Madison, South Dakota, United States, August 2025 – Angi Kappenman has been appointed as the Chief Human Resources Officer at East River Electric Power Cooperative, Inc., where she will spearhead HR strategy and workforce development to support the cooperative’s mission of powering rural communities across South Dakota and Minnesota.
Before joining East River Electric, Angi served as Director of Total Rewards for the State of South Dakota for over two years. In this role, she oversaw comprehensive compensation and benefits programs, ensuring employee engagement and aligning workforce policies with organizational goals.
Earlier, she was Total Rewards Manager at POET, where she managed compensation structures, employee benefits, and performance-related frameworks to strengthen retention and support the company’s employee value proposition.
Prior to that, Angi spent nearly eight years with Dakota State University as Vice President for Human Resources and Title IX Coordinator, where she led HR strategy for the academic institution, driving policy development, talent management, and compliance initiatives.
She began her career with roles outside HR, including Accountant at Jason Maxwell, CPA, Account Executive at FirstLine Funding Group, and Fuel Card Manager at Continental Transportation, before transitioning into HR leadership.
Angi holds a Master of Science in Human Resources Management and Workforce Development from Louisiana State University and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Dakota State University. Her academic background complements her extensive HR leadership journey across public, private, and educational sectors.
About East River Electric Power Cooperative, Inc.
East River Electric is a not-for-profit generation and transmission cooperative headquartered in Madison, South Dakota. It delivers wholesale power to 24 rural electric distribution cooperatives and one municipally-owned electric system across eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota. Its members, in turn, provide electricity to homes, farms, schools, and businesses throughout their service territories.
With additional regional service centers in Aberdeen, Beresford, Brandon, Madison, Milbank, Miller, Mitchell, and Marshall (MN), East River Electric is committed to enhancing member value through reliable power, innovative solutions, and strong community support.
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