Biography
Tyler R. Sletten was born and raