Our committee members are talented professionals with a eye for design, community and the construction industry.
Thank you to our 2024 Committee:
Lori Blackwell
Gabe Prescott
Bryan Renton
Samantha Paris
Shannon Magers
Teresa Bergs
Kaaren Grabianowski
About the Founders:
Raw Fusion was created and run by 5 women over the first 10 years who had a passion for design, construction and FUN! We are very appreciative of our founders, as we transition to a new era of Raw Fusion and look to our Founders for expertise and guidance when needed! Thank you ladies!
JAMIE JACOBS
Jamie is proud to be one of the four original founders of the Raw Fusion Fashion Show. It takes an enormous amount of drive and an extreme time commitment to pull off a show like this…and Jamie excels at both. She is the Director of Design & Marketing at APX Construction Group. Jamie has served on the MN River Builders Board of Directors, and was the President in 2014. She was named MRBA Rising Star in 2008, Associate of the Year in 2010 and was awarded the MRBA’s 1st President’s Award in 2016 recognizing her outstanding contributions to the association. As hard as it is to choose, her favorite ensemble to date is Schmidt’s Siding and Windows 2012!
NICOLE PANKO
We are proud to have Nicole as one of our Founders for the Raw Fusion Fashion show. She is the owner of Heat Salon & Spa and her expertise proves year after year to be an intricate part of the show. She is a very involved professional in this community and is always committed to bringing awareness to the local building industry. Her pick of the Raw Fusion ensembles would be Paulsen Architect’s 2011 design.
JEN SWENSON
Design proves to be the theme that brought Raw Fusion’s Founders together. As a founder, Jen’s extensive background has helped to sculpt this show into reality. She is a Designer at APX Construction and was awarded the MN River Builders 2012 Rising Star Award. Her favorite Ensemble is The Free Press 2012
Mary Kaus
Mary is proud to be one of the four original founders of the Raw Fusion Fashion Show. Inspired by the IIDA Fusion show in Minneapolis, she made it her mission to create a similar one-of-a-kind event in Mankato to showcase our community’s creativity and talent. She is an Account Executive at iSpace Environments. Mary has served on the MN River Builders Board of Directors. She was named MRBA Rising Star in 2014 and Associate Member of the Year in 2018. She believes that having a vision, seeing it through with hard work, determination, and fun alongside a magical group of women and a supportive community is why Raw Fusion has grown in success over the last 10 years.
BRITTANY MITCHELL
Brittany is a long-term committee member and brings with her both interior design and construction knowledge. An interior designer by heart, Brittany now works at DeMars Construction as a project manager. She has served on the MN River Builders Board of Directors. Brittany’s favorite model to date would have to be the 2012 Free Press Butterfly.