Board of Directors

President

Sarah Nupdal joined the BIO Girls Board of Directors in 2019. Sarah holds the title of Senior Vice President, Banking Legal Manager at Bell Bank. She earned her undergraduate business degree and her law degree from the University of North Dakota and will forever be a Fighting Sioux fan. Sarah is originally from Fargo, and is thrilled to be raising a family in the wonderful community she grew up in. She is a graduate of the United Way’s 35 under 35 Women’s Leadership Program and a recipient of the 2022 Top 25 Women in Business recognition by Prairie Business Magazine. Sarah enjoys spending time at the lake, traveling, reading and managing the organized chaos of life, along with her husband Nick and their three kiddos.

Vice President

Alison Zima is the Marketing Manager at Allegro Group, where she develops, executes and manages communication strategies for client projects, internal projects, and content marketing-focused campaigns. Alison has over 10 years devoted to communications and marketing, coupled with technology integration, project management and event management experience. She is also an executive founding member of the Power of 100 Women Who Care of the Red River Valley. A graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead, she earned a Bachelors degree in Mass Communications with an emphasis in advertising and public relations. She lives in West Fargo with her husband Tyler and two children.

Secretary

Shelley Szudera joined the BIO Girls Board of Directors in 2020. She has worked for Choice Bank since 2013 and currently serves as the Senior Brand & Marketing Manager. Shelley earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from Minnesota State University Moorhead in 2005.

After graduation, she spent seven years living and working in San Francisco, California, before returning to Fargo to be closer to family and lifelong friends. Inspired by Choice Bank’s core value to “better the places we live,” Shelley is deeply committed to community involvement. She has served on several boards, including the American Advertising Federation of North Dakota (AAF-ND), where she held multiple roles over five years including President, and The Arts Partnership (TAP), where she served six years and also held the role of President. She now focuses her time and leadership on BIO Girls as Secretary and dedicated volunteer.

Shelley resides in the Hawthorne neighborhood of Fargo with her husband, Kurt, and their children, Marley and Myles. Together they enjoy traveling, camping, biking, and exploring everything the metro area has to offer.

Treasurer

Pat McShane joined the BIO Girls Board of Directors in 2022. Pat holds the title of VP of Business Development / Commercial Loan Officer at Bank Forward. Pat was born and raised in Fargo, ND. He received his bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities – Carlson School of Management in 2005. Pat started his career in public accounting as a CPA at KPMG LLP in Minneapolis, MN, and has over 17 years of experience in the financial services industry. He also volunteers his time with the United Way of Cass-Clay. Pat resides in West Fargo, ND with his wife Tiffany, and their two boys.

Director

Necole Frances Johnson joined the BIO Girls board in 2023. She has been immersed in philanthropic and non-profit work for over fifteen years. A graduate of the University of Jamestown, she earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary and Early Childhood Education. Necole Frances is a Primal Question coach. She enjoys doing therapy dog work with middle school counselors, high school and elementary school classrooms, nursing homes, and the READ dog program at the library. She lives in Grand Forks with her husband Brian. They have four adult children.

Director

Shantel was born and raised in Fargo, ND. She received her bachelor’s degree in Finance from North Dakota State University. After working in finance for 8 years, Shantel is currently enjoying being home raising her daughter. In her free time, she enjoys being active and outdoors, cooking, and reading. Shantel and her husband, Jaden, live in Fargo with their daughter and their two dogs.

Marcus Thornton is in his 17th year at Scheels and currently the Chief Marketing Officer for the past 10 years overseeing all marketing initiatives on behalf of their 34 stores across the country. Marcus is from western Wisconsin and served in the US Army from 1992 - 1996, attended the University of Wisconsin La Crosse following, while transitioning to a career in retail with over 27 years of total experience. With far too many hobbies to list, Marcus is most passionate about improving his bad golf game, funding his wine collection, studying, and traveling the continents to pursue his fascination with history, most specifically WWII. Along with his wife Shannon, Marcus has called the FM area home since 2007 and currently lives in south Fargo, recently transitioning to "empty nesters" with two grown children, son Rylyn & daughter Jaedyn.

Richelle has been an employee-owner at Border States since 2011 and is currently responsible for leading all procurement functions for the organization, serving as the Vice President of Procurement. Richelle has held multiple supply chain roles across Border States, with leadership experience spanning both operational and customer-facing roles. She has a passion for defining and implementing strategies to address and improve business needs and for team development and career planning. Richelle was a recipient of tED magazine’s “30 under 35” Award and graduated from the United Way’s 35 Under 35 Women’s Leadership Program. She lives in Fargo with her husband, Tom, and their three children.

Kelsey Roth is the VP of Human Resources at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota and has over 20 years of experience leading international HR teams. Kelsey grew up in Greenbush, MN, and received her bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of North Dakota and her master’s degree in HR Management from the University of Mary. Kelsey has served on the BIO Girls personnel committee for the past three years and also serves on the Gigi's Playhouse board.  She enjoys spending time outside being active, reading, trying new recipes, and spending time at her daughter’s sporting events. Kelsey resides in Oxbow, ND with her husband, Steve, and daughter Nora.

Rebecca serves as the Executive Director of the North Dakota Ethics Commission. She holds a B.A. in Biology, Society, and Environment from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, an M.S. in Education, Teaching, & Learning from Northern State University, Aberdeen, SD, and an J.D. from the University of North Dakota School of Law, Grand Forks, ND. Rebecca also was an Adjunct Professor at the University of Mary for 8 years and is the owner of Simple Sugar LLC, a local cotton candy company. Rebecca enjoys volunteering at her local BIO Girls site, running, and hiking. As a mother of three daughters, she is passionate about the mission of BIO Girls. Rebecca and her husband, Mark, along with their kiddos, live in Bismarck.