2026 INDUCTEES

Judge LaJune Lange, Partner of Lange-Johnson Development

The Honorable LaJune Thomas Lange began her legal career with the Hennepin County Public Defender’s Office as a trial lawyer until appointed by the governor to the trial court in 1985. Judge Lange served as a Fourth Judicial District Court Judge for the State of Minnesota handling complex civil and criminal cases until her recent retirement. Judge Lange now serves as Senior Fellow with the Roy Wilkins Center for Human Relations and Social Justice at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs. She is a founding member of the Minnesota Minority Lawyers Association and has served on the Minnesota State Bar Association Board of Governors, Minnesota Women Lawyers, Minnesota Public Interest Research Foundation, American Bar Association, National Bar Association, Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers, Minnesota Supreme Court Racial Bias Task Force. Judge Lange is an internationally recognized expert in human rights and the rule of law in developing nations.

Currently, she works to preserve older homes while carefully adding modern functionality to anchor and preserve neighborhoods. She was also selected by the City of Minneapolis to conduct the first African American Cultural Heritage Study with the 106 Group and Equity Strategies.

Amalia Moreno-Damgaard, Founder and CEO Amalia | Culture Through Cuisine™

Amalia Moreno-Damgaard is a trailblazing entrepreneur and the first Latina president of NAWBO Minnesota born and raised in Guatemala. Drawing on international banking experience, she founded Culture Through Cuisine™ and grew her WBENC-certified firm nationally. An award-winning author and global keynote speaker, she advises corporations on culture and is an established voice in the media.

During her NAWBO presidency, Amalia conceived Women Ignite! in collaboration with MEDA. Now in its fourth year, the initiative has convened 1,300+ diverse attendees, connecting entrepreneurs with corporate and community resources, and earned a proclamation from Governor Tim Walz recognizing its statewide impact.

She co-founded Women Entrepreneurs of Minnesota and served as its first president. She has mentored countless women, served on 12 nonprofit boards and supported 25+ charitable organizations. Her honors include the NAWBO National Woman Business Owner of the Year, SBA Minnesota Women in Business Champion of the Year, IES National Immigrant Spirit Award, Latino Chamber Minnesota Entrepreneur of the Year, and WomenVenture Catalyst Award—reflecting her impact in business, leadership, and service.

Monica Nassif, Founder and Former CEO of Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day

Monica Nassif is a serial entrepreneur and founder and former CEO of Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day. She launched four companies – two were belly flops. The most successful brand, Mrs. Meyer’s, was created as an entirely new way to care for the home with premium, fragrant and earth friendly household cleaning products.

Monica started her career as a speech writer with Target. She then launched and operated Kilter, a marketing design firm that served consumer product and retail companies. Her two other startups were shuttered – a watch company and luxury sleepwear brand.

Monica wrote a memoir about her entrepreneurial journey, “I Bottled My Mother, the Mrs. Meyer’s Story: Grit, Grime & Growing a Business.” Part startup manual and part memoir, it is a candid story of how she turned a small soap company into a beloved, national brand.

Today, Monica serves as a board advisor, motivational speaker and counselor to entrepreneurs.

The 2026 Achieve! Award Winner

Disrupter of the Year:

Morgan Evans, Founder and CEO of Avio Medtech Consulting

Morgan Evans is a MedTech entrepreneur, investor, and strategic operator with a proven track record of taking ideas from concept to commercialization. With a degree in biomechanical engineering from Stanford and an MBA from Kellogg, she spent time in Corporate Development at Medtronic, where she gained insight into high-level growth strategy and strategic acquisitions.

Over the last ten years, Morgan has founded or co-founded multiple ventures—spanning medical device companies, accelerators, and venture investing vehicles. She now leads Agitated Solutions, developing ultrasound innovations, and owns Avio MedTech Consulting, advising founders on product development, regulatory strategy, and go-to-market execution. She also is on the board of SurgiSmoke Solutions, which protects operating room teams by capturing surgical smoke.

Known for her fearless yet disciplined approach, Morgan blends market insight with hands-on experience to drive results. She actively mentors founders, fosters cross-industry partnerships, and works to position MedTech innovations for both clinical adoption and commercial success, helping bring breakthrough technologies to patients and markets worldwide.

Emerging Women Business Owner of the Year:

Amelia Corl, Founder and Lead Strategist of Silphium Collective

Amelia Corl named her company after a prairie wildflower that lives for 100 years and points toward true north. Most people just call it a compass plant. She calls it a pretty good metaphor for what she does.

Amelia has spent nearly two decades as a chief of staff and senior leader inside high-impact organizations, which is a fancy way of saying she is very good at walking into chaos and making things make sense. In the last six years alone, she has helped secure and direct nearly $40M in grants, across federal funding, philanthropy, and everything in between.

Amelia built Silphium Collective two years ago to bring all of that to the leaders who need it most. She has doubled revenue two years running, all through word of mouth and zero formal marketing spend. It turns out caring deeply about her clients is a pretty good business strategy.

Her clients tend to describe her in three words: I got you.

Amelia lives in St. Paul, MN with her partner, her two kids, and a dog she sometimes walks when she should be on Zoom.

Work can be better. She’s seen it. She knows it’s true.