Rising Star Award Winners Maddie Ripperger, Children’ s Performing Arts; Andrew Franklin, formerly of F & M Bank; Mikayla Wickersham, Merrick.
she was promoted to the leadership position she is in today.
Wickersham graduated from Winona State University with a degree in H. R. Management, and credits what she learned as a member of the 2023 cohort of the VHEC’ s North Metro Young Professionals program with helping provide the tools she needed to succeed in her career.“ Participating in the program showed my employer that I really wanted opportunities, and I wanted to grow within the community and with my role,” she said.
Now in a leadership position less than five years after starting her career, Wickersham is definitely a Rising Star.“ It makes me feel really great to have won this award. I feel really valued within my community,” she said.
John Wayne Barker was honored as the Business Leadership awardee.
Maddie Ripperger Maddie Ripperger is the Education Coordinator for Fair School for Arts in Minneapolis, a position she naturally fits into thanks to her background in the performing arts. Ripperger began performing in musicals when she was just 10 years old and in the 5th grade.
She went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theater from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. After graduation five years ago, she moved to the Twin Cities to pursue a career in the arts.
Her first job out of college was with The National Theatre for Children, which is based in Minneapolis.“ I just loved rehearsing in Minneapolis. I loved the sense I got of the performing arts community in Minnesota,” said Ripperger.
In March 2021, she moved on to Children’ s Performing Arts based in White Bear Lake. While there, she participated in the North Metro Young Professionals Program and gained leadership skills that have made a huge impact on her career.
“ I feel like it gave me a lot of confidence in making connections and networking, getting to know people outside of my industry and creating what ended up being some fruitful partnerships for the organization throughout my tenure there,” said Ripperger, who was a member of the 2022 cohort.
In May 2025, she switched jobs and became a theater teacher at Stages Theatre Company in Hopkins, helping out with summer camps. Stages Theatre Company has a partnership with the Fair School for Arts high school in Minneapolis, and at the beginning of the 2025 school year, Ripperger was tapped to become the education coordinator for the Fair School for Arts high school in Minneapolis.
In that role, she teaches two introduction to acting classes, a general introduction to theater class for 9th graders and a playwriting course.
Upon learning she has been recognized as a Rising Star by a community she no longer serves directly, Ripperger said,“ It’ s so surreal to be able to be recognized as a leader in the White Bear Lake area. Even though I don’ t work or live in the northeast metro anymore, it was such a foundational part of my work as an artist and an arts administrator. I feel so grateful and lucky to have been recognized for that work.”
Andrew Franklin Andrew Franklin is a commercial real estate insurance analyst at Northmarq, a commercial real estate company that provides debt, equity, investment sales, loan servicing and fund management services. In this role, he reviews insurance policies to ensure they comply with commercial real estate loan requirements, protect against potential risks, and minimize financial exposure for investors and lenders.
Before accepting his position at Northmarq, Franklin worked at F & M Bank in Vadnais Heights as a credit analyst, where his job was focused on evaluating the creditworthiness of individuals or businesses. He was there from Summer 2022 to Spring 2025, and during that time he participated in the VHEDC’ s North Metro Young Professionals program.
“ Through the program I was able to develop different leadership skills, had a lot of networking opportunities and met a lot of influential people. The program provided me with lots of growth and reflection opportunities,” said Franklin.
Andrew Franklin is a 2022 graduate of the University of Minnesota with a degree in economics. He also studied business management. He learned he had been named a Rising Star Winner on his last day of working at F & M Bank.
“ I found out I had won on April 1, 2025, and at first thought it was an April Fools’ Day joke,” he said.“ It is an exciting nomination to have. Day to day as a younger professional you don’ t always feel like you are seen, and so having the recognition kind of supports that and pushes you to keep progressing and stay hungry.”
Congratulations again to all the Rising Stars! vhedc. com 47