TZD Star Awards Recipients

2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008

2019

Child Passenger Safety: Detective Cameron Gustafson

Detective Cameron Gustafson with the Coon Rapids Police Department has single-handedly doubled the car seat install/clinic rates in his area. After Cameron noticed that many caregivers in his area who were on medical assistance were struggling to obtain car seats, he discovered the reason: the sole Ucare provider in the area was overwhelmed by requests.

In response, he took steps to make the Anoka County Safe Kids Coalition a service provider for Ucare, and with that the coalition will be able to sponsor the CPST’s inclusion in agencies, schools, and hospitals in the area; attendance at the statewide TZD conference; and other continuing-education opportunities that it otherwise wouldn’t have been able to participate in. Over the past year, the coalition was also able to take appointment requests online, making it much more accessible and approachable with Cameron’s guidance and assistance.

Education: Allison Nicholson

Allison Nicolson has worked in the area of injury prevention for the last 14 years. Allison is a proud creator of the Twin Ports JOYRIDE program, a safe ride home program. She was integral in obtaining funding and partners for this program, and she has helped increase the ridership of JOYRIDE from 284 in 2015 to nearly 2,000 in 2018. Allison also advocated to increase area bar participation in JOYRIDE, which started with 6 bars in 2013 and has grown to 49 at the end of 2018.

Along with her exceptional work with the JOYRIDE program, Allison also coordinates mock crashes and the Safe Kids NE Minnesota Coalition. She is a child passenger safety instructor and is key to the Driving 4 Safe Communities coalition’s involvement with many events such as the EMS conference and Trauma Research Days. Many describe Allison as a “servant leader” who is always looking for innovative ways to serve her community to make it a safer place to live, work, and play.

Emergency Medical & Trauma Services: Kristi Engelstad

Kristi Engelstad is the Clinical Learning & Development Specialist at F-M Ambulance. Part of her job is to make sure that F-M Ambulance is involved in a variety of different safety efforts throughout the communities that it serves, including Clay County, MN, and Cass County, ND. She is an integral part of providing traffic safety education throughout the region, and she shows a deep passion, commitment, and enthusiasm for EMS and her community.

Kristi’s dedication is evident in her favorite project, “Buckle Up with Bucky,” a seat-belt safety program for children in grades K–2. Kristi worked tirelessly for two years to secure a grant that would continue funding the program. Since she took over coordination and implementation of the program, she has helped teach seat-belt safety to more than 13,300 kids. This is just one of the many projects Kristi is involved with. She is a passionate leader in EMS who collaborates with other community partners to ensure that EMS is an active part of the 4 Es.

Enforcement: Commander Jeremy Ellison

Commander Jeremy Ellison is the executive commander to the Assistant Chief of Police with the Saint Paul Police Department. He was instrumental in designing and creating two web-based programs, the ROAR program and the STEP program, that are used statewide by agencies working with a Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths grant.

Commander Ellison uses a three-pronged approach that includes education, engineering, and enforcement when tackling the issue of traffic and pedestrian safety in Saint Paul. Through his efforts, the city's public works department has been able to better design intersections, making pedestrians and biking a priority. Commander Ellison also helped obtain a 2017 AAA Community Challenge Grant for pedestrian crossing improvements near public housing and was instrumental in helping the department reorganize the Traffic Unit into the Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Unit, focused on distracted driving, pedestrian safety, and impaired driving. He has also presented on the Stop for Me campaign at national conferences, local workshops, and community group meetings and has shared information about the initiative with other cities in Minnesota, New York, and California.

Engineering: Renae Kuehl

Renae Kuehl has worked in traffic safety for the past 19 years. Her experience covers a wide range of traffic engineering areas, such as traffic operations, impacts, and safety. Renae has been heavily involved in the technical analysis for many safety-related studies, including road safety plans, road safety audits, and safe routes to school studies. These efforts make Renae a key person involved in reducing the number of traffic-related fatalities on Minnesota's roads.

Renae has been highly involved in transportation safety efforts at the state, county, and local levels, which includes work on MnDOT’s Statewide District Safety Plans, Statewide County Roadway Safety Plans, Road Safety Audits, and Safe Routes to School studies in Minnesota and North Dakota. These efforts show both teamwork and dedication to making a difference toward lowering fatal and serious injury crashes on Minnesota roads at all levels.

Judicial & Court System: James C. Backstrom

James C. Backstrom has served as the Dakota County Attorney since 1987. He has worked tirelessly over the years to promote traffic safety in Dakota County and throughout Minnesota. County Attorney Backstrom understands that effective traffic safety requires a commitment from the entire community. To that end, he has worked with community leaders, concerned citizens, public interest organizations, law enforcement, and legislators to increase traffic safety awareness. He has developed traffic safety materials and programming for youth and adults and worked with legislators in drafting, promoting, and testifying in support of legislation designed to make our roads safer.

