About Us
Learn more about Mind Shift — who we are, what we do, and how you can work with us.
Our Mission
Mind Shift is a specialized staffing agency that harnesses the unique talents of autistic professionals to drive business success and strengthen communities.
Our Vision
A world of work where people are valued for their different ways of thinking.
Meet the Mind Shift Team
MEGHAN KLEIN
Meghan Klein is the Executive Director of Mind Shift. With a background in physical therapy, she has always been motivated by helping people build independence and experience meaningful life change. At Mind Shift, Meghan focuses on growing impact, strengthening partnerships, and building systems that help both individuals and employers succeed. She is deeply committed to aligning Mind Shift’s mission with how the organization operates every day, and to delivering on the promises made to the individuals, families, and employers the organization serves.
SHANA STENBERG
Shana Stenberg is a strategic business development and operations leader with 15+ years of experience driving growth, optimizing systems, and building high-performing teams. As Director of Business Development at Mind Shift, she helps organizations gain a competitive edge by harnessing the unique talents of autistic professionals. Her approach blends consultative sales, relationship building, and operational excellence to create partnerships that deliver measurable impact. Previously, Shana held senior operations leadership roles supporting revenue growth and leading system and process improvements. Outside of work, she’s a Minnesota girl at heart — an active community volunteer and hockey coach who enjoys spending time with her husband and three children, often camping, fishing, and traveling with family and friends.
CALEB DACHTLER
Caleb worked for two years with Major League Soccer’s Sporting Kansas City as a Youth Programs Coordinator, traveling throughout the Midwest providing camps, clinics, and events for youth interested in soccer. He also worked closely with the nonprofit department, The Victory Project, helping plan events for individuals with disabilities. After his time in Kansas City, he worked in staffing for five years. His background includes placing individuals in Healthcare, IT, Warehousing, and Administrative roles. He is excited to continue making a strong impact in the Minnesota community at Mind Shift. In his free time, Caleb enjoys being outdoors with his wife and dog. They love snowboarding, camping, hiking, and traveling. When it’s too cold, they enjoy staying in to read, watch a movie, or spend time with family and friends.
JENNIFER OLSON
Jennifer Olson is Mind Shift’s Client Manager for North Dakota. With over 20 years of experience as an administrator, she has found her strength is serving in what she calls “bridge roles”. She enjoys bringing people together to reach their goals. While she has worked as an administrator in a variety of industries from Aerospace Engineering to Landscaping and IT, she is very happy to be back in non-profit helping to bridge the gap between business and neurodiverse talent in a way that helps everyone thrive. In her spare time she enjoys knitting, hiking, and is always ready for her next travel adventure.
EMILY MANNINEN
Emily has 13 years of dedicated experience supporting the autistic community, as a Special Education Teacher and Transition Specialist. From Camp Hand in Hand to teaching at Lionsgate Academy, she is deeply passionate about fostering environments where every individual is celebrated for being authentically themselves. Outside of work, she enjoys exploring St. Paul’s coffee scene, cheering on women’s hockey, and spending time with her dog, Mosley.
CHRISTEN CARTER
Christen’s experience combines technology, creative design, and education. She specializes in building digital products that tell compelling stories. As the former Director of Digital Media at Texas Christian University, she led the development of student media platforms like tcu360.com, focusing on interactive storytelling. She has a solid foundation in UX Design from the tech sector, and added skills in educational design and mentorship as an Adjunct Professor in digital media tools. Past company highlights include Google and Pixar Animation Studios. She enjoys running, reading, photography, and spending time with her family.
TIFFANY McLELLAN
Tiffany combines her passion for accounting with a people-centered approach. She brings a diverse background in non-profits, education, accounting, insurance, and small business ownership. Tiffany is known for her strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, technical proficiency, and commitment to regulatory compliance. Outside of work, she enjoys volunteering with organizations, being a patient advocate, exploring the outdoors, reading, and traveling.
Meet the Mind Shift Board
Tim Hanson
Tim started Specialisterne Midwest, now Mind Shift, in 2010 with the goal of tapping into the unique talents of people with ASD, like his son Joe. With the help of world-class board members and advocates, MindShift.works is achieving this goal for many talented young people with ASD. Tim is founder and CEO of Sherwood Forest, Inc., and lives with his wife Stephanie and four children in Hanover, MN.
Todd Lindberg
Todd serves on Mind Shift’s board of directors and is the Board Secretary. He has been involved with efforts to bring Mind Shift (previously Specialisterne) to the United States since the beginning. Separately, Todd is the President of Sherwood Forest, Inc., a firm that helps companies save money.
Dan Tarrence
Dan has served on Mind Shift’s board of directors since 2017 and was instrumental is opening up Milwaukee as one of the key focal points for Mind Shift operations. In 2022 we announced Dan as the board treasurer for the organization. He worked in the clean energy sector since 1990 leading an energy efficiency company before retiring in 2020. Dan and his wife, Lynn, have been married for 30 years and have a son on the autism spectrum, who recently moved out into his own apartment, living independently. Dan publishes the Green Edge newsletter on LinkedIn and substack today.
Josh Teigen
Josh is a serial entrepreneur who has been with Mind Shift from the beginning. He has served on the Mind Shift Board of Directors for nearly 10 years. Prior to this position, Josh spent time in venture capital and business development consulting. He then went on to found and run Protosthetics, as the President and CFO. Protosthetics is a medical device manufacturer and distributor in the prosthetics and orthotics market.
Stephanie Nelson
Ms. Nelson is the Chief Executive Officer at Anne Carlsen Center.
Larry Altringer
Larry is a native of Devils Lake, ND. He has successfully established and grown a number of businesses in North Dakota and Minnesota. Larry has been active in serving as one of the original Mind Shift board members. He and his wife Diane live in Grand Forks, ND.
Steve Kowalke
Steve has been working in finance and management consulting since 1980. As Vice President and Treasurer at Target Corporation, he had responsibility for the Financing, Banking, Investments, Risk Management and Tax divisions. After 25 years with Target, Steve formed 7 Peaks Consulting, which assists non-profit and for-profit companies in financial management, organizational design, leadership development as well as mergers and acquisitions. In addition to the position of Treasurer and Board Member of Mind Shift, Steve also serves on the boards of SonScape Retreats, and The Blessing House.
Craid Sneljtes
Craig is the Managing Partner for Korn Ferry in Minneapolis. Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm with over 7,500 employees in over 50 countries. Korn Ferry is one of the most respected and successful recruitment process outsourcing firms in the world.