Center Mentors

Jason Hardie

Graduated from Saint John’s in 2006 with a major in Biology.  Jason currently works as the Vice President of Sales for Waters Corporation in their Advanced Diagnostics division.  Waters is a global life sciences leader in multiple applications of clinical diagnostics, mass spectrometry, chromotograpy and cellular analysis, partnering with healthcare providers, researches, and industrial leaders to accelerate the benefits of pioneering science. 

At Waters, Jason is responsible for commercial strategy and execution of a $500m portfolio in the US.  He leads a team of 80 sales professionals to grow new markets and maintain strong customer experience at existing customer base.  He is a well rounded leader that has experience leading teams in Sales, Commercial Operations, and Marketing, as well as multiple projects on commercial strategy to launch new products and marketing campaigns.

Precious Drew

A Senior Managing Director at gener8tor, where she leads national investment accelerators in fintech, insurtech, digital health, and data analytics. In collaboration with partners including Northwestern Mutual, Allianz, Pinnacle, and Curql, she oversees programming, startup sourcing, and investments totaling $2.5 million annually across multiple cohorts.

With a deep commitment to fostering innovation and advancing equity in entrepreneurship, Precious has invested more than $8 million in U.S.-based startups, helping founders build sustainable and scalable businesses. She is particularly focused on increasing access to capital, mentorship, and strategic networks for underrepresented entrepreneurs.

Her career began in government and civic engagement with the State of Minnesota, City of Minneapolis, and Minneapolis Public Schools, where she built expertise in strategic partnerships, leadership development, and communications. Precious earned her B.A. in Global Business with a concentration in entrepreneurship from the College of Saint Benedict & Saint John’s University. 

As a student, she experienced the thrill of turning an idea into a revenue-generating business after launching, PERK: The Natural Beauty Lab, through the Donald McNeely Center for Entrepreneurship’s E-Scholars Program. In addition to the E-Scholars Program, Precious was very involved on campus. Her activities included being involved in Enactus as the Competition Coordinator, SAM Case Study Competition as a two-time first place winner, UN Climate Change Conference where she attended COP23 in Germany, and starred in a theater production “Contributions” directed by Lou Bellamy her senior year.

A recognized thought leader, Precious has shared her insights on equitable entrepreneurship in her TEDx Talk, “Who Gets to Be Called an Entrepreneur & Why It Matters.” Through her work at gener8tor, she continues to champion inclusive opportunities in venture capital while driving innovation across emerging industries.

Willie Willette Works was founded by Willie Willette in 1996 with the intent of crafting beautiful, high-quality custom furniture. Since then, Willie and his team have designed and created one-of-a-kind pieces for thousands of residential and commercial clients out of their University Ave studio – always using the finest local materials, working closely with each client every step of the way, and prioritizing top-tier craftsmanship. 
 
Willie cites three main influences on his style and work philosophy: his time as a student at St. John’s University, his six years of experience working for the Walker Art Center, and – perhaps most importantly – a mantra heard often on his grandfather’s farm in Olivia, MN: “Shut up and get to work!” 

A partner at Spencer Fane, where he advises clients across a broad range of business and transactional matters, including corporate governance and buy-sell agreements, capital fundraising, commercial contracts, estate and business succession planning, real estate, mergers and acquisitions, and bitcoin and blockchain matters. Known for his strategic and practical approach, Alex regularly counsels large family-owned businesses, entrepreneurs, and high-net-worth individuals on complex business and wealth-preservation issues, with particular focus on business acquisitions and dispositions. Operating at the intersection of law, entrepreneurship, and innovation, he delivers highly personalized counsel focused on value creation and the achievement of each client’s unique goals. With a holistic mindset and a keen ability to identify emerging trends and opportunities, his influence extends well beyond individual legal transactions or traditional advisory roles.

Owyn is a 2020 Saint John’s graduate and was a member of the E-15 cohort. During the program he and other E-Scholars created the game doghouse, and upon graduation they founded Whiteboard Group LLC and launched their product through a successful Kickstarter campaign.

Currently Owyn works at Faegre Drinker, providing clients with individualized strategies for leveraging their technology and intellectual property assets. With a focus on technology, software and content licenses for both licensors and licensees, Owyn structures, drafts, negotiates and reviews technology and intellectual property agreements for businesses in a variety of sectors.

