the district well as a member of the Policy Review Committee. His ability to critique the technical aspects of policy language and his skill in drafting new policies was invaluable to the committee’s work
Rob is respected by the board for his civic-mindedness and community involvement. In 2015, The Northfield Public Library and the Arts and Culture Committee selected him as the community’s first poet laureate. Rob has enthusiastically embraced his post and has worked tirelessly to achieve his goal of giving voice to new and different poetic voices in our community. We are grateful for the beautiful piece he wrote to celebrate the class of 2020. His poem served as the powerful opening to their virtual graduation ceremony.
Thank you Rob for your years of service to the board. You will be missed.