RealTime Talent Team
Deb Broberg, Executive Director
612-889-2626
Deb comes to RealTime Talent from a successful 25+ year career with Northwest Airlines and Wells Fargo where she held positions with responsibility for Inflight Operations, Talent Acquisition, Learning & Development, and Talent Management. During her tenure with Wells Fargo she gained a keen appreciation for the importance of talent management and workforce planning.
Deb received her MA from the University of Minnesota’s HRIR program and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Macalester College. She serves on the board of the Human Resources Executive Council and has had a longstanding interest in education and the critical need to plan for future market needs when considering options for post-secondary education and training. Deb is active on the Alumni Board for Macalester College as co-chair of the career development committee, and served on the Carlson School of Management Undergraduate Advisory Board for nine years, where she gained insight on the early Itasca Project research which fueled her interest in workforce readiness for the state of Minnesota.
Deb brings a strong sense of community, commitment, and collaboration to RealTime Talent. Deb is originally from Minnesota and spent her youth in multiple geographies as the daughter of a military family.
Erin Olson, Senior Director of Strategic Research
612-370-9145
Erin is a dynamic leader that brings new and intersectional approaches to addressing the talent shortage challenge in Minnesota. Coming from a background spanning economic development, housing, transportation, and workforce analysis, Erin provides diverse workforce alignment research services to a broad base of industry leaders in Minnesota, fostering data-informed decision-making and innovation between workforce, higher education, business, and economic development systems. Erin directs all research and strategic efforts of RealTime Talent among key stakeholders, utilizing real-time data, traditional education and labor market information, as well as employer data to deliver insightful labor market analyses of key industry sectors and detailed advising and strategy development on high-growth and high-opportunity career pathways. Erin holds two Masters Degrees in Urban and Regional Planning and Public Health from the University of Minnesota, where she focused on community economic development, housing, and population studies. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology.
Catherine Jett, Research Strategist
catherine@realtimetalentmn.org
Catherine is a creative and intellectually curious mixed-methods researcher with over a decade of experience. At RealTime Talent, Catherine focuses on providing timely custom insights to our education and industry partners—and she is passionate about furthering equitable economic opportunity for all Minnesotans. Prior to joining RTT, Catherine leveraged her skills as a research consultant and external evaluator in the education, health, and cultural sectors. She loves using quantitative and qualitative methods in tandem to gain the best understanding of any question and delights in telling relevant and meaningful stories through data. Before training as an epidemiologist at University of Illinois at Chicago, where she got her MPH, Catherine earned a BA in Spanish and Gender Studies at Tufts University. When she isn’t crunching numbers or making pretty graphs, you might find Catherine biking around the Twin Cities, learning a new language, having a snack—or even all three at once.
Bryan Lindsley, Director of Strategic Partnerships
651-269-9344
Bryan has 20 years of experience in workforce development. He has led efforts related to systems change for the National Fund for Workforce Solutions, a network of collaboratives in 30 U.S. communities. Bryan has served as the executive director of both the Minneapolis Saint Paul Workforce Innovation Network (MSPWin), a funders collaborative, and the Governor’s Workforce Development Board. His previous roles also include policy analyst, employment counselor, and research consultant. Bryan studied race, apartheid, and nation-building in southern Africa, as well as the economics of Fair Trade coffee in Guatemala. He holds a bachelor’s degree in social justice from St. Olaf College and a master’s in public policy, with a concentration in community and economic development, from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Bryan is also an alumnus of the James P. Shannon Leadership Institute.
Melinda Fierro, Research Strategist
Melinda is a highly accomplished education professional and strategic leader with a robust track record in data analysis, instructional design, program management, professional development, and SaaS integration. With over 15 years of experience in the educational sector and 8 in the safety services sector, Melinda excels in driving operational excellence through systems enhancement, capacity building, data literacy and professional development initiatives. At RealTime Talent, Melinda is passionate about supporting powerful and relevant data-based decision making in workforce, k-12 and higher education, business, and economic development systems. She believes the keys to these decisions are relevant, timely, and robust data sources and stories that industry and education experts can readily access and utilize.
Melinda holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and an M.A in Instruction from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Melinda holds an additional M.A in Latin American Studies from the University of California at San Diego and an undergrad degree in Latin American Studies and Biology from Drake University. Melinda also holds current K-12 teaching and administrative licenses in Minnesota.
When not working, Melinda enjoys reading, writing, learning languages, camping, and traveling.