Sovran has helped Minnesota organizations grow and compete since 1987. We partner with companies who want a simpler technology environment, whether fully-managed or in partnership with an in-house IT director.
Hand all of your IT tech burdens and strategy to Sovran’s team of engineers, system administrators, and help desk specialists. We’ll work with you to reach your long-term goals.
Our team has helped nonprofits and businesses from Minneapolis/St. Paul, to Sioux Falls, Fargo, Eau Claire, to Des Moines, and beyond. Our reputation attracts talented professionals, and we work to achieve the highest certifications for our platforms. Sovran is recognized by our vendor partners as a top-level technology provider.
Involvement
Sponsorship
Sovran is proud to sponsor the following organizations and events.
Membership
Sovran is proud to be a member of the following organizations.
Leadership
Sovran is proud to serve on boards in our local communities.
Tech
Sovran is trained or certified to work on and provide the following technologies.
Training
Sovran partners with the following organizations to provide training to clients or our team.
Compliance
Sovran can assist in compliance with the following standards for your business.
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) | National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SP 800-53 | Payment Card Industry (PCI) | Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) | 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Sovran Team
Lisa Loken
Owner
Technology companies are rarely owned and operated by a woman. At Sovran, Lisa Loken has been the majority owner since 2002, a partner since 1998, and an employee since 1990.
If there’s one thing Lisa has learned in her time at Sovran, it’s that the most critical focus for a business is the team. The relationships she has built with employees over the years have been golden. Past employees stay in touch and invite her to weddings or anniversary parties.
In another life, Lisa grew up on a farm near Northfield, MN. She earned a finance degree with a computer science minor and dabbled in programming languages like COBOL and FORTRAN. She credits her entrepreneurial spirit to her father – her most important mentor.
These days, she spends her time anticipating “what’s next” with the rapid technological change. With new tech, new energy, and a new focus, she looks forward to the future with Sovran.
In her free time, Lisa enjoys traveling. She hopes to visit Antarctica to see penguins, Germany to see the Passion play, and Costa Rica.
Traci Leffner
President
Traci Leffner, President of Sovran, Inc., is dedicated to providing top-tier IT experiences. She is passionate about technology’s benefits and ensures customers realize their potential with proper support. Traci and her team focus on reducing IT-related fears, fostering trust, and building enduring partnerships.
At Sovran, customer experience drives success. Traci exemplifies effective relationship and technology management, making complex needs understandable. Clients value the clear communication and consistent support from Traci and her team. Her approach ensures a win/win situation for everyone involved.
Traci is an accomplished entrepreneur and intrapreneur who leverages her skills to grow Sovran strategically. She has notably reduced daily help desk calls by 89% and maintains a 99% customer retention rate. Under her leadership, Sovran’s nonprofit market has expanded to 40% of its business.
Residing in Cottage Grove with her husband, pit bull, and kittens, Traci cherishes the small-town atmosphere and metro amenities. She enjoys family dinners, movies, and global travel, especially reminiscing about her African safari adventure.
Megan Killea
Director of Operations
Finding unique and novel solutions is the name of the game for Megan Killea. With a background in genetics, analytics, and project management, she enjoys focusing on improving operations and client relationships at Sovran and loves the team dynamics in the office.
Now in Cottage Grove, Megan grew up in Hudson, Wisconsin. She likes to play board games, try new food and drink, and spend time with her three cats and husband, Jonathan.
Charles “Charlie” LeVoir
Director of Professional Services & Technical Sales
As Director of Professional Services & Technical Sales, Charlie Levoir partners with Sovran’s clients to develop and pursue their IT and cybersecurity initiatives. Charlie attacks the day with his trademark enthusiasm and loves the opportunity to help all types of organizations with his skills and experience.
Before Charlie started putting his energy into helping Sovran’s clients with their IT needs, he worked various jobs. His first job was detasseling corn, where he learned what hard work and dedication look like.
In his free time, he runs a social enterprise and hosts his own podcast.
Roman Postle
Service Delivery Manager
You might call him a Jack-of-all-Trades, but he prefers just “Roman.” Roman Postle has over two decades of experience across various IT technologies, environments, and personalities. As the Service Delivery Manager, he enables the flow of the help desk at Sovran and manages work for clients on-site and remotely.
Before coming to Sovran, Roman felt he had plateaued in his IT knowledge, but now he feels pushed every day! He loves the dedication given to nonprofits by the Sovran team and the relationship-building with all clients. His favorite client is . . . ALL OF THEM!
As a young man, Roman was interested in becoming an FBI profiler, which perfectly matches his love of getting to know people on a deeper level. In his free time, he enjoys cooking and practicing martial arts with his daughter and son, as well as hiking, archery, and perhaps mixing himself a RoManhattan while enjoying a new philosophy book.
