Our Mission

Pam Brokaw and her family moved to Hudson in 2001, and she has been actively involved in the community ever since. Alongside a career spanning more than 35 years at 3M, Pam served as a board member and president of Youth Action Hudson. Her years of community involvement have reinforced her belief in the importance of creating opportunities for people to connect, participate, and build meaningful relationships.

Watching her own parents age, Pam saw firsthand how meaningful it was for them to have somewhere to go, make new friends, and stay socially connected. That experience is part of what drew her to 570 Coulee. She believes older adults should have opportunities to continue learning, share their experiences, build friendships, and remain active participants in their communities.

Pam is especially excited about the possibilities that 570 Coulee’s 18 acres offer. From new activities and learning opportunities to simple gatherings and conversations, she sees tremendous potential in what 570 Coulee can become. She has also been deeply touched by the outpouring of community support and the generosity of those volunteering their time and talents to make it happen.

As Co-President, Pam looks forward to getting to know more people throughout the St. Croix Valley, sharing stories over coffee, and trying new things alongside other community members. Her hope is that 570 Coulee becomes a favorite gathering place where people are excited to spend time, share experiences, make new friends, and keep coming back.

Heidi grew up in a small, close-knit town in northern Minnesota, famously known as the “Turtle Race Capital of the World.” After graduating from UW-Eau Claire, her husband, Chad, convinced her that his hometown of Hudson was the perfect place to build a life together — and he was right.

Although Hudson was much larger than her hometown of just 191 people, Heidi says it has always felt warm and welcoming. Here, she and Chad have raised three daughters, built lasting friendships, and enjoyed being part of the St. Croix Valley community.

Now, as they enter a new chapter of life as “55+,” Heidi finds herself asking a question that many people can probably relate to:

What’s next?

That question is a big part of what excites her about 570 Coulee.

“I believe the years ahead can be some of our most meaningful — not because we have to slow down or step back, but because we want to be more intentional. More intentional about how we spend our time, where we invest our energy, the relationships we nurture, and the difference we can still make.”

For Heidi, 570 Coulee is about recognizing everything people bring with them into this chapter of life — experience, perspective, stories, talents, and a desire to continue contributing.

She envisions 570 Coulee as a place where adults 55+ can come together, discover something new, share what they know, build meaningful relationships, and simply feel like they belong.

A place where people are valued not just for what they have accomplished, but for everything they still have to offer.

People. Connection. Belonging.

That’s the heart of 570 Coulee — and a big part of why Heidi is so passionate about helping bring it to life.

Claire grew up in Superior, but Hudson has been part of her life since childhood, when summers often included visits with her aunt and uncle. After completing graduate school at St. Catherine University, Claire and her husband knew Hudson was where they wanted to build their life and raise their family. For the past 12 years, they’ve called Hudson home.

By day, Claire teaches in the graduate occupational therapy program at St. Catherine University. Outside of work and 570 Coulee, she can usually be found with her husband, two daughters, and their two dogs — camping, swimming, enjoying the sauna, coaching her girls’ sports teams, gardening, baking, knitting, or creating something with her hands.

Claire’s passion for 570 Coulee grew from 15 years of working in occupational therapy and rehabilitation in psychiatric and substance use settings. Through that work, she saw firsthand the impact isolation, lack of support, and barriers to stability can have on everyday people.

While completing her PhD, one thought kept coming back:

“We have to get further upstream.”

Claire envisioned a place where community, connection, purpose, and meaningful activities could support people before they reached a crisis. A conversation with fellow board member Matt eventually connected her with Heidi — and helped turn that idea into what is now 570 Coulee.

After experiencing significant losses within her own family, the mission became even more personal and reinforced something Claire has long believed through her work in occupational therapy: people need people.

Sometimes support is practical. Sometimes it’s having someone to talk to. And sometimes it’s simply doing something you love alongside someone who enjoys it too.

That’s what Claire hopes 570 Coulee can be — a place where relationships are built side-by-side through joy, purpose, and shared experiences, so when life gets hard, no one has to carry it alone.

Alicia was born and raised in Hudson and still calls it home today — in fact, she lives just down the road from 570 Coulee.

