Harpstead now at the helm of LSS of Minnesota
New LSS CEO Jodi Harpstead, right, washes the feet of people involved with various LSS programs as part of a worship service marking the transition into her new role. Metro Lutheran photo: Bob Hulteen
Although Jodi Harpstead had officially started her tenure as CEO of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS) earlier in September, she marked the Leadership Transition Service on September 17 at the LSS Center for Changing Lives as the official transition. Harpstead takes over as CEO from Mark Peterson, who led the social service agency for 25 years.
“Worship is central to who the church is,” Harpstead told Metro Lutheran. “Through worship we are equipped for service.”
LSS Board Chair Jim Vos, in his homily, said “God calls and equips people with special gifts at special times. We need Jodi’s unique ability to build on the legacy of LSS — ‘at just such a time as this.’”
“People have asked if I am the first woman as CEO of LSS. I am not. I am not the first Dane either,” she said. “But I think I am the first person [as CEO] with an MBA.”
Tags: Bob Hulteen, Center for Changing Lives, Jim Vos, Jodi Harpstead, Leadership Transition Service, LSS, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota, Mark Peterson
