Our Team

Don Ness is Executive Director of the Ordean Foundation. Established in 1933, the Ordean Foundation has a long, proud heritage of addressing issues of poverty in Duluth.

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Prior to joining the Ordean Foundation, Don served 16 years in elected leadership, culminating with a 91 percent job approval rating in his role as Mayor of Duluth. During this time, he was honored with the titles of both Twin Cities Business Person of the Year and the Labovitz School of Business and Economics Business Person of the Year.

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He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Duluth, majoring in business administration and economics, and he earned a Masters in Management from the College of St. Scholastica. Prior to his tenure as Mayor, he was the campaign manager for Congressman Jim Oberstar for nearly 10 years. Don is an award-winning author, an adjunct political science instructor, and an active civic leader serving on a number of boards and community-based initiatives.

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Don’s core values include a deep dedication to his family, and an ongoing spirit of service to his community. He and his wife Laura continue to live in Duluth with their three children.

Pamela Arola is a lifelong Duluthian. She earned her bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Minnesota Duluth and a master’s in business administration from the College of St. Scholastica. Pamela enjoys her role at the Ordean Foundation supporting nonprofit organizations whose focus is confronting issues of poverty in the Duluth community. Before joining Ordean, Pamela worked at UMD in the Academic Writing and Learning Center.

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Pamela also serves on the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Ballet and GPM, Inc.. Pamela loves to travel but is happy to call Duluth home alongside her husband, son, and two dogs. She’s grateful to be able to carry on the work of the Ordean Foundation and hopes to continue Ordean’s legacy of addressing long term solutions that address poverty in our community.