Kathy Cochran, Board Chair

founder, elevate2 Consulting, LLC - Fargo, ND

Kathy Cochran is a founding partner of Elevate2 Consulting, LLC, an organization which provides management coaching and advisory services. She is interested in advocating for women entrepreneurs and working to break down systemic processes and practices to better support women. As a grandmother herself, Kathy is looking to create generational change for women in business.

Kodee Furst, Director

director of 50 south capital - Dickinson, ND

Kodee’s life's focus is grounded in supporting women and solving big problems. In addition to NDWBC, she currently serves on the Boards for North Dakota’s LIFT Fund and Emerging Prairie and is a Founding Partner for North Dakota's Women's Entrepreneurship Week. After graduating from NDSU, she moved out of state and traveled across the country, but found her way back to North Dakota in 2015. She resides in Dickinson with her husband, Matt, and their son, Dane.

Emily O’Brien, Vice Chair

Chief Operating Officer, Bioscience Association of North Dakota - Grand Forks, ND

Representative of the North Dakota Legislature serving District 42 Emily O’Brien, a native of Lakeville, Minnesota, a graduate of the University of North Dakota in Entrepreneurship and Business Management, and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Entrepreneurship. A few of the many organizations she works with and boards she serves on include, Gamma Phi Beta Sorority, Dakota Venture Group (the nation’s first student venture capital fund). Emily is a Sanford University Innovation Fellow.

Emily has a passion for helping startups and nonprofits, investing, event planning, and working with others. Emily strives to help businesses grow and develop and to learn all that she can. She is strongly driven to giving her best to the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Dr. Susan Mathison, Director

Founder, Catalyst Medical Center & Spa - Fargo, ND

Dr. Susan Mathison, founder of Catalyst Medical Center in Fargo, is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the FM area, including Essentia Health Fargo and Sanford Medical Center Fargo. She has been instrumental in building up Fargo’s entrepreneur ecosystem activities, partnering with CTB on Women’s Startup Weekend and was sharing her experiences as a panelist for Leading Ladies Luncheon. Dr. Sue enjoys expertise in navigating partnerships, diversifying funding options, and board leadership. She is a strong support of North Dakota Women’s Business Center, especially in the Greater Fargo Area.

Teran Doerr, Director

Executive Director, Economic Development for Bowman County - Bowman, ND

Born and raised in a small town in South Dakota, Teran has a heart for rural. She completed her Bachelor’s in Business Administration at the University of Mary and is raising three children with her husband in Bowman, North Dakota.  Her driven personality and passion for making a difference have always led her towards taking on new things with enthusiasm. She’s passionate about her family, faith, work, community, goals, health, relationships, music and living her best life.

Teran is the Executive Director of Economic Development for Bowman County, serves on the Economic Development Association of North Dakota Board, and is Chair of the North Dakota Rural Development Council.

Samantha Berg, Director

Chief employee experience officer for Choice Bank - Grand Forks, ND

With people as her passion and a love for creativity, Samantha Berg graduated from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks with a Bachelor in Fine Art and K-12 Teaching Licensure. A graduate from the Dakota School of Banking and a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, she serves as a performance coach guiding leaders through strengths based coaching principles and building upon the strengths of the organization and the strengths of great people. As a mother and a wife, she and her family are guided by their faith, they enjoy the outdoors and are always uncovering new adventures.

Lindsey Rath-Wald

private banker for first inernational Bank and Trust - Bismarck, ND

I was born and raised in a small town Linton, ND, and attended college at North Dakota State University where I received my Bachelor’s degree in Finance. I moved to Bismarck after graduating from college and that is where my husband and I raise our three children. I adore this community and love watching the growth that has happened over the last several years. I’m proud to support our local business owners in allowing that to continue to happen.

I am a Private Banking Officer at First International Bank & Trust in Mandan, ND. My desire to help support and promote women business owners go far beyond banking. As a woman in banking, I am in a male-dominated industry and have realized the same struggles exist in many other industries that these women business owners are in. At the end of the day, I want to be the voice for these women and make their struggles known and heard. I am an advocate for the North Dakota Women’s Business Center and I hope to continue to help them make an impact on the communities we serve.