Executive Management Team
Becky Malkerson
President and CEO
Becky Malkerson assumed leadership of the Minnesota Medical Foundation in August 2006.
Prior to joining the foundation, she was senior vice president, corporate marketing and communications, at Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, a primary company of Munich-based Allianz AG, one of the largest global insurance and financial services organizations in the world. In her four years there, she developed the corporate brand for Allianz Life, increasing brand identity by 20 percent in two years. During that same time period she also doubled the size of the Allianz corporate giving and community programs.
Prior to joining Allianz Life, Malkerson served as vice president, worldwide corporate communications, at the world’s largest biotechnology company, Amgen, Inc. While there, she delivered the best media coverage in the history of the company and launched Amgen’s first-ever celebrity-driven, direct-to-consumer campaigns.
Malkerson has also held leadership positions with UnitedHealth Group in Minnetonka, where she managed the company’s new identity and brand strategy, and with U.S. Bancorp in Minneapolis.
Malkerson is well known for her community service and professional activities in the Twin Cities area, where she serves on three local boards. She is also a member and immediate past chair of the the board of directors of the Public Affairs Council in Washington, D.C.
A native Minnesotan, Malkerson received a B.A. in sociology from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and largest academic honor society.
Cindy Kaiser
Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Operations
Cindy Kaiser joined the Minnesota Medical Foundation in October 1996, and is responsible for financial management, information systems, and advancement services at the foundation. Kaiser serves as a member of the executive management team and staffs the finance and audit and investment committees of the board of trustees. Kaiser was recognized as one of the Top Women in Finance in 2002 by Finance and Commerce, a Twin Cities-based publication. She has also served on the leadership council of Minnesota Society of CPAs. Previously, Kaiser served as controller for Rehab One, a Minneapolis-based organization that managed the operations and finances of clinics across the country. Kaiser was responsible for financial management and reporting for Rehab One as well as the clinics, including strategic planning and multi/year projections, budgeting, risk management, cash controls, reporting, and corporate filings.
Prior to her position at Rehab One, Kaiser was senior accountant for Hoffman & Swintek, CPAs. Kaiser was the manager on annual audits of both for profit and not-for-profit clients. She also worked with clients on tax planning and completed both corporate and individual tax returns.
Kaiser received her bachelor of science degree from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 1984. In 1990, she became a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Minnesota. Kaiser is a member of the Minnesota Society of CPAs as well as the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She serves as a volunteer board member for PFund, a GLBT community foundation. She and her partner, Cathy Fejes, have lived in South Minneapolis since 1985.
Patricia Porter
Vice President of Development
Patty Porter joined MMF as vice president of development in October 2007. She oversees the professional and administrative fundraising staff, prospect management and research, planned giving, and the development core services team.
Prior to coming to MMF, she worked for six years at the University of Wisconsin Foundation in Madison, which recently completed Create the Future, a $1.8 billion Fundraising campaign. As senior director of the UW foundation’s health and life sciences development team, she was involved in the Fundraising for the UW hospital and children’s hospital, medical school, cancer center, and cardiovascular research center as well as UW’s nursing and veterinary medicine programs.
Previously, Porter spent 10 years at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where she was assistant vice president for development with responsibility for annual giving, corporate and foundation relations, major and campaign gifts, planned giving, the president’s council and development services. During her tenure, Purdue completed its Vision 21 campaign at $332 million, surpassing its $250 million goal.
Porter holds a B.A. in communication from Purdue University, where she graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She obtained her master’s degree in management from Purdue’s Krannert Graduate School of Management.
Sarah Youngerman
Vice President of Marketing and Communications
Sarah Youngerman joined MMF as vice president of marketing and communications in September 2008. She oversees MMF’s marketing, communications, event planning, stewardship, and alumni and donor relations teams.
Youngerman has eight years of experience at the University of Minnesota, most recently as director of community and public affairs for the Academic Health Center. Her role at the Academic Health Center (AHC) included leading public relations efforts concerning the University’s biomedical research program, the University and Mayo Clinic Partnership and a variety of policy issues at the state and federal level. She came to the University in 2000 as manager of media and public relations for the AHC and in 2004 served as interim director of the University News Service.
Prior to joining the University of Minnesota, Youngerman had worked in media and public relations at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and as an account supervisor with Himle Horner, Inc., a local public affairs company. Additionally, she spent several years in the legislative arena, working as a member of the Minnesota Senate staff and on various political campaigns.
Youngerman holds a B.A. in political science and international studies from Macalester College. She earned her master’s degree in strategic management and finance from the University’s Carlson School of Management.
