Meet the Heartland judges

Nicole Atchison
CEO
PURIS
2021 regional award winner

Nicole Atchison leads PURIS’ portfolio of companies, which includes ingredient technologies, processing technologies, seed genetic strategies, product development, go-to-market strategies, insights, and support for plant-based brands. PURIS develops and supports continued innovation in a spectrum of pure, plant-based foods and ingredients from US-based organic and non-GMO soybeans and yellow peas.

Founded in 1985 in Oskaloosa, Iowa, PURIS™ is a family-owned company built with intention over nearly 40 years. PURIS’ plant-based food system benefits every link in the chain of production: providing flavorful and nutritious choices for people, profitable opportunities for growers, flexible ingredients for food makers, and practices that nourish soil, the environment, and life on earth. As an industry leader in specialty food-grade soybeans and pea protein ingredients, PURIS offers a variety of closed-loop specialty soy including natto, high-protein, organic, and sprouting types. PURIS is the largest manufacturer of pea protein in North America, offering clean-tasting, highly functional ingredients used across food and beverage categories.

Nicole holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University. Before joining PURIS, she held roles in the medical device industry, where she was responsible for leading cross-functional teams through FDA approval and US commercialization of medical devices. Nicole is on the Board of Directors for the US Pea and Lentil Trade Association, US Dry Pea and Lentil Council, Non-GMO Project, and PURIS companies.

In her free time, Nicole enjoys spending time with her husband, Jordan, and their two children, Cameron and Avery. They live in Eden Prairie, MN, where they appreciate the changing seasons and enjoy coaching the multitude of youth sports the family participates in. Back to top

Brad Batz
CEO
Fike Corporation
2024 regional award winner

Brad currently serves as the CEO of Fike Corporation. Fike is a 80-year-old family-owned global business that is the experienced, trusted expert in rupture disc technologies, explosion protection, thermal management in battery energy storage, fire alarm and fire suppression solutions with a vision to eliminate catastrophic loss of life and assets for companies around the globe. Back to top

Kristen Denzer
CEO
Tierra Encantada
2020 regional award winner

Kristen Denzer started Tierra Encantada with the sole purpose of creating a place she would send her own children. Kristen had experienced childcare at other centers, and she knew families wanted more. Tierra Encantada is the leader in Spanish immersion early education® and its unique offering includes an elevated culinary program providing fresh-cooked organic meals designed to expand young palates. Tierra has grown exponentially, first through corporate growth and then in 2019 by launching franchising. Tierra Encantada has corporate and franchise locations across the country and has aggressive growth plans to continue its national expansion. Kristen leads the company’s senior management team, oversees strategic growth, and sets the vision for the company. She has led the company through year-over-year double-digit growth every single year since opening. Kristen has sustained this growth without accepting outside investment and remains the sole shareholder. She has received numerous industry accolades for her business acumen and leadership, including Inc Magazine's “Top 100 Female Founders” and “10 Hottest Franchise Businesses in America,” Financial Times “Fastest Growing Companies in the Americas”, and the U.S. Small Business Administration’s “Small Businessperson of the Year.” Kristen is a serial entrepreneur and experienced speaker. Her entrepreneurial journey began with consulting, where she provided evaluation assistance to over 20 nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and tribal nations. Kristen’s real estate development company currently has a portfolio of over 140,000 square feet of commercial space, and she also co-founded two other companies that she later sold - a dog daycare and an event rental company. Back to top

Rita Katona
Executive Chair & Chief Brand and Innovation Officer
So Good So You
2023 regional award winner

Rita Katona is a visionary leader, blending business acumen with an insatiable drive to revolutionize health and wellness. As the Co-Founder and Chief Brand & Innovation Officer of So Good So You, she has helped shape one of the largest and fastest-growing brands in the Functional Beverage and Kombucha space — earning a coveted spot on the Inc. 5000 list five times.

Rita’s passion for pure, wholesome foods was instilled in her at an early age, and her sharp consumer insight transformed this passion into a thriving business. She recognized a critical gap in the market: products that didn’t just nourish the body but also tasted delicious. Armed with this vision, she left behind a successful corporate retail career to launch So Good So You with a mission to create functional, great-tasting products that power people and respect the planet.