Tony Rosenow
Vice President of Sales | Sales Engineer
Like father, like son – Tony Rosenow grew up imitating his father, a computer programmer and gamer. When building his first computer at 16, he had to troubleshoot connections through an I/O panel. Joining Sovran in 2023, Tony found his niche, supporting clients as a systems administrator and now a sales engineer.
Tony enjoys helping clients navigate technical roadblocks and learning new techniques. In his free time, he plays massively multiplayer online games.
Jonathan Schulz
Senior Systems Engineer
Jonathan Schulz should only be approached for the most extreme IT problems, like a sage on a mountaintop. At least, that’s what he wants his colleagues to think!
Since 2014, Jonathan has been solving issues with emails, servers, hardware installations, and more. From HP servers and VMware to Microsoft 365, Jonathan enjoys helping clients in ways only Sovran can.
Taking on tough problems can require creative thinking. That’s why Jonathan spends as much time as he can camping, hiking, and photographing in Minnesota state parks.
Troy Heitmann
Systems Engineer
Troy Heitmann has IT in his bones. At Sovran, he loves handling escalated help desk tickets, implementing new systems for clients, and training them. He loves seeing the different technology infrastructures that support various businesses and industries.
Growing up, Troy was a veterinarian assistant at a dairy farm in Baldwin, WI, and helped his grandfather on his horse ranch. But he always knew he wanted to study Information Technology.
In his free time, he likes competitive axe throwing, riding his motorcycle, or scripting and working in his home lab.
Chi Vang
Security Specialist
Chi Vang desires the feeling of elation from solving complex client issues most! Solving problems helps others immediately, but he also likes that it helps him learn more to help the next client.
Chi troubleshoots computers daily and loves using RemoteAgent to see exactly what the client is having problems with.
As a young man, Chi wanted to be a pilot, which would have involved different troubleshooting. At home, he and his wife raise two wonderful boys. In his free time, Chi enjoys fishing.
Michael “Mike” McRae
Systems Administrator
Winner of the “Most Helpful Employee” at the annual Sovran awards banquet for eight years running, Mike McRae is the man you want on any IT team. Starting in 2016 on the help desk team, he has codified all of his knowledge as he worked his way into system administration and project engineering.
Mike likes puzzles and is a problem solver, building relationships daily with his calls and client visits. He often works to install and deploy servers, set up workstations, storage, applications, and backups, and handle Office 365 migrations. Mike’s favorite product at Sovran is VMware.
Mike loves camping and horseback riding, nature walks at state parks, or riding along the Cascade River. He also loves spending time with his wife and three adult children.
Todd Fisher
Systems Administrator
Like a tailor fitting a fine suit, Todd Fisher is known for finding the ‘just right’ solution for his clients. He has been a team player since 2020, working on customer tickets and handling work escalated from the help desk.
Todd enjoys his time making on-site visits to clients, putting faces to names, and physically checking servers and other hardware to ensure they’re running smoothly. He drops in monthly for his total care clients to monitor issues and make adjustments. You may even catch him occasionally at Big Lake Chamber of Commerce events.
In his free time, he enjoys camping and ice fishing, as well as spending time with his wife, daughter, and dog.
Abdel Askar
Systems Administrator
Troubleshooting is Abdel Askar’s middle name. From his initial interview with Sovran, Abdel knew he had found a company he would love. He now spends his days working with Office 365, which he admires for its vitality to every business.
Growing up in Damascus, the capital of Syria, Abdel wanted to become a doctor. He now lives in Eagan, Minnesota, and in his free time, is learning sign language.
Luke Haag
Systems Administrator
Troubleshooting client issues is the name of the game for Luke Haag, and he loves providing efficient and convenient solutions for Sovran’s clients. Luke grew up in rural Illinois before moving to Inver Grove Heights, and he could identify what Sovran is all about from his first interview. He said, “Traci and Shonn’s interview with me was one of the most validating and comfortable conversations I’ve ever had with a potential employer,” and can already see how people are valued over profit at Sovran.
Previously, Luke worked perhaps one of the most unique jobs of anyone at Sovran, manually pulling tassels off corn plants while riding in a basket held by a long-armed tractor. He once wanted to own a fireworks mall but now spends his time away from work playing disc golf, visiting art festivals, or building keyboards and playing video games.
Ismail Sheikh
Systems Administrator
Empathy and active listening are two of Ismail Sheikh’s most valued tools in his position at Sovran’s help desk. Through phone calls, emails, and ticketing systems, Ismail takes great pleasure in solving – and documenting – technical issues with software, hardware, and network connectivity to get his clients back in business.
Spending his youth in Yemen, Ismail spent time in Chicago before coming to New Brighton, Minnesota. In his off-hours, Ismail enjoys playing soccer, tinkering with IT problems, and hanging out with his wife.
Yee Xiong
Systems Administrator
If you’ve got a puzzling IT issue, Yee wants to solve it! While he enjoys fixing Microsoft 365 issues the best, Yee loves remotely accessing clients’ devices to see what’s happening and provide a quick resolution to any issue.
