Assistant Chief Axtell has been honored to serve the citizens of Saint Paul for over 25 years. He is a resident of Saint Paul and serves on the board of directors for Visit Saint Paul and the Saint Paul YWCA. Todd has a Master’s Degree in Police Leadership, Administration and Education from the University of Saint Thomas. Assistant Chief Axtell has worked in all three Saint Paul Police Districts in addition to various specialized assignments including Vice, Narcotics, Special Investigations, FORCE and Gangs. Assistant Chief Axtell is responsible for the 465 members of the Operations Division which consists of Saint Paul’s three patrol districts and Citywide Services.

Barbara Cox is the Director of Legislative Affairs and Public Policy for HealthPartners, a nonprofit, consumer-governed health care organization in Bloomington, Minnesota. Health Partners provides health care coverage to 1.5 million members in medical, dental, individual and Medicare/Medicaid products and provides care for one million patients in our clinics and hospitals in Minnesota and Wisconsin. She is responsible for managing federal and state public policy and regulatory relationships. She previously worked as the Director of Legislative Relations for two state agencies in the Ventura and Pawlenty administrations. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Saint Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota where she graduated with distinction. Her community involvement includes service on the board of the Partners of the Americas, volunteering as a youth mentor, and service on the Ramsey County Child Abuse Advisory Board. Barbara lives in Saint Paul with her husband and three children.

John Maher is in his seventh season as Vice President of Brand Marketing for the National Hockey League’s Minnesota Wild. In this role, Maher leads the management of brand, creative and content production efforts, as well as supervising staff responsible for game presentation, events, publications, Minnesota Sports & Entertainment (MSE) Creative Services and media production. The marketing group also works closely with the Marketing Intelligence, Ticket Sales and Fan Relations groups to target and attain sales objectives. John also oversees the team’s Broadcast Department.

John was named Senior Director of Creative Services in 2002 and Senior Director of Marketing in 2005. In 2004, he coordinated MSE’s launch of the Minnesota Swarm in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and was named NLL Marketing Executive of the Year in 2005. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota School of Journalism. A Bloomington, Minn., native, John and his wife, Linda, have two sons, Joe and Andrew, and a daughter, Lindsay. The family resides in Saint Paul.

Chris is the Senior Manager of Geek Squad Risk Management for Best Buy including in store, service center and in home channels. In addition, Chris directs safety and business continuation planning efforts for Geek Squad across the United States and is part of Best Buy’s Enterprise Risk Management task force. Chris is also a member of the Richfield Minnesota Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

Prior to joining Best Buy in 1992, Chris worked for two years as a sales manager for Dayton Hudson Department stores. He obtained his undergraduate degree from St John’s University. He has earned program management certifications including PMI Project Management Institute and Lean Six Sigma “black belt” process improvement.

He and his wife Angie currently reside in Maplewood with their three children.

Moe Sharif came to the United States in 1978 as an exchange student from Tehran, Iran. Initially attending college in San Antonio, Texas, Moe headed north and earned a degree from the University of River Falls in Agriculture and Engineering with a minor in Business. Upon graduation, Moe worked for various corporations throughout the Twin Cities – but, his entrepreneurial spirit took over and on April 16^th, 1988, the Downtowner Café at 253 West 7^th Street was born. His restaurant underwent major remodel in 2001 and was transformed into the beautiful Downtowner Woodfire Grill it is today. Recently, Moe also opened a new restaurant on West 7^th Street, “Burger Moe’s.”

Moe and his wife Nazie reside in Mendota Heights and are the proud parents of their son Eddy who attends St. Paul Academy. Moe loves Saint Paul and the small community the City offers. To him, Saint Paul is home. He enjoys running his businesses here, the many friendships he’s made over the years and when he has spare time, may even be seen catching a Wild game or two at the Xcel Center.

Chief Smith, a 23-year veteran of the Saint Paul Police Department, was appointed as Chief in 2010. He is a lifelong resident of Saint Paul with strong beliefs in community policing principles. He has a long history of working with the many diverse communities which serve as one of Saint Paul’s greatest strengths.

Chief Smith is a graduate of Metropolitan State University with a degree in Public Relations and St. Thomas University with a master’s degree in Education & Leadership. His education also includes instruction from the F.B.I. National Academy and the F.B.I National Executive Institute and the Wilder Foundation’s James P. Shannon Leadership Institute. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association and the F.B.I. Law Enforcement Executive Development Association. Chief Smith also serves as a board member for the Saint Paul Police Foundation and CommonBond Communities.

Shari Wilsey is 57 years old and has been a resident of Saint Paul for 42 years. She is married to her husband Roger Wilsey Sr. and is the mother of seven children, one of whom is an officer with the Minnesota State Patrol, and a grandmother of eight children.

Shari is the Chairman of Lakeville Motor Express Inc, New Brighton MN., and also is the President of Summit Renovation and Design Inc., Saint Paul, MN. She served on the Heritage Preservation Commission for the City of Saint Paul for nine years and has been a member of the Saint Paul Garden Club for the past 14 years. She has been a member of the Saint Paul Children’s Hospital Board and past chair of the Children’s Hospital charity ball. Currently, she is the chair for the Sisters of St. Joseph charity fund raising event, the “Golden Habit Mixer”. In 2014 she was presented with awards from the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota and Saint Paul Heritage Preservation Commission for her work on the book “The Great Houses of Summit Avenue”.

Jeff Warner is married to Linda (Klein) Warner, they have five children and nine grandchildren. He resides in the Como Park neighborhood where both his grandfather’s and father’s families were raised. Jeff is a graduate of Saint Thomas Academy and attended UMD. Jeff is in his 39^th year of employment in his family’s business, Warners’ Stellian Co. Inc. Interests include Golf, American History, Gardening, Antiquities and Travel.