The couple
Colin DeLong
Colin was born in Chapel Hill, NC, and, after a 4-year stint in Cooperstown, NY, raised in northwestern Wisconsin (Ladysmith, North Hudson, and Cumberland). His father, Douglas Delong, married to stepmother Lynn Marsh, is a physician and division chief of internal medicine at Bassett Healthcare in Cooperstown, NY, and chair-elect of the Board of Governors for the American College of Physicians. His mother, Kathryn Ault, married to stepfather Barry Ault, is an attorney at her private practice, Ault Law, in Cumberland, WI, and judge for the City of Cumberland Municipal Court of Wisconsin. His siblings are Trevor DeLong, Kendra Peterson, and Jack Ault.
From an early age, Colin was encouraged by his parents to imagine. Ad hoc science projects, sci fi and fantasy books, and an interest in space travel and mathematics fueled Colin’s thoughts most days, as well as baseball and other sports. He and his brother Trevor spent much of their childhood exploring the forested surroundings of their house in rural NW WI, creating a number of forts and tree houses, some of which still exist today.
Colin is a musician of some 30+ years, playing the piano/keyboard, various percussion instruments (especially timpani and quad toms), guitar, bass, and vocals in concert band, marching bad, jazz band, pep band, and his math metal band of nearly 20 years.
He finished high school in Cumberland and went on to the University of Minnesota to complete his BS and PhD in computer science, the latter focusing on his research in data mining and machine learning. Colin currently works for the University of Minnesota as Director of Enrollment Analytics, where he provides strategic planning, summary, and predictive analytics for the University on enrollment-related questions, and also directs the Office of Application Development, a research and development unit for software that serves students and student services processes.
Colin has several interests these days, including bicycling, cooking, spice-making, reading about history, beer, coming up with ideas for start-up companies, and, of course, Kati.
Katherine Pederson
Katherine (or Kati for short) grew up in Valley City, ND, on the banks of the Sheyenne River. Her mother, Diane, was a medical technologist who, in the mid '60s, logged the most candy-striping volunteer hours at that point in the history of North Dakota. She passed away in 1990 after suffering from non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Her father, Rodli, helped people find jobs in Valley City at the state Job Service office. He is an avid traveler who took his children on trips through out their childhoods, experiencing cultures though hostelling and visiting old friends. He currently resides in Lisbon (North Dakota). Kati has two sisters, Kari Pederson and Solveig Zarubin.
During her junior year in high school, she studied at a German gymnasium in northwestern Germany in a small town made famous by the death of a saint in the early Middle Ages. Kati's family is very Norwegian, so she is delighted to be able to celebrate her nuptials on Syttende Mai, the Norwegian national holiday.
She returned to finish high school and attended the University of Minnesota completing a Bachelor of Arts in linguistics. After working a few years in higher education, she earned a Master's degree in urban and regional planning. She is especially interested in the intersection of K-12 public school financing and urban planning, inclusive community engagement and planning for bicyclists and pedestrians. Her day job is curating student records for the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota.
A few of the constants in Kati's life include: bicycling, traveling, cooking, knitting, running, and Colin.