Ramsey County Commissioner Jan Parker’s Bio

Commissioner Parker was first elected to the County Board in 1996. Parker was elected chair of the Ramsey County Board in 2008. Jan has over 30 years of community and professional experience in the district. She is a creative problem solver and has expertise in making effective change in government. Parker has an MBA from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management and is on the community faculty of Metropolitan State University's College of Management and Public Administration.

• As the Falcon Heights City Administrator (1986-91), she reassessed city operations and collaborated with other government units to improve city services and cut costs.
• As Deputy Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employee Relations (1991-95), Jan was responsible for legislative relations, strategic planning and she directed a complex labor-management effort to reform the state's civil service system as part of the Commission On Reform and Efficiency (CORE).
• During the 1970s, she served as the first Senior Citizens Coordinator for Roseville Area Schools and later coordinated the County's Home Delivered Meals Program.
• During the 1980s, Jan was the assistant to District 2 Ramsey County Commissioner Don Salverda.

In 1998, Jan married Dan Parker. Dan owns White Way Dry Cleaning and is active with the St. Paul Convention and Visitors Bureau. Jan's daughter Brooke graduated from Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, and son Casey, is a graduate of St. Thomas. Two of her three step children, Missy and D.P. Parker, live in Los Angeles and work in the entertainment business; the other, Terry Parker, works for White Way.

In 2005, Jan legally changed her name from Wiessner to Parker.