Under her leadership, So Good So You has disrupted the Functional Beverage space, creating a new wellness shot category. As the driving force behind innovation, Rita has spearheaded the development of dozens of unique products and expanded the brand’s presence to over 14,000 stores nationwide — a testament to her ability to craft mainstream-accessible superfoods with real, science-backed benefits.

A Certified B Corp, SGSY makes its shots in a facility powered by 100% renewable energy, packaged in 100% recycled plastic. They are the first shot brand to be certified zero waste by TRUE. SGSY’s mindful practices don’t stop there; with a female-led board and female-majority team, SGSY is a force for good both with consumers and its own team members. 

Rita’s work has been recognized on the national stage, earning her the EY 2023 Heartland Entrepreneur of the Year award and a spot on Inc.’s 2024 Female Founders 250 list. With an unrelenting commitment to innovation and a deep understanding of what modern consumers crave, Rita continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in the world of functional wellness. Back to top

Christine Lantinen
CEO
Maud Borup, Inc.
2022 regional award winner

In 2005, Christine Lantinen purchased Maud Borup and transformed the company from a business-to-consumer model to a leading wholesale candy, confections, and food gift company, selling direct to specialty and mass retailers such as Whole Foods and Target. This year the company produced over 17 million units and brought 150 products to market. It is one of the top five candy companies in Minnesota employing over 400 team members. The company vision has remained constant; provide a high level of customer service to the retailers and wholesalers it serves through trend-forward product design and development, a lean supply chain, and green manufacturing practices. In 2020 0% landfill waste was implemented at its production facilities, which is one of 30 things it does as a company to reduce and reuse waste. Headquartered in Plymouth, MN, with three manufacturing facilities in Christine’s childhood hometown of Le Center, MN, current hometown of Plymouth, MN, and Delafield, WI, the company continues to expand in-house manufacturing, production, and warehousing. Maud is Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) certified and certified to produce and pack gluten-free and organic products. In 2022 the company became one of only 8,000 Certified B Corporations in the world (54 in Minnesota) using business as a force for good. Christine was recognized by Ernst & Young LLP as a 2022 Entrepreneur of the Year^® Heartland winner. She was awarded Minnesota’s 2019 Small Businessperson of the Year by the Small Business Administration, the 2020 Woman-Owned Manufacturer of the Year, and made the 2022 and 2023 Fast 50 Companies list by Minneapolis/St Paul Business Journal in addition to the 2023 and 2024 Inc 5000. She is committed to having a healthy balance between running a family-owned business and being a wife and mother. She hopes one day her kids will continue the Maud Borup tradition. Back to top

Ravi Norman
CEO
Sagiliti
2021 EAN alumni

Ravi Norman currently serves as Chair & CEO of Sagiliti, a utility management firm that helps corporate and multi-family clients maximize utility cost savings, sustainability and DEI impacts.

Ravi’s commercial experience and technical knowledge spreads across several business segments, including commercial banking, structured finance, commercial real estate development, design, construction and operations. Ravi’s business motto is that “indigenous wisdom and equitable practices ensures  sustainable communities.”

Ravi is an entrepreneurial change agent, cross-functional influencer and strategic thinker, with extensive civic commitments and leadership responsibilities.

He is a dynamic orator and inspirational leader, with a passion for faith, family and fellowship. Back to top

Erin Pash
Chairwoman of the Board
Ellie Mental Health
2024 regional award winner

Erin Pash started Ellie Mental Health with the sole purpose of creating the best place to work with the highest level of clinical excellence and decreasing stigma around mental health care. Erin had experienced the mental health industry firsthand, and she knew both providers and clients deserved more. Ellie Mental Health is a leader in innovative outpatient mental health services and its unique offering includes a no BS, millennial approach to therapy delivered with humor and authenticity. Ellie has grown exponentially, becoming one of the largest Mental Health Outpatient organizations in the nation and one of the fastest growing franchises in America with over 570 clinics opening in 45 states in the next few years. Erin was CEO for 10 years and is now Chairwoman of the Board, focusing on new adventures in social health as she feels entrepreneurship is where she can best serve the world. She has sustained this impressive national expansion while maintaining her commitment to clinical excellence and creating positive workplace culture. Erin has received numerous industry accolades for her business acumen and leadership, including EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2024, Inc. 100 Female Founders, 40 Under 40, and Franchise Woman of the Year 2022. Erin is an experienced therapist, visionary, and public speaker. Her professional journey includes extensive work in Complex Family Systems and Relational Interventions in Therapy, Clinical Supervision, Dual Diagnosis, and Conflict Resolution. Erin also co-hosts the podcast “Platonic Lovers,” which focuses on talking about taboo issues and promoting the life-changing effects that friendships have on mental health. She is a strong health care services professional with advanced education in Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling who absolutely loves her field and entrepreneurship! Back to top

