About Us

History

Generations Health Care Initiatives carries forward the legacy of the Andreas M. Miller Trust. A former Duluth mayor and philanthropist, Andreas Miller was a mining and logging entrepreneur during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Prior to his death in 1917, provisions were made through his trust to care for the region’s vulnerable population “without distinction of sex, color, creed, or nationality”.

The Andreas Miller Trust originally established Duluth’s Miller Memorial Hospital in 1934, the predecessor to Miller-Dwan Medical Center. After the merger between the SMDC Health System and Miller-Dwan Medical Center in 2001, Generations was formed to carry on the legacy of Andreas Miller. The base of funding was dedicated to implementing innovative strategies to address health needs in Duluth and the surrounding area.

In its formative years, Generations’ primary focus was access to care. Through the early work of the Twin Ports Health Access Coalition, several bold initiatives were undertaken to provide health coverage for the uninsured and under-insured. With the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Generations continues to focus on access to care, but has broadened its work to expanding access to mental health and dental care and improving health status at the community level, with a special emphasis on under-served populations. In 2021, Generations celebrated it’s 20th anniversary as a private foundation.

Staff

Jessie Peterson
Jessie Peterson
Executive Director
Meet Jessie
Jessie has always been drawn to landscapes and communities that inspire, challenge, and foster connection. This led to many years exploring Montana and Alaska before returning home to Minnesota, where her love of place was first sparked. She majored in environmental studies followed by a year of service with AmeriCorps at the Montana Legal Services Association. These early experiences cemented Jessie’s commitment to building community resiliency by addressing the connection between socioeconomic, environmental, and health equity factors.
For over two decades she has worked for equity, access, and sustainability by serving in non-profit leadership roles with proven outcomes building organizational capacity. She is adept in strategic planning, fund development, policy analysis, community outreach, coalition building, and project management. Her focus is centered on improving access, equity, and community health outcomes for all. For Jessie, the most rewarding aspect of leadership is collaborating with, and learning from, those around her.
Jessie earned a BA in Environmental Studies from Carroll College, Helena Montana and a Master of Social Work from the University of Minnesota, Duluth.
Megan Bremmon
Megan Bremmon
Senior Program Director

megan.bremmon@ghci.us

218-336-5709

Meet Megan
Megan applies her energy, experience, and management skills to Generations’ Access to Care initiatives. She engages a wide variety of partners in access efforts, including community organizations, health systems, St. Louis County, faith communities, and higher education, among others.
For more than a decade, Megan has worked for non-profit organizations focused on youth development, social change, and asset building. Through non-profit work, she recognized the critical role that access to health care plays in an individual’s or family’s ability to achieve stability and advancement.
Megan earned a BA in Sociology from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and MA in Women’s Studies from Florida Atlantic University.
Terry Leonidas
Terry Leonidas
Chief Financial Officer

terry.leonidas@ghci.us

218-336-5702

Meet Terry
Terry manages the financial aspects of the foundation including, grant and program financial allocations, payroll, and investment management. He brings nearly 40 years of accounting experience to his position, including former roles as Chief Accountant and Chief Financial Officer.
Terry earned a BS in Accounting from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and MS in Management from the College of St. Scholastica.
Angel Nustad-Peluso
Angel Nustad-Peluso
Program Director
Meet Angel
Angel joined Generations in 2025, bringing 20 years of nonprofit experience dedicated to serving youth and families. With a strong background in youth development and Full-Service Community Schools, Angel offers deep expertise in designing, implementing, and evaluating data-driven equity strategies that strengthen communities. Her work centers on fostering youth-adult partnerships and authentic stakeholder engagement to drive sustainable, systemic change.
Angel’s leadership style is collaborative and equity-driven, emphasizing shared decision-making, capacity building, and continuous improvement to empower teams and stakeholders.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Studio Art from St. Catherine University and is a licensed facilitator of M³ (Making Meaning of Multiple Datasets), underscoring her commitment to innovative, evidence-based approaches in program design and evaluation.
Sonia Kjos
Sonia Kjos
Management Information Manager

sonia.kjos@ghci.us

218-336-5705

Meet Sonia
Sonia serves as data manager and analyst for programs sponsored by the foundation. She brings a unique combination of analytic and creative skills acquired through work experience in marketing, information systems, public health, and medical research. She enjoys the challenge of constructing flexible data collection solutions, tailoring analyses to fit project management needs, and creatively packaging results.
Sonia earned a BS in Business at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, MS in Epidemiology at the University of Texas, School of Public Health, Houston, and PhD in Medical/Veterinary Entomology at Texas A&M University, College Station.
Grace Bauman
Administrative Assistant

grace.bauman@ghci.us

218-336-5701

Meet Grace
Grace is a Duluth native with experience supporting local nonprofits and foundations focused on improving community well-being throughout the Northland. She enjoys helping connect organizations, resources, and people to support initiatives that create meaningful impact.
Grace earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Her professional interests include communication, education, and storytelling as tools for increasing understanding and reducing stigma around chronic health conditions.
She believes that accessible information and strong relationships are essential to creating healthier communities and is especially interested in collaborative approaches to addressing complex health challenges and improving outcomes for individuals and families.

Board of Directors

Kim Dauner

Chair

Robin Davidson

Vice Chair

Stacy Johnston

Past Chair

Jim Spreitzer

Secretary / Treasurer

Dave Lee

Holly Kelsey-Henry

Julia Lee

Krystina Willemssen

Sasheen Goslin

Tracy Onchwari

Yvonne Michaud Novak

Tax Forms