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Heidi M. Meyer is Associate Professor of Nursing and currently serves as the Chief Nursing Administrator for the Department of Nursing. A proud Gustavus alumna, she brings to her work a deep commitment to the College’s liberal arts mission and to preparing graduates who have strong clinical reasoning abilities, are intellectually curious, and grounded in compassionate care. She teaches across the nursing curriculum and at times contributes to interdisciplinary offerings, including the Public Health minor. Recent courses include Public Health Nursing, Transitions to Professional Practice, Capstone Clinical, Research and Ethics, and a May study-away course, Health Across Borders: Exploring Social Determinants of Health in Sweden and the U.S.

Dr. Meyer’s scholarly expertise centers on emotional intelligence, clinical reasoning, and innovative teaching strategies in nursing education. Her doctoral work examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and clinical reasoning in senior nursing students, and she is certified in the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences, including the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), the Midwest Nursing Research Society (MNRS), and the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL). She has also contributed to multisite studies focused on simulation debriefing and the development of clinical judgment in baccalaureate nursing education.

A strong advocate for active, experiential learning, Dr. Meyer has been recognized with competitive grants and scholarships that have advanced simulation-based education and strengthened the integration of clinical reasoning across the curriculum. Her teaching is informed by a belief that learning is relational and reflective; she challenges students to move beyond memorization toward deep understanding, emotional awareness, and sound professional judgment. She is particularly passionate about helping students integrate the science of nursing with the human experience of care.

At Gustavus, Dr. Meyer has served in numerous leadership roles, including Department Chair/Chief Nursing Administrator and Faculty Senate representative. She contributes to college-wide initiatives related to academic affairs, strategic planning, accreditation, and wellbeing. She is an internal facilitator for the Nursing National Advisory Board and serves on the Public Health Minor Advisory Board. Beyond campus, she is active in the Minnesota Association of Colleges of Nursing, currently serving in a leadership capacity, and has completed Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) evaluator training. 

Dr. Meyer’s favorite aspect of her work is mentoring students and faculty—whether guiding independent student research, supporting future nurse educators as a graduate preceptor, or walking alongside seniors as they transition into professional practice. She values the close-knit Gustavus community and the opportunity to know students not only as learners, but as whole people with unique goals and gifts.

Maria Kalbermatten is a scholar and educator in Hispanic Studies. She teaches courses in Spanish language, culture, and linguistics. Her work centers on the study of humor in discourse, with a particular focus on verbal irony, political humor, and the ways humor operates in contexts of power, ideology, and social interaction. Drawing on approaches from pragmatics, discourse analysis, and critical literacy, her research examines how humor functions not only as entertainment but also as a tool for critique, affiliation, and meaning-making in everyday communication.

Her scholarship includes analyses of spontaneous conversations and media texts, exploring how speakers use irony and humor to negotiate relationships, express stance, and challenge dominant narratives. She has a particular interest in humor in Spanish-speaking contexts, including Latin America, and her recent work engages with questions of political discourse, manipulation, and the role of humor in shaping public opinion. Her research has been presented at national and international conferences and contributes to ongoing interdisciplinary conversations about language, culture, and society.

Kalbermatten is deeply committed to student-centered teaching and to creating an engaging, inclusive classroom environment. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes active learning, critical thinking, and the development of interpretive skills that allow students to analyze language and culture in meaningful ways. She frequently integrates her research into her courses, designing classes that invite students to explore authentic materials such as political cartoons, media discourse, and everyday interactions. In courses like Political Humor and Manipulation, she applies a critical literacy framework to help students examine how humor can both reinforce and challenge systems of power.

Kalbermatten teaches across the Spanish curriculum, from introductory language courses to advanced content courses, and contributes to interdisciplinary programs that engage with global perspectives, media, and cultural studies. She values mentoring students at all levels and enjoys supporting them in developing linguistic proficiency alongside cultural awareness and analytical skills.

In addition to her teaching and research, Kalbermatten is actively involved in service at the College and within the broader academic community. She contributes to curriculum development, participates in collaborative initiatives, and engages in professional activities that connect her work to wider scholarly and educational networks.

