Meet The Team At Sovran

Lisa Loken
Owner & CEO
Lisa Loken joined Sovran in 1990 as en employee, and has always valued customer services as the cornerstone of the company.  Lisa's goal is to have Sovran continue to make an impact with small businesses, not Fortune 500 companies.

Lisa became minority owner of Sovran in 1998, and majority owner in 2003.

From Northfield, and originally a programmer, Lisa enjoys travel as well as solving problems, given her background in computer science and math.
Traci Leffner
President
Since 2016, Traci Leffner has learned how vital relationships are in an IT environment. Traci’s goal is to build positive, mutually beneficial relationships with clients. She has worked to manage client expectations and create partnerships, reducing calls to Sovran’s help desk by 88%.

Traci is growing Sovran at a deliberate, controlled pace to onboard clients properly and give excellent customer service.

From Cottage Grove, by way of Illinois and Wisconsin state, Traci enjoys going to concerts and spending time with her husband and two daughters, as well as their wonderful pups.

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Kelly Bowman
​Operations Coordinator
Kelly Bowman joined Sovran in 2019 for the opportunity of growth and variety. Kelly’s goal is to talk with clients, educate them on Sovran's offerings, and prepare them for the next steps in the process. Her favorite service from Sovran is Total Care as it secures the partnership, allowing the team to completely take care of the client’s IT needs.

Kelly enjoys being able to train clients on new software and products across Minnesota.

From Farmington, by way of Rosemount and North Minneapolis, Kelly finds the fun in life by going to concerts, writing her book/screenplay, and spending time with her husband, two children, two dogs, and one cat.
Melissa Skarphol
​Technology Solutions Consultant
Melissa Skarphol joined Sovran in 2018 with the goal of connecting with business owners and finding out how to help them. Melissa has always loved finding out what isn’t working for clients and giving them the perfect solution. Her favorite service from Sovran is Total Care because it means they can completely take everything off of the plate of someone who doesn’t want to do it.

Melissa has been able to help a number of clients during her time at Sovran. Her favorite was a church she was able to help get out of a bad IT contract. The contract was costing them a lot of money and not providing good service in return.

From Roseville, by way of Sartell, and Grand Forks, North Dakota, Melissa enjoys spending her spare time camping, going to concerts, and hanging out with her parents, older sister, and younger brother.
Michael “Mike” McRae
Project Engineer
Since 2016, Michael “Mike” McRae has been helping companies and nonprofits maintain their IT systems. Mike has always enjoyed getting things done - seeing projects through. He often works to install and deploy servers, set up workstations, storage, applications, and backups, as well as handle Office 365 migrations. Mike’s favorite product at Sovran is VMware. He says it’s very versatile and makes the installation of new servers very smooth.

​Mike is committed to serving Sovran’s customers alongside a high-functioning team.

From Lakeville by way of many Air Force bases, Mike enjoys spending time horseback riding, grilling out with the Sovran team, and spending time with his wife of 36 years and their three adult children.
Luqman Abdi
Help Desk
Luqman Abdi joined Sovran in 2017, becoming an invaluable part of the client relations team. Luqman enjoys learning from everyone at the office and sharing helpful knowledge with clients. His favorite product provided to clients is from Meraki, as it’s very versatile and works in many situations.

Luqman loves exciting his clients with answers and help. He’s even formed personal relationships with some of his clients, keeping up with them and their lives outside of work.

From Bloomington, by way of Pelican Rapids, Luqman spends his time learning new languages, and experience cultures and foods in the city.
Jonathan Schultz
​Systems Engineer
Since 2014, Jonathan Schultz has been fixing the problems no one else can at Sovran. Jonathan has always loved playing with new toys - including servers and software! His favorite playthings are HP servers and VMware.

Jonathan has worked with hundreds of clients since he started with Sovran, deploying solutions and upgrading servers.

From Lakeville by way of Blaine, Jonathan loves spending his spare time working on “computer stuff”, going camping, and practicing photography.
Shonn “ShonnTwight” Twight
Systems Administrator
Shonn “ShonnTwight” Twight joined Sovran in 2008 and has been learning new skills and managing client systems and networks since. His favorite software is a toss-up between VMware and Nimble SANs, as they both allow systems to run quickly and efficiently.

ShonnTwight enjoys interacting with clients and making their IT worries disappear. His favorite clients are those with an easy-going culture and are very progressive with their IT needs.

From Bloomington by way of Duluth, ShonnTwight enjoys reading in his free time as well as hanging out with his wife and two adult children.

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Jerry Martin
​Help Desk
Since 2019, Jerry Martin has become an important part of the client relationship. Bridging the gap between clients and system administrators, he helps solve client issues daily.

Jerry enjoys troubleshooting client issues and getting to the bottom of the problem. When his progress stops, he knows the other members of the team will always share their deep knowledge as he continue to learn.

From St. Paul Park, by way of St. Paul, Jerry spends his time golfing with his brothers, or spending time with his wife and three adult children.