Other traffic safety efforts that County Attorney Backstrom has been involved in include numerous annual community resource/health fairs, making public presentations concerning traffic safety, participating in community mock car crashes, working with organizations to encourage their involvement in the toward zero deaths messaging efforts, meeting with many victims of crimes involving vehicle crashes to explain the criminal justice process, and focusing attention on the “100 deadliest days”, most recently by creating a public service video for social media concerning the dangers of distracted driving.

2018

• Child Passenger Safety: Karri Hendrickson
• Education: Jeff Strom
• Emergency Medical & Trauma Services: Amy Saylor
• Enforcement: Kevin Otto
• Engineering: Richard Sanders
• Judicial & Court System: Abby Kuschel

2017

• Child Passenger Safety: Julie Philbrook
• Education: Vijay Dixit
• Emergency Medical & Trauma Services: James Kroona
• Enforcement: Brad Norland
• Engineering: Rick West
• Judicial & Court System: Matt Grochow

2016

• Child Passenger Safety: Laura Owen
• Education: Officer Adam Gau
• Emergency Medical & Trauma Services: Matt Jakubik
• Enforcement: Deputy Tom Coulter
• Engineering: Lou Tasa
• Judicial & Court System: Michelle Zehnder Fischer

2015

• Engineering: Tom Dumont, MnDOT District 3
• Enforcement:Trooper Gabe Cornish, Minnesota State Patrol
  
• Judicial/Court Systems: Jack Muhar, Itasca County
• Education: Brenda Pohlman, Fillmore County Public Health
• Emergency Medical and Trauma Services: Deb Syverson, Sanford Medical Center
• Child Passenger Safety: KaRee Lockling, Fond du Lac Reservation Human Services Division

2014

• Engineering: Nancy Klema, MnDOT 
  
• Enforcement: Deputy Sheriff Tim Entner, Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office
• Judicial/Court Systems: Judge Shaun Floerke, Minnesota’s Sixth Judicial District
• Education: Jennifer Hoff, Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center
• Education: Bill Shaffer, Office of Traffic Safety, Minnesota Department of Public Safety
• Emergency Medical and Trauma Services: Deb Horsman, Mayo Clinic
• Child Passenger Safety: Deborah Schroeder, Olmsted County Public Health

2013

• Engineering: Vic Lund, St. Louis County
• Enforcement: Becky Putzke, Brainerd Police Department
• Judicial/Court Systems: Thomas Miller, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Minnesota Department of Public Safety's
• Education: Andrea Gierok, Winona County Community Services
• Emergency Medical and Trauma Services: Tom Vanderwal, Greater Northwest Emergency Medical Services
• Child Passenger Safety: Esther DeLaCruz, CPS Associates

2012

• Engineering: Brad Estochen, MnDOT
• Enforcement: Jason Engeldinger, Minnesota State Patrol
• Judicial/Court Systems: Judge Mark Starr, St. Louis County Courts
• Education: Gail Weinholzer, AAA Minnesota-Iowa
• Emergency Medical and Trauma Services: Dan DeSmet, North Memorial Ambulance Service-Marshall Region
• Child Passenger Safety: Jennifer Booge, Mahube Community Council

2011

• Engineering: Mark Vizecky, MnDOT
• Enforcement: Scott McConkey, Office of Traffic Safety
• Judicial/Court Systems: Shari Schluchter, Beltrami County Courts
• Education: Bryan Carey, Minnesota State Patrol
• Emergency Medical and Trauma Services: Brian Nord, Allina Transportation Buffalo
• Child Passenger Safety: Diana Van Wormer, Regions Hospital

2010

• Enforcement: Joel Scharf, Moorhead Police Department
• Emergency Medical & Trauma Services: J. Kevin Croston, North Memorial Medical Center
• Education: Dan Schoonhoven, Moorhead Fire Department
• Engineering: Wayne Sandberg, Washington County
• Child Passenger Safety: Sharon Munns, Saint Marys Hospital/Mayo Clinic
• Judicial/Court Systems: Joel Watne, former assistant attorney general

2009

• Enforcement: Bruce Johnson, Dakota County Sheriff's Department (retired)
• Emergency Medical & Trauma Services: Darrell Smith, Cook County Ambulance Service
• Education: Joseph Grafft, Metropolitan State University
• Engineering: Dave Engstrom, MnDOT
• Child Passenger Safety: Brynn Duncan and family, crash survivor
• Judicial/Court System: James Dehn, Isanti County Courts

2008

• Enforcement: Jeremy Cossette, White Earth Tribal Police
• Emergency Medical & Trauma Services: Jim Theodore, retired
• Education: Cheryl Bisping, Mesabi Safe Communities Coaltion
• Engineering: Dave Kopacz, Federal Highway Administration
• Child Passenger Safety: Tom Jansky, Gold Cross Ambulance