LSS promotes three leaders to new executive roles
St. Paul-based Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, among the largest human service organizations in Minnesota, announced promotions for three organizational leaders to new executive positions: Joe Khawaja, Alexis Oberdorfer and Janine Fugate.
Joe Khawaja has been promoted to senior vice president of Finance and Operations. In his new role, he will support LSS’ services and Central Service administrative divisions in ways that focus on innovation and operational excellence. He oversees several divisions, including Finance, Accounting, Information Technology, Property Operations, Compliance, Risk Management, Design Lab, and Business Development teams and will phase in the oversight of the Grants, Evaluation and Measurement teams.
Khawaja joined Lutheran Social Service in 2022 as vice president of Finance/CFO. Previously, he was the CFO at Habitat for Humanity, and held senior leadership positions at Federal Reserve Bank, Cargill Inc and Aramark Corporation.
Khawaja holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from City University in New York, a master’s degree of Business Administration in Finance from Capella University based in Minneapolis, Executive Certificates in Leadership from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and in Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy from MIT Sloan School of Management.
Khawaja currently serves as the Board Treasurer of the Affinity Plus Credit Union Board of Directors and is a member of the Executive and Governance Committees. He was named a 2020 CFO of the Year by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal.
Alexis Oberdorfer has been promoted to senior vice president of Services. Previously, Oberdorfer served as vice president of Community Engagement and Partnerships for the organization. Before that, she served dual roles as president of Children’s Home Society of Minnesota – an affiliate organization -- and associate vice president for Lutheran Social Service.
In her new role, she will continue her work in Community Engagement and Partnerships and will phase in oversight of all services including Children, Youth and Families, Disability Services and Older Adults Services. Last year, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota served more than 91,000 individuals.
Oberdorfer has served in child welfare in public and private sectors for more than 30 years, including previous positions with the Minnesota Department of Human Services, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and Hennepin County.
She holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Minnesota, Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, and an undergraduate degree from Wartburg College in Iowa. She has numerous awards for her work advancing child and family wellbeing.
Janine Fugate has been promoted to associate vice president of Marketing and Communications. Since 2015, when she joined Lutheran Social Service as senior director of Marketing and Communications, she has led transformational projects that have strengthened branding, internal communications and user experience of LSS’ web sites. Under her leadership, her team has significantly increased support to more than 25 lines of service across the organization. In her new position, she will take on an expanded leadership role by overseeing the Advocacy team and serving as the executive sponsor for one of the organization’s newest Employee Resource Groups that will launch in May.
Previously, Fugate served as vice president of Marketing & Communications for Scholarship America and has served in marketing and communications leadership roles for a wide array of business and nonprofit organizations.
Fugate holds a master’s degree in Public Affairs from the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, and a bachelor’s degree in English and Management from the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn.
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota began in 1865 when a Lutheran pastor and his congregation opened an orphanage for children near Red Wing in southeastern Minnesota. Today, with 2,500 employees and 10,000 volunteers, Lutheran Social Service helps one in 65 Minnesotans through services that inspire hope, change lives, and build community. Some services, such as Adoption, Financial Counseling, Supported Decision-Making and Guardianship Options, Pooled Trust and Senior Companions support residents in other states as well. Through its mission, the organization seeks to foster safe and supportive homes for children, restore health and wellness in families, empower people with disabilities to live the lives they imagine, and promote health, independence and quality of life for older adults. For comprehensive information about the work of Lutheran Social Service, visit lssmn.org.