Meet the Team


Kent Olson
Chief Excitement Officer / Events Director (44 Miles)

Kent Olson was born and raised in the western suburbs of Minneapolis, MN. He has an education in business from Minnesota State University - Mankato. After completing a banking internship in 1992, Kent began pursuing a career in financial services. His first position was in customer service working for Norwest Mortgage in 1993. Kent then held various sales, business development and leadership roles and remained in the mortgage industry for over 15 years until late 2008. At that time, he began building a real estate franchise for Keller Williams Realty in the Minneapolis area, taking the franchise from 3 to 80 agents during his tenure as CEO/Team Leader. In spring of 2013, Kent began working as Vice President of TheMLSonline.com, a Minneapolis-based independent real estate company operating in 2 U.S. markets. Having eventually become the company president, he remained there until 2021. Kent is now happily back in the mortgage industry where his career began, working as Lending Team Leader for Ownership Mortgage LLC.

Kent and his wife Laura have been married for over 20 years. They live in the Minneapolis area with their two children Matthew and Kathryn (Matty and Katie). Kent enjoys running and other exercise, traveling to warm destinations with Laura in the wintertime and summer cabin trips with Laura, the kids and the entire extended family. He also loves reading, cooking, golfing and entertaining. In addition to volunteering for his church, his true big "why" is passionately serving the autism community through his role with TCAF.

Randy Pierfelice
Vice President of the Giving

Randy Pierfelice hails from Detroit, Michigan and graduated from the University of Michigan. Upon graduation, he pursued a career in Christian ministry and not-for-profit management. Along the way, he picked up an accounting degree from the University of Minnesota at Duluth and began working in corporate accounting. He worked for Honeywell, Carlson Companies and Cargill. He 2013 he switched gears and went to work for a local real estate company, TheMLSonline.com as their controller.

Randy has been married to his wife, Muggy for the past 27 years and they have two sons, Connor and Christian. They reside in Brooklyn Park, MN.

Laura Olson
Vice President of the Details / Hangouts Director (Spring)

Laura is from the Twin Cities. During the day you’ll find her choreographing many aspects of international logistics, a field she’s been in for over 15 years. Laura is currently with a company in Maple Grove where she has worked for over 10 years. In this profession attention to detail and project management skills are a must.

Since the Chief Excitement Officer tends to get excited, he has an appreciation for these particular skills Laura brings to the foundation. When Laura is not spending time with family and friends she lets Rocky (the family dog) take her for walks, fuels a love/hate relationship with running, enjoys live music and reading, and is a huge fan of stand-up comedy.

Jolene Peterson-Taylor
Backpack Director

Jolene Peterson-Taylor, A coffee loving road trip enthusiast, finding her calm in nature. Together she and her husband of 15 years are raising 3 beautiful daughters, one of whom is on the spectrum. Advocating for her daughter she understands the medical diagnosis of a family member creates a need for community providing support for all family members including emotional and mental wellness. Graduate of Winona State University and owner of Life in Full Photography since 2018, in which time has been published in both local and international magazines. She has the privilege of joining families in capturing and preserving authentic moments of connection, collaborating with local businesses and community members to create professional and meaningful projects including the support of Twin Cities Autism Foundation. You can find her on Facebook, or her website, lifeinfullphotography.com

Andy Williams
Hangouts Director (Fall)

Andy was born in Minnesota and grew up living in several midwestern states. He attended the US Naval Academy where he earned a BS in Systems Engineering. After serving 9 years in the Navy as an aircraft commander and instructor pilot, Andy returned to Minnesota and worked with Target Corporation for 8 years primarily in operations, logistics and inventory planning. He then spent 2 years working in supply chain development with Advance Auto Parts before transitioning to Polaris Industries. Andy is currently Vice President of Supply Chain for Polaris’ Parts, Garments and Accessories division. In his spare time, Andy has enjoyed coaching youth sports and serving at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fridley, most recently as President of the Congregational Board for the past 4 years.

Andy and his wife, Tina, have been married 16 years and live in Brooklyn Park. He has 6 children and 3 grandchildren, all of whom live in Minnesota. In 2020, Andy and Tina committed to a goal of visiting all 7 continents in 7 years along with their youngest children (Evelyn and Quinn) – fortunately, they were able to get to Australia before the pandemic! Andy is passionate about our mission particularly because his youngest son (Quinn) is on the spectrum and he has seen the positive impact Foundations can provide in other arenas.

Billy Flanagan
Events Director (44 Miles)

A Native Minnesotan, Billy has always embodied an analytical and heart felt balance in his work and personal efforts. This eventually prepared him for the adventure of a lifetime when he and his wife adopted their daughter, Seeley, at birth in 2015. In the years since, he has immersed himself in the autism community, learning as much as he could to help his small and energetic family. He has really grown to connect with fathers going through similar celebrations and struggles in their homes. To follow Billy's journey and learn more about his story, follow him on Facebook. Professionally, Billy has spent a majority of his career in maintenance management where, once again, his pursuit of systems, solutions and a personal touch has served him well.

Billy has an advocacy page with his wife, Rachel, called FlanaVille. The Flanagan's work hard to shine a light on autism in girls, bring a heightened awareness to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, share their adoption journey, and a whole bunch more. Billy is excited to join forces with The Twin Cities Autism Foundation. and we are excited to see what comes next!

Chad Conzet
Events Director (Golf Classic)

Chad has long considered himself a very lucky man. He’s been enriched with such a wonderful family. He’s married to his beautiful wife of 26 years and has 3 incredible children. He is an Executive Account Manager for Asset Marketing selling rarities for over 20 years! Chad enjoys entertaining, playing golf and watching football...but most of all, traveling with his family. His motto has always been “Food, Family and Friends!” He also feels very blessed to be part of the work that TCA is doing. “I’m happy and very privileged to be a part of such an important cause,” he said. “My God Son Matthew has been such an inspiration and I'm so proud of him.”

Matt Nelson
Board Member At Large

Matt Nelson has been married to his beautiful wife, Gloria, for almost 11 years and resides here in the Twin Cities with Gloria and two girls! Before his time in real estate, Matt was in the IT/Computer Technology industry. He ran his own computer consulting business and worked with many large corporations on a variety of projects. After getting his real estate salesperson’s license in 2009, he used his tech and people skills to run a successful business. In 2020, he became a licensed real estate broker and now is helping lead one of Minnesota’s largest and most productive real estate teams. Outside of work and family, Matt loves to help others in the community, however he can. Since he was young, Matt has been volunteering his time and technical skills and to churches and organizations across the twin cities...and now he is honored to do the same with Twin Cities Autism Foundation.

Lisa Carlson
Board Member At Large

Lisa Carlson is Revolution Wellness Center's Director of Zing Performance and a Certified Health Coach. She has been married to her husband David for 30 years and is Mom to 3 grown sons, one of whom has Autism. Her journey with her middle son brought her into the arena of Natural Health over 20 years ago. Lisa has previous experience working with Brain Balance as a Nutritional Consultant, Center and Program Director, and is on Ancient Nutrition’s Healthcare Practitioner Advisory Panel and most recently was Director of Business Development for Zing Performance NA. She has extensive knowledge of nutritional support products and homeopathic remedies. Lisa has owned her own alternative health company for over 20 years and she is passionate about helping individuals and families on their health & wellness journeys — specifically Moms of children with Special Needs and young children facing challenges with learning and behaviors.