Hudson has always been special to Alicia. She loves the community, the people, and the feeling that comes from living in a place where people genuinely care about one another. That connection to her community is a big part of what drew her to 570 Coulee.

To Alicia, 570 Coulee is about much more than a building. It’s about creating a place where adults 55+ can connect, keep growing, try new things, build friendships, and feel like they belong.

“This is something our community needs.”

Alicia is passionate about bringing the vision for 570 Coulee to life and especially grateful for the people who have come together to make it happen. “It’s hard not to be inspired after talking with any one of them.”

She hopes 570 Coulee becomes a place people are proud to have in their community — a place that feels welcoming, brings people together, and truly feels like theirs.

For Alicia, the best part will be seeing the building come to life through the programs, gatherings, conversations, laughter, and most importantly, the people who walk through the doors.

Karyn has called Hudson and the St. Croix Valley home for nearly all of her life. She moved here when she was nine years old and feels incredibly fortunate to have raised her own children in the same house where she grew up. The beauty of the valley, the strength of its community, and its Midwestern values have shaped who she is and why the mission of 570 Coulee means so much to her.

Karyn’s heart for this work began long before 570 Coulee. As a founding board member of The Butterfly Path, she experienced firsthand the difference it can make when people feel supported, valued, and connected. She also carries with her a lesson from her very first job at Christian Community Home: everyone has something that brings them joy — a “spark.”

Sometimes that spark is music. Sometimes it’s animals, sunshine, nature, creativity, or a favorite memory. Karyn saw how people could come alive when someone took the time to discover what brought them joy and helped bring more of it into their lives.

That idea is at the heart of what Karyn hopes 570 Coulee will become.

She believes our community needs a place where adults 55+ can feel truly seen, supported, and connected — a place where people can walk through the doors, find their people, and rediscover some of those things that make life meaningful and fun.

When Karyn pictures 570 Coulee, she sees people learning together, laughing together, sharing stories, and welcoming one another with genuine kindness. She imagines regulars greeting someone new and making sure they quickly feel like they belong. More than anything, she hopes the warmth and spirit of 570 Coulee will be something people feel the moment they walk through the door.

Karyn feels incredibly fortunate to work alongside a talented and dedicated group of people whose vision, experience, and tireless work are bringing 570 Coulee to life. She is honored to be part of the project and excited about the difference it can make in the community she loves.

Outside of 570 Coulee, Karyn finds joy in the simple things: spending time with family, hunting for agates, catching a beautiful sunset, getting lost in a good book, discovering new music, and spending time in nature.

If she could spend an afternoon at 570 Coulee, she’d choose something that brings people together — a nature walk, a creative workshop, or simply sitting in a sunny corner listening to members share their stories. To Karyn, that’s what community is all about: showing up for one another, growing together, and finding joy through connection.

Matt spent the first 18 years of his life in the Washington, D.C. area, but he’ll tell you he has always felt like a Midwesterner at heart. After attending college in North Dakota and living in the Twin Cities suburbs, Matt made his way to Hudson in 2006.

What he loves most about Hudson is its small-town feel and strong sense of community. To Matt, being part of a community means working together, making sacrifices for the greater good, and stepping up to help where you can.

“The world needs more volunteers.”

Matt comes from an I.T. background and is fortunate to have a job he truly enjoys at the Hudson Area Public Library. Outside of work and volunteering, life is centered around his wife and two daughters. He enjoys trivia, watching the NFL, exercising, helping people, and staying busy — which Matt claims is actually relaxing for him.

Matt was drawn to 570 Coulee by the opportunity to help create something from the ground up and be part of taking an idea all the way through to reality.

He sees 570 Coulee as a welcoming place for adults 55+ who want to keep growing, share their stories, laugh together, make new connections, and maybe even step outside their comfort zones once in a while.

More than anything, Matt hopes 570 Coulee becomes a place people throughout the St. Croix Valley recognize as their own — a place where people walk through the doors and immediately feel welcomed, happy, and like they belong.

And when people hear “570 Coulee” or see the logo? Matt hopes it makes them smile.