Chair: Rick Berg
Rick Berg, an aviation enthusiast, and accomplished entrepreneur, holds a private instrument pilot license and is a proud member of the Fargo Municipal Airport Authority board. As a former Speaker of the House and House Majority Leader in the North Dakota House of Representatives, he later represented North Dakota in the U.S. Congress, focusing on economic development, and advocating for general aviation through his participation in the U.S. House Ways & Means Committee and the General Aviation Caucus. Honored with the Greater North Dakotan award for his contributions, Berg remains dedicated to aligning state and federal priorities, and driving impactful initiatives that benefit North Dakota residents.
Vice Chair: Dr. Dean Bresciani
Dr. Dean Bresciani is the former President of NDSU, where he is currently a professor. During the course of his 40-year career spanning nine states around the country, he has been involved with an extensive range of campus construction projects, campus and municipal master planning, and regional transportation analysis. He has also been actively involved in various municipal and state economic development initiatives, banking interests, and health care.
John Cosgriff
Paula Ekman
With 30 years combined as both a commercial and corporate flight attendant, 30 years of ownership of the region’s largest travel agency and two decades in the hotel industry, Paula offers extensive knowledge of the travel sector to the MAA. Paula served 9 years as a Stanley Township Supervisor and is a Business and Hospitality grad of MSUM. An avid traveler, she has explored over 60 countries, all 50 U.S. states and 4 U.S. territories. A longtime Fargo resident, Paula and her husband of 32 years, Dave, have 3 children.
Brooks Burgum
Brooks Burgum, co-founder and CEO of LongWater, leads capital formation, governance, strategic direction, and performance enhancement across the firm’s growing suite of investment strategies. Brooks holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of North Dakota and an MBA in Finance from Southern Methodist University. He serves on the Board of Directors for Bell Bank and the Burgum Foundation and lives in Fargo with his wife and three children.