Staff
Currently hiring for an outreach and communications coordinator or manager. Details are available here.
 | Annie Levenson-Falk Executive Director 651-300-4701, ext. 1 annielf@cubminnesota.org In 2016, Annie was named the first executive director of the Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota. She joined CUB after serving as the executive director of the Legislative Energy Commission, a nonpartisan office of the Minnesota House and Senate. In her role, Annie staffed the bipartisan commission of 20 legislators charged with evaluating the environmental and economic impacts of state energy policy. Previously, Annie was the Senior Policy Manager of the Citizens League. Annie co-founded the Capitol Pathways Internship Program, which places students of color and Native American students in legislative internships, so that Minnesota government better represents the state’s diversity. She was also the founding board chair of NAVIGATE, a nonprofit organization created by and for immigrant students seeking higher education, leadership development, and policy change. Annie received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Haverford College in Pennsylvania. She lives in rural Cannon Falls with her husband and two children. |
 | Carmen Carruthers Outreach Director 651-300-4701, ext. 2 carmenc@cubminnesota.org Carmen joined the Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota in November 2016 as the organization’s outreach director. Carmen comes to CUB with a great deal of outreach experience in both professional and volunteer roles. She has a passion for helping people and providing information so consumers can make good decisions. Carmen most recently worked for Thrivent Financial as a financial associate. Carmen lived in Switzerland for five years and during that time was active in outreach related volunteer work and also worked as a substitute teacher at The American School of Switzerland (TASIS). The majority of her career has been spent in the urban planning field, including six years at the city of Naperville in Illinois. While at Naperville she managed land use and transportation projects that required significant outreach to residents, businesses, community leaders, elected officials, and other government agencies. Carmen is a member of the Metro Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTS) Steering Committee. Carmen received a bachelor’s degree in Local and Urban Affairs from St. Cloud State University and a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Iowa. She lives in the western metro with her children. |
 | Brian Edstrom Senior Regulatory Advocate 651-300-4701, ext. 6 briane@cubminnesota.org Brian joined the Citizens Utility Board in May 2020 as the organization’s senior regulatory advocate. Prior to joining CUB, Brian practiced law with a boutique business law firm, Avisen Legal, P.A. in Minneapolis, where he advised small business owners on a variety of general business and regulatory matters. Brian’s work experience prior to entering private practice includes enforcing Minnesota’s securities regulations as Director of Securities at the Minnesota Department of Commerce and investigating Wall Street banks as an attorney-analyst working with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection Branch in Washington D.C. Brian’s combination of public sector and private sector experience allows him to bring to CUB the balanced perspective of someone who has both enforced consumer protection regulations and advised clients on how to comply with them. Brian earned a bachelor’s degree in English (and feels a special kinship with all other English majors out there) from Colorado College and a juris doctorate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He lives in South Minneapolis with his wife, two children, and unruly golden-doodle, Poppy. |
 | Brandon Crawford Regulatory Advocate 651-300-4701, ext. 7 brandonc@cubminnesota.org Brandon joined the Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota in June 2021 as a summer legal intern and has since joined CUB full-time as a regulatory advocate. He graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School in May 2022 with a concentration in Environmental and Energy Law. While in law school, Brandon helped draft updated editions of energy and public resource legal textbooks. Brandon holds bachelor’s degrees in English and Political Science from Creighton University, where he researched the adoption of renewable energy policies by state governments. He is committed to representing the interests of Minnesotans and seeks to advocate for equitable energy solutions on their behalf. |