A look at the people behind the numbers in area business:
Liwanag Ojala CaringBridge
Title: Chief operating officer
Age: 42
Ojala has brought her corporate experience to the nonprofit sector as chief operating officer at CaringBridge, the Eagan-based nonprofit that offers free websites where users share news about health conditions. Ojala said her immediate focus was CaringBridge's holiday fundraising campaign, which the organization hopes will raise $1.2 million by the end of December.
"It's an opportunity to tell our story more broadly during this time of year when people make a lot of charitable decisions," Ojala said of the campaign.
Ojala said the CaringBridge mission — "to amplify love, hope and compassion in the world" — appeals to her. So does using her executive-level digital strategy experience at a nonprofit that she said has been at the online forefront since its 1997 launch.
"It's one of the unique nonprofit organizations that has been very successful in the digital space," Ojala said. "As things continue to morph with new ways for people to interact with nonprofit organizations in the digital space, I thought that would be an interesting challenge."
Ojala previously worked as vice president of e-commerce at Meijer, a Michigan-based retail chain. She also held executive positions at Pear Tree Greetings, SimonDelivers and CobornsDelivers. Ojala, who has a law degree from the University of Minnesota, also was an associate in the mergers and acquisitions group at the Briggs and Morgan law firm. Last year CaringBridge had more than 43 million online visitors and more than 1.5 million health updates posted.