Grew up in Hastings and after graduating from Hastings High School attended Saint Johns University where he studied Accounting and Entrepreneurship. He currently owns Precision Landscaping & Construction and has grown the company to be one of the largest landscape and snow removal companies in the country. Through his experience in the snow industry, he instructs classes around the Midwest on snow and ice management best practices and salt reduction strategies. For the past four years he has served on the Regina Foundation and is the current Treasurer/Secretary for the board. Locally Joby spends time serving as the vice chair for the Hastings Chamber of Commerce. Joby is also an advisory board member to the Donald McNeely Center for Entrepreneurship. He owns and manages multiple real estate assets and outside of work joby spends his time boating on the St Croix  with his wife Sheepadoodle Harley.

R. PATRICK MAXWELL

Mr. Maxwell has over 40 years of experience as an entrepreneur, executive and a turnaround management specialist, in both the business and non-profit sectors. He has held various management positions including: Board Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Vice President and General Counsel. He has served as Executive Director of two membership associations and one charitable organization. He has started, bought or led 20 businesses and non-profits. The industries he has worked in include: manufacturing, insurance, personnel placement, education, business services, manufacturing, food, medical, legal, membership and charitable services. These organizations were located throughout the United States, Europe and the Pacific Rim. Mr. Maxwell has served on numerous Boards of Directors of business and charitable organizations.

He most recently served as the Director of Donald McNeely Center for Entrepreneurship at College of St Benedict and St John’s University.

He has a B.A. in philosophy from St. John’s University and a Juris Doctor from Northwestern University School of Law.

The bestselling author of “The Clarity Cascade” and the creator of The Clarity Mindset®, currently serving as the Principal Consultant and Founder at The Innovation Doctors and as a Sr. Program Director at Medtronic. With a PhD in Physics from Duke University and a BA from St. John’s University, he has extensive experience in leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies. Thomas has a proven track record in accelerating innovation, enhancing product development strategies, and driving measurable ROI for global enterprises. His mission focuses on helping organizations unlock hidden value and create cultures rooted in clarity and action

Accomplished sales representative with a demonstrated history of success in novel technology sales, product training, and clinical education, with a focus on the following specialties: orthopedic spine and neurosurgery
-Proven track record of growing sales and developing healthcare provider relationships that yield expanded territory and successful product launches
-Specialize in driving in-hospital clinical utilization for novel, emerging technologies within early-stage, high-growth medtech companies
-Highly knowledgeable in US and OUS marketing, surgeon and patient recruitment, and product development
-Nationwide professional relationships with thought leaders in orthopedic and neuro spine care and research
-Extensive experience in surgeon education, product development, case coverage and clinical training

-Conducted 30+ surgeon training labs that included didactics and cadaveric training for spine implants
-Executed and managed 100+ patient OUS Pilot study prior to US IDE for MOTUS Lumbar Total Joint Replacement

Grew up in Omaha NE with 7 siblings and 3 generations of women owned small businesses on my mom’s side. From an early age I was either at the family restaurant, trophy shop or my mom’s non-profits warehouse. Took the leap of faith of going to CSB and leaving home for college because I wanted to learn how to operate outside of the family unit. While on campus I was a Hynes Scholar, Enactus board member, studied abroad on the Valladolid summer program, China study abroad and then did my internship with a Chinese company in Shanghai for a summer. As an E-Scholar a couple of my dead horses/failed projects were an on-campus business/accounting study room sponsored by a large corporation and a social media consulting concept in which I helped Chinese companies with their social media presence in the US. 

Post-graduation I moved up to Fargo, ND to work for Frito Lay/Pepsi as a Sales District Leader. I left Frito a couple of years later and moved to Cincinnati, OH to work for General Mills on the Kroger account. I then pandemic-ed from home in Omaha before I moved to Minneapolis to switch accounts and work on Target. Wanting a shift I was able to switch industries going from food to Pet Food but stay at General Mills by going and working on out Blue Buffalo business.

Blue was acquired by General Mills in 2018 and operates separately for the most part. I started by leading our Petco business in a sales capacity and then worked cross functionally with Brand as a Product Sales Manager for our Dog feeding business.  
 
In the last 52 wks we have sold +$1.5 Billion or +500 Million LBS of just dog food. We have lofty goals of reaching 40 Million Households by 2030. To do so we are acquiring other smaller Pet Food brands and I am now working as the Senior Brand Education Manager with the goal of educating consumers about our house of brands across dog and cat.

Personal side I live in Northeast Minneapolis so you can find me bike riding to breweries/bars with my dog in a backpack, doing house projects or taking kickboxing and strength training classes. Got married 9/13/25 to Frank Zellner, also a E-10, and Paul Marsnik was our officiant.

Certified Public Accountant, Chief Financial Officer, Controller, Manager and Professional Business Consultant who has successfully directed and re-built organizations with strong leadership skills and background in, listening and comprehension, education, business development, management, finance, computers, research and administration.