Candidate Biography

Heather Ichel Pieper-Olson, JD

Heather Ichel Pieper-Olson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Pieper-Olson attended Hopkins High School.

A graduate of the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina, she earned both a Bachelor of Science degree in Anthropology (1998) and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish (1999). During her time at the College of Charleston, Pieper-Olson was a four-time letter winner on the DI varsity volleyball team, and a three-time team captain. She then served as the graduate assistant volleyball coach of the DII St. Cloud State University. Pieper-Olson earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Minnesota Law School. As a law student, she served as the president of the Latino Law Students Alliance, manager of the admissions office ambassadors, and as a research assistant and conference organizer for Marbury at 200: A Bicentennial Celebration of Marbury v. Madison.

In 2004, Pieper-Olson joined the St. Cloud office of Gray Plant Mooty as an associate attorney practicing in the area of general litigation, counseling clients in the areas of commercial litigation, property disputes, personal injury litigation, construction law and employment law. She was appointed to serve as counselor attorney, the legal representative of the Mexican Consulate located in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 2005.

After leaving the practice of law, Pieper-Olson began her career in advancement at the College of Saint Benedict, in St. Joseph, Minnesota. She has served in ever-increasing leadership roles throughout all aspects of the advancement operation throughout her tenure. Since 2017, when she was named associate vice president, major and planned gift giving’s impact on the growth of available funded scholarship aid for Saint Ben’s students has seen an almost 180% increase. With over $47.82 million raised towards endowment, the growth in funded scholarship aid from endowment increased 312.9% over that same period.

Pieper-Olson began her tenure as the vice president of institutional advancement at College of Saint Benedict in 2022. She provides strategic oversight, development, integration and coordination of a diverse and highly-motivated, 22-person fundraising operation which has exceeded $15M in overall fundraising annually and actively engaged over 12,000 alumnae over the course of her tenure. She has provided continuous support and counsel for CSB presidents, institutional leadership and the boards of trustees, including as the current staff liaison to the external engagement committee of the board.

Pieper-Olson is active in the St. Cloud community. She proudly serves as a volunteer assistant coach for the College of Saint Benedict volleyball team, as a member of several St. Cloud School athletic team booster clubs, and recently completing 9 years of service as a director and the chair of the marketing committee of the Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation. Pieper-Olson is married to Todd Pieper, a St. Cloud State University alumnus. Together they have two children, Eleanor and Leo.