One of her favorite aspects of teaching at Gustavus is the opportunity to work closely with students in a liberal arts setting, where discussion, curiosity, and intellectual exploration are central. She values the strong sense of community on campus and the ways in which students bring diverse perspectives into the classroom.

Outside of her academic work, Kalbermatten enjoys creative and cultural activities that complement her scholarly interests, including drawing, exploring global cuisines, and engaging with music and the arts. These interests often inform her teaching and contribute to the dynamic, culturally rich learning experiences she fosters in her courses.

Lisa Ortmann, PhD is the Grace and Bertil Pehrson Endowed Professor and Associate Professor of Education at Gustavus. Dr. Ortmann’s education courses prepare future teachers across the grade levels and content areas to build a deep understanding of how children and adolescents learn to read and write, and the research-based methods of teaching literacy for all students. She was awarded the Innovation in Teaching Award from the Kendall Center for Engaged Learning for her “Literacy Histories” project, where education majors critically examine their own experiences of learning to read, write, and use language, identifying the ways their history shapes their teaching. She teaches a First Term Seminar course called “For the Love of Books!” where first-year students follow their curiosity as readers, reflecting on the value of literacy in their lives as citizens of a free and democratic society. Together, students build a reading community that sustains their values, shapes their identities, and expands their worldviews.

Dr. Ortmann’s scholarly work informs, and is informed by, her teaching and professional activities at the College and in the state. Her research areas include teachers’ uses of culturally responsive teaching practices and diverse literature, the instructional methods that support literacies of multilingual adolescent learners, and the impact of instructional coaching models to enhance teaching. Recent peer-reviewed publications include a co-authored study with a former Gustie student, “Developing Responsive Disciplinary Literacies for Student Teaching in Social Studies” in The Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, and a state-wide study, "Surveying the Landscape: Minnesota's English Language Arts Teachers' Perspectives on Intellectual Freedom" in The Minnesota English Journal.

Dr. Ortmann’s professional service is in partnership with teachers and schools both locally and nationally. She is an engaged collaborator with Saint Peter and Mankato educators to design and facilitate real-world teaching opportunities for Gustie education majors at all stages of the four-year program. She serves the state of Minnesota as the Intellectual Freedom Chair for the board of the Minnesota Council of Teachers of English where she provides professional development to English Language Arts teachers across the state. She was selected to serve as a This Story Matters Teacher Corp Member on the National Council of Teachers of English to develop book rationales for teaching diverse literature. She consults and provides guidance on statewide reading initiatives for the Minnesota Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, and for the English Language Arts 2020 Standards development project with the Minnesota Department of Education.

In her moments of free time, you can find Dr. Ortmann outdoors at the lake or in her garden, reading a novel, running with her yellow lab Harley, or cheering loudly at her daughter’s performances and games. She is a passionate educator, who has found a home at Gustavus due to the life-long relationships that are built on campus. Mentoring new teachers into the profession is one of the greatest gifts of her career, especially when they return to campus with their own students.

Ursula Lindqvist, PhD, is Thorstensson, McKnight, Nordstrom Endowed Chair and Professor in Scandinavian Studies and a founder of the interdisciplinary minor in Comparative Literature. She is known for her research in Nordic global cinema and in postcolonial studies, commitment to undergraduate teaching and mentorship, and her leadership within the College and in her field. Before coming to Gustavus in 2013, Dr. Lindqvist directed the undergraduate program in Scandinavian Studies and founded the Scandinavian Languages Program at Harvard University. 

A passion for interdisciplinary teaching and research brought her to Gustavus, where she contributes to programs in Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies; Peace, Justice, & Conflict Studies; African & African Diaspora Studies; Film & Media Studies; Latin American, Latinx & Caribbean Studies; and Comparative Literature. She leads a college-wide grant project, “Storytelling and Sensemaking at a Settler Institution: Walking a Shared Path with Dakota Neighbors,” funded by the Council of Independent Colleges/the Lilly Endowment.