Stephanie Rich
Partner, Platform
Bread and Butter Ventures

Stephanie Rich is Partner, Platform at Bread and Butter Ventures where she works to add continuous value to portfolio companies and founders. She is the former Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Techstars Farm to Fork Accelerator in partnership with Cargill and Ecolab. Stephanie has worked with numerous early stage startups as a mentor and advisor, and has received the Techstars #givefirst award three separate times. She has hands-on expertise in bringing products and companies to market while building, cultivating and sustaining customer bases online and off.

Stephanie is the founder of Starting Up North, a publication focused on telling the stories and sharing the insights of Minnesota startups, innovators and their ecosystem, and Goby Partners, a marketing consultancy for startups and growing brands. Prior to Goby, Stephanie was employee #1 at Particle, the leading development platform for the internet of things. She established operational infrastructure and built the Particle brand in the marketplace by leading communications, social media and product launches.

She received her BSJ at the Medill School of Journalism and her MBA at the University of Cambridge. Stephanie’s bread and butter is connecting dots - whether that means facilitating unexpected collaborations, surfacing the right tools for solving a problem, or helping teams identify previously unknown strengths. Back to top

Paramita Sarkar
Head of Product Strategy, ESG, Insurance & Annuities,
Fees, Performance Reporting & Analytics
Ameriprise Financial Services Inc.

Paramita Sarkar is Vice President, Product Strategy, Management and Analytics within the Advice and Wealth Management business at Ameriprise Financial. Her portfolio includes developing and executing product strategy, managing the insurance, annuities, and sustainable investing businesses, and running the performance reporting and product analytics teams at Ameriprise Financial. Paramita has been with Ameriprise Financial for over 15 years in a variety of roles leading complex businesses across wealth management focusing on strategy development, P&L management, risk management, advisor and client experience as well as product development and commercialization. In addition to her day-to-day job, she serves on many due diligence and investment committees at Ameriprise and actively participates as an advisory member across several roundtables and committees within the wealth management industry. She is a passionate advocate for inclusivity, financial literacy, team development, and empowerment and spends a lot of time on sponsoring and mentoring junior employees at the firm. Paramita holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Jadavpur University, India, and an MBA from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She holds FINRA Series 7 and 24 registrations. Paramita serves on the board of directors for International Institute of Minnesota, which empowers refugees and immigrants through job training, educational programs, immigration assistance etc. and helps them achieve self-sufficiency and full membership in American life.  Back to top

Neal Sharma
President, Alliance Solutions
Dentsu
2016 regional finalist

Neal Sharma, Co-Founder and Former CEO of acclaimed digital agency DEG, led its growth from a small Kansas City firm to a 600+ person powerhouse, forging key partnerships with major brands before its sale to dentsu. Under his leadership, DEG earned a spot on the Inc. 5000 list for nine years, was named an Ad Age “Best Place to Work,” and recognized by Inc. as one of “25 Companies That Are Changing the World.” He now serves as President of dentsu Alliance Solutions.

Neal is also a Director at Evergy, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVRG) and MRI Global, bringing strategic insight, financial expertise, and deep knowledge of technological evolution. He was a Trustee of American University and advises multiple startups across industries as both an investor and board member.

His leadership has earned widespread recognition, including induction into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame, the William F. Yates Medallion for Distinguished Service, and being named one of the most influential area leaders by several regional publications.

Beyond business, Neal is committed to civic impact. He is Vice-Chair of KC2026, the committee leading Kansas City’s 2026 World Cup efforts, and serves on the board of the Truman Library Institute. He previously chaired KC Rising and the Kansas City chapter of YPO.  Back to top