Beauty + the Bias 2025 / All-Women Panel • Refreshments • Vendors

Carol J. Bruess

Professor Emeritus of Communication and Family Studies at University of St. Thomas / Scholar-in-Residence for Relationships & Dialogue at the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University

Carol J. Bruess has a PhD in relationship communication, is Professor Emeritus of Communication and Family Studies at the University of St. Thomas, and currently serves as Scholar-in-Residence for Relationships & Dialogue at the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University. For more than three decades, Carol has been a passionate author, social scientist, and speaker helping humans create healthy relationships through micro-moments of interaction, ritual, and dialogue. She has a particular interest in how the digital age is impacting in-depth listening, robust conversations, and human empathy. The author of five books and another coming this fall, she has a popular TEDx Talk “Are All Relationships Messy?” and has published her research in dozens of peer-reviewed journals and books. Carol is also a contributing writer at TED.com on human interaction, and has given more than 400 TV, podcast, radio, and media interviews, including MPR, NPR, CBS, NBC, ABC, The New York Times and PBS. Carol was recently appointed by Minnesota Governor Walz to serve as one of 11 members on the Minnesota State Arts Board. She’s been married for 33 years to St. Bens/St. John’s president, Dr. Brian Bruess, and they have two adult children (currently in New York and Milwaukee). Their four-legged child George a 96lb Bernedoodle, happily serving as certified therapy-dog-in-residence supporting students.

Lacey Solheid

Learning Solutions Partner for the HR department at Blattner Company

As the daughter of a craftsman and HR executive, Lacey Solheid gets to live out the best of both worlds while serving as a Learning Solutions Partner for the HR department at Blattner Company, a renewable energy contractor out of Avon, MN. While working for Blattner for the past four years, Lacey has held several roles, but currently helps the company meet strategic initiatives for growth by developing programs and facilitating workshops that help promote personal and professional development for employees. She also serves as the co-chair for the Women’s Employee Resource Group at Blattner that is 220 women strong and growing!

After getting a B.A. in Communication from the University of MN Duluth and a M.S. in Counseling & Student Development from Kansas State University, Lacey started her career in higher education working for Montana State University Billings and St. Ben’s | St. John’s.

Her connection to the community runs deep – she has been a member of the St. Cloud Rotaract and currently serves as the Treasurer for Tri-County Humane Society.  When she’s not at a meeting or service project, you can usually find her with family and friends. She enjoys going to theater shows and live music events but also likes to read books and listen to the occasional NPR podcast. She shares a home in St. Joseph, MN with two demanding (but cute) cats, Jack & Reggie, that require constant affection and attention.

Erin Rae

Co-Owner of Flour & Flower Bakery, KREWE Restaurant and Joetown Smashburgers

Erin Rae is the co-owner of Flour & Flower Bakery, KREWE Restaurant & Joetown Smashburgers, all located in St. Joseph. Majority of the time you will find her at Flour & Flower Bakery. Flour & Flower was founded in May 2020- since we have opened we have grown to be one of the top 22 bakeries in the United States via The New York Times. Without expanding the walls of the bakery, we have expanded almost every operation within. From the bread program, pastry menu & seasonal pies to the grab and go options and the seasonal flowers we carry – our biggest asset has become the size of our space. We haven’t expanded any walls (yet) but we have out grown each version a new season brings. Our biggest strength here at Flour & Flower is thinking outside of the walls of the bakery and growing within the community that extends so much support. Our goal is to remain a pillar of strength for our community, specifically for women of all ages & in all stages of life, for youth curious about entrepreneurship & simply for a safe space during life’s weirdest moments.

Bridget Deutz (Panel Moderator)

Founder and Chief Marketing Strategist at Greenline Marketing

Bridget Deutz is the Founder & Chief Marketing Strategist at Greenline Marketing. She has more than ten years of experience in marketing and communications, with several years of both in-house and agency marketing leadership experience. Bridget has a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from The College of Saint Benedict & Saint John’s University. She enjoys working with businesses of all sizes as well as contracting with agencies. Bridget specializes in content creation, marketing strategy, user experience, inbound marketing, digital marketing execution, and HubSpot implementation.

Bridget has a passion for all things marketing and a relentlessly creative spirit. She approaches all projects with a “client first” attitude and enjoys working with businesses of all shapes and sizes to help them grow and thrive. When she’s not collaborating with and creating for clients, she also frequents as a panelist and speaker on digital and inbound marketing and the work she does.

In her free time, Bridget teaches piano and voice lessons, enjoys photography and hand lettering, and lectures at her alma mater. She loves small-town coffee shops, digging in antique stores, musical theatre, spending time with her labradoodle Dolly, and seeing + experiencing new places. Above all else, Bridget truly cherishes time spent with her family and friends.