Saint Paul – Governor Tim Pawlenty today announced the reappointment of Willis Branning, Jennifer Engh, David Leckey, and Karel Weigel to the Minnesota Zoological Board. All four are appointed to four-year terms that expire on January 7, 2013.

Branning, of Apple Valley, is a commissioner representing district 7 on the Dakota County Board of Commissioners. He was first elected to the Dakota County Board in 1997, and previously served as mayor and a city council member in Apple Valley. The Minnesota Zoo opened while he was mayor. His prior professional background included 32 years with Univac/Sperry-Unisys and five years with the Boeing Company before retiring in 1996.

Engh, of St. Paul, is the director of state government relations with Cargill, Inc. She has spent 25 years in a variety of public policy positions and government relations with the Dorsey and Whitney law firm, the Minnesota Departments of Revenue and Trade and Economic Development, Minnesota Bankers Association, American Plastics Council, and the Opperman and Paquin law firm, and began her career in former United State Senator David Durenberger’s office.

Leckey, of Inver Grove Heights, is president of Dane Health Care, and a member of the board of directors of Dane Technologies. Prior to that, he was a member of former Governor Arne Carlson’s staff, deputy commissioner with the Department of Trade and Economic Development, executive director of the Southwest Minnesota Initiative Fund, and in community relations with the Pillsbury Company.

Weigel, of Rochester, is chair of the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund Board, president-elect of the Rochester Rotary Club, and a member of the Salvation Army Advisory Board. She is also a past president of the Minnesota as well as the Michigan state organizations of the American Health Information Management Association, and is past chair of the Rochester Area Foundation’s First Homes Project, past chair of the Olmsted County Social Services Advisory Committee, and the Rochester Art Center Board.

The Minnesota Zoological Board operates and maintains the Minnesota Zoological Garden. The board consists of 30 members, including 15 appointed by the Governor and 15 appointed by the Zoo Board.