Andrea Polkinghorn, BSN, RN-BC is the board president for Immunize South Dakota, where she manages the business and affairs of the board. She oversees the coalition achieving short-term and long -term goals and presides over coalition meetings. In addition to her role with ISD, Andrea works as the immunization strategy leader for Sanford Health, where she develops and leads the implementation of immunization strategy for all vaccinating locations. She provides oversight and consultation to over 40 medical centers and more than 200 clinics to ensure standardization of immunization practices, appropriate implementation of immunization guidelines and provides ongoing immunization education for staff. Lastly, she is responsible for identifying, analyzing, implementing, and evaluating quality improvement measures to support a robust immunization program.

Andrea became passionate about vaccines in 2015 when she found herself questioning vaccines prior to her first daughter’s birth. As a nurse, she heard some of her colleagues citing misinformation, which resulted in her questioning vaccine safety. Thankfully, her daughter’s pediatrician educated her about vaccines’ science and safety, and her daughter was vaccinated as recommended and on schedule. As Andrea learned more, she discovered the disparities in some immunization rates, and it ignited a passion within her to do what she can to educate and advocate for vaccination. Andrea graduated from South Dakota State University with a Bachelor of Science in nursing. She lives in Sioux Falls with her husband, Chris, her three daughters, and their dog, Diesel.

Amanda Spiering serves as the treasurer/secretary for Immunize South Dakota where she oversees financial details and grant management. She also records, distributes, and maintains meeting minutes.

In addition to her role at ISD, Amanda is an Associate Trust Officer for South Dakota Trust Company LLC where she works in Trust Administration. She attended the University of South Dakota and graduated in 2015 with a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice and a Minor in Sociology. After graduation, she started her career at SDTC and graduated from Trust School through Cannon Financial in May 2020. She is also a 2022 graduate of the Leadership South Dakota program. Her hobbies include reading, cooking and baking, spending time outdoors, cheering on her sports teams and loving on her corgi, Tater.

Matt Hammer is the Director of Consumer Insights at Lawrence & Schiller, an advertising agency based in Sioux Falls, SD. As the Director of Consumer Insights, Matt leads research initiatives and strategy development across the agency for L&S’s clients. Prior to his professional career, Matt attended the University of South Dakota where he studied Communication and got his start in research. In his free time, he enjoys cycling, sci-fi movies and the never-ending process of remodeling his home. 

Christy Ward is a Senior Strategic Planning Advisor for Sanford Health. In this role, Christy assists teams in developing strategic plans, providing strategic recommendations and translating research into trends with business impact. Another key aspect of this work is conducting community health needs assessments, identifying priorities and helping to shape solutions to drive improvements in community health. Christy has a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from the University of South Dakota and a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Northern State University. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). 

Christy and her husband Tom have lived in Sioux Falls, SD since 1995 where they raised two incredible humans, Emma and Ian, and currently share their empty nest with an energetic German Shorthair Pointer puppy named Echo.  Christy is a mentor for Leadership SD, a career coach for Dress for Success, and an avid reader, yogi, and movie buff.