Joining the Sovran team in 2024, Yee admired the supportive work environment and learning culture. He enjoys the opportunity to work as a unit with his team and make on-site visits to clients to help with physical issues.
Yee grew up in Thailand and now lives in St. Paul with his family, including three brothers and two sisters. In his free time, he enjoys boxing, Muay Thai, traveling, and camping.
Daniel Miller
Senior Help Desk Technician
Helping clients is the name of the game. From minor issues to major headaches, Daniel Miller enjoys working with nonprofits and small businesses to solve IT problems. When he’s not on the phone or answering emails, he likes to learn new technologies to help him do his job better.
Growing up across the United States, from Georgia to North Dakota, Daniel now lives in Eagan. He’s always been interested in networks and solving online issues. As a young man, he dreamed of joining the military and working for the U.S. Army Cyber Command.
Xeng Cheng
Service Delivery Technician
Xeng Cheng cites Sovran’s culture as a significant reason he loves working here. He grew up wanting to be a firefighter, but his day-to-day consists of putting out fires for clients who call Sovran’s help desk and providing the best service possible to help them work through IT issues. The born-and-bred Minnesotan has enjoyed learning new things every day as he’s gotten started at Sovran.
The youngest of seven kids, Xeng grew up in a large, close family and feels that Sovran provides a similar environment. He enjoys working out at the gym when he’s not at work.
Justine Del Rosario
Dedicated L2 Technician
From day one, Justine Del Rosario has felt welcomed and ready to help clients at Sovran. His work requires him to keep a sharp eye on alerts and stay plugged into the Sovran team to assist as needed.
Justine spends his days setting up machines, backing up servers, serving as a liaison, and monitoring alerts.
Growing up in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, his most interesting job was working at a hot dog factory. Justine has been in the IT industry for a decade.
Elijah Vang
Help Desk
Elijah Vang joined the Sovran team as an intern before coming aboard full-time. He loves how positive and helpful his coworkers are, and at the help desk, he tries to channel that same energy when he’s supporting clients.
Elijah grew up in St. Paul and dreamed of becoming a professional bass fisherman when he was young. In his free time, he enjoys hunting, fishing, hiking, and camping.
Sovran History
1987-1996
- Sovran was founded on December 29, 1987, by three former employees of Control Data Corporation, a supercomputer firm based in Bloomington.
- Operated as a third-party maintenance provider for IBM and Wang Laboratories’ mainframe systems.
- The original office was located off of East Bush Lake Road in Bloomington.
- Henry Rogers, a Sovran salesperson, purchased the company in 1990.
- Lisa Loken joined Sovran in 1990.
- In 1992, it began a partnership with Novell, Inc., a major contributor to the adoption of local area networks (LAN).
- Acquired another IT firm in 1993.
- Began partnering with Microsoft by offering Windows NT in 1993, a multi-user operating system for workstations and servers.
- Deubener Award Recipient from St. Paul Chamber of Commerce in 1994.
- Moved to the second office off of Pilot Knob Road in Eagan.
1997-2006
- Lisa Loken bought into Sovran as a minority owner in 1998.
- Partnered with Cisco Systems, Inc., a networking and telecommunications company, in 2000.
- On September 11, 2001, Sovran moved to the office at 2915 Commers Drive in Eagan. This 24,000-square-foot rented space included a seminar and lab area for customers to come for lunch and learn.
- It survived the dot-com bust of 2000-2002, during which many IT firms failed, and companies restricted spending on new technology.
- Lisa Loken became the majority owner in 2003. Sovran becomes a fully woman-owned business.
2007-2016
- Survived the great recession of 2007-2009, started by the financial crisis, which caused restricted spending among many businesses and corporations.
- Sovran was named one of the top 25 women-owned businesses by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal in 2010.
- Sovran was named one of the top 25 women-owned businesses by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal in 2011.
- Lisa Loken started a New Horizons franchise in the Twin Cities in May 2011. New Horizons is a computer learning center for technology and business skills in Sovran’s building. New Horizons and Sovran work together synergistically.
- Traci Leffner joins Sovran in 2016.
- At its peak, Sovran has employed more than 60 individuals.
2017-2026
- Hosting various lunch-and-learns and product education seminars, Sovran began to offer more education to its existing and future clients.
- Traci Leffner becomes president of Sovran.
- Sovran more clearly defined its business model and services and explicitly catered to more organizations in the nonprofit sector.
- Traci Leffner joins the BBB of Minnesota & North Dakota board of directors.
- Sovran survives and thrives during the COVID era.
- New Horizons rejected its franchise agreement and morphed into Crescent Career Center, owned by Lisa Loken and helmed by new President Traci Leffner.
- In spring 2024, Sovran and Crescent Career Center moved 1.6 miles north to 1171 Northland Drive in Mendota Heights into a new, wholly-owned 10,348-square-foot office space.
