Making a difference in the world is common goal for many in the GW community—including Jon Tollefson, ESIA BA ’05, MA ’08, who recently announced that he is running for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Tollefson is running to succeed retiring State Representative John Benson in Minnesota House District 44B, which represents the cities of Minnetonka, Plymouth and Woodland.
A native of Minnetonka, Tollefson says that he “received a world-class public education, [and] my opportunities in life have come from being given the best start anyone could want. I am running to make sure others enjoy that same chance.”
After graduating from GW, Tollefson served for five years as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. State Department, working in Nigeria, Mexico, and Washington DC.
Today, Tollefson works at the Minnesota High Tech Association as a technology advocate, where he engages policy leaders at the state and national level and strives to make Minnesota one of the top five technology states in the country.
Tollefson also remains dedicated to GW, serving a member of both the GW Alumni Association Board of Directors and the GW LGBT Alumni Association Board.
“After serving abroad with the State Department and studying and working in DC, I returned home to Minnesota as an advocate for economic development through science and technology,” Tollefson says. “GW played an extraordinary role in helping me prepare for this next step I’m taking, and I could not be more excited to serve my home community in this way.”
–Thanks to Jon Tollefson for sharing this news! To learn more about the campaign, visit: www.tollefsonforhouse.com, and follow Tollefson for news and updates: Twitter | Facebook
