Our Leadership
Dennis Kamstra
President/CEO/Board Member
Mr. Kamstra has been the President of Living Services Foundation since 2005. He has been in the long-term care industry in Minnesota for the past 42 years, holding a state license in both nursing home and hospital administration. In this position, he has been appointed by both the state and the federal government to act as a receiver, holding the licenses for troubled facilities, while acting to initiate a turn- around or transition to closure.
Mr. Kamstra was a co-founder of Health Dimensions, serving as the Chief Operations Officer, and later was employed by Benedictine Health System as its Chief Financial Officer and the Vice President of Corporate Development. He served as the Chairman of Care Providers of Minnesota, a trade association for long-term care facilities, for three terms, and also served on the Board of Directors of the American Health Care Association for two terms. Mr. Kamstra was a member of the Minnesota Governor’s Long- Term Care Commission, and has held numerous other leadership and Board roles in the long-term care industry.
Robert Sundberg
Chairman of the Board
Mr. Sundberg earned a B.S. degree in Business Administration from St. Cloud State University in 1963. Mr. Sundberg worked briefly for Charles Pfizer as a pharmaceutical representative in its J.B. Roerig division until 1967 when he became the Assistant Administrator of Cambridge Nursing Home (now Cambridge Health Care Center). In 1969, Mr. Sundberg built and thereafter owned Villa Health Care Center in Mora, Minnesota, and in 1975, he purchased Cambridge Health Care Center from his family.
From 1979 through 1998, Mr. Sundberg was an owner and key member of management of Health Dimensions, a company that managed the operations of nursing homes and assisted living facilities, a pharmacy, a hospice, and a consulting division. Mr. Sundberg continued to work as the administrator of Cambridge Health Care Center until the sale of the facility in January of 2007.
Dr. Paul Sanders
Board Member
Dr. Paul Sanders is a licensed physician, who practiced in Cambridge, Minnesota until his retirement in 2007. He began his career in long term care in 1975 when he began serving as Medical Director of Cambridge Health Care Center.
In addition to other consultative roles, he served as the Head Medical Director/Chief Medical Officer of Benedictine Health System’s Long-Term Care Division for 18 years until his retirement in 2016. Dr. Sanders also served as the President of the Minnesota Medical Association for 10 years. He is a past president of Bethel College (now Bethel University) in Arden Hills, Minnesota.
R. Rodney Pakonen
Board Member
Mr. Pakonen is retired. From 1971 to 1995, he acted as a municipal financial advisor for T.G. Evensen & Associates (now Public Financial Management, Inc.), as an investment banker for Piper Jaffray & Co., Inc. and FBS Investment Services Inc., and as an independent, consulting, investment advisor.
From 1968 to 1971, he worked as an economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Mr. Pakonen holds a B.A. and a M.A. from Northern Michigan University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from Washington State University.
Jennifer Gleason
Chief Operating Officer and Secretary/Treasurer to the Board
Ms. Gleason has been employed by the Foundation since 2006 holding roles focused on operations and development. She has been Chief Operating Officer since 2008. She obtained her Nursing Home Administrator’s License through the State of Minnesota in October of 2007.
Ms. Gleason holds a B.A. from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN and she completed her M.B.A. at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota in December of 2012. She served as a Valuation Fellow in the University of Minnesota’s Medical Industry Leadership Institute in 2013 and has done additional consulting for medical device companies. She is currently a Board Member of Care Providers of Minnesota, an industry association, and serves as the Chair of their Service Corporation.