Dr. Lindqvist’s research has focused on Nordic cinema, global literatures, and unsettling colonial narratives. Her first book, Roy Andersson’s Songs from the Second Floor: Contemplating the Art of Existence, was published in the University of Washington Press’ Nordic Film Classics series. She also co-edited two global anthologies: A Companion to Nordic Cinema (Wiley-Blackwell) with Mette Hjort, and New Dimensions of Diversity in Nordic Culture and Society (Cambridge Scholars) with Jenny Björklund. She has published articles in peer-reviewed journals including PMLA, Modernism/Modernity, and African and Black Diaspora. Her most influential work, “The Cultural Archive of the IKEA Store” (Space and Culture, 2009), has been taught at colleges worldwide. Her expertise as a Nordic film scholar has been sought by media outlets such as the New York Times and National Public Radio as well as film festivals and retrospectives. 

In recent years, Dr. Lindqvist’s research has pivoted toward settler history, culture, and decolonization. Her current monograph in progress, Unsettling the Settler Archive, includes a critical examination of the founding story of Gustavus Adolphus College on Dakota lands. She has involved Gustavus students in her research since it began in 2021 and sponsored a student advisee to present at a national scholarly conference in 2023. Dr. Lindqvist recently received external grants to support additional archival work at the Swenson Center for Swedish Immigration Research at Augustana College in Illinois and at the House of Emigrants in Växjö, Sweden, where she gave an invited public lecture in 2024. From this work she developed the college’s first approved Signature Experience (SigX) research course, SCA-290 Unsettling the Archive, to immerse students in archival research and to train them to carry out sensitive, intercultural interviews with Indigenous people, bringing their stories in dialogue with settler archives.

Dr. Lindqvist spent five years as news writer and investigative reporter in the Arabian Gulf, India, and Florida prior to earning her PhD. Her roots are in Finland’s Swedish-speaking minority, and she is bilingual in Swedish and English.
 

Tara Cadenhead serves as the Instructor of the Practice in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, where she is also the Director of the Center for Innovative & Entrepreneurial Leadership (CIEL). A Gustavus alumna herself, Tara brings a unique blend of high-level corporate strategy and "maker" entrepreneurship to the Hill, providing students with a practical roadmap for turning creative ideas into sustainable ventures.

Tara’s teaching is informed by nearly two decades of leadership in the corporate sector. During her tenure at FICO, a leading provider of analytics and CRM software, she led talent management and organizational change initiatives, specializing in aligning human capital with strategic business goals. Later, at Target Corporation, she served as a key advisor to Supply Chain leadership, and then played a strategic communication and change leadership role in launching a new enterprise-wide talent system and related processes for a workforce of more than 70,000 users.

In addition to her corporate background, Tara is the founder of Marquess Studios, a creative venture based in Stillwater, Minnesota, that emphasizes intentional design and community-focused commerce. Experience as a small business owner allows her to mentor students with authentic insights into brand storytelling, lean product development, and the resilience required to launch a startup.

In the classroom, Tara emphasizes experiential learning and vocational discovery. She views entrepreneurship as a multidisciplinary mindset relevant to every major, from the fine arts to the hard sciences. Her courses function as laboratories where students are encouraged to iterate, take calculated risks, and solve complex problems through "failing forward."

As the Director of CIEL, Tara spearheads initiatives that foster a culture of innovation across the entire campus. She oversees the Gustie Cup, the college’s premier entrepreneurship competition which offers significant seed money prizes across "Scalable" and "Sustainable" categories. In this role, she mentors student founders through intensive Start-Up Labs and 1:1 consulting sessions, while engaging alumni and industry experts to enhance the viability of students' plans. Gustie Cup winners have advanced as semi-finalists in the statewide Minnesota Cup. Her service extends to the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem, where she builds bridges between Gustavus and Minnesota’s business leaders, alumni mentors, and economic organizations, and recently represented Gustavus on an International Economic Development trip to Ireland.

Outside of her work at the College, Tara is deeply committed to community-driven service and regional development. She is most interested in exploring public-private partnerships to maximize social and economic impact. Tara is a founding Board member for Connect Lake Elmo, where she helps guide initiatives that enhance local connectivity and economic vitality. Her dedication to service is further highlighted by her previous involvement with Rotary International, various non-profit organizations, and was recently nominated as "Volunteer of the Year" by the Stillwater Area Chamber of Commerce. When not mentoring the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs, she enjoys traveling, cooking, gardening, and spending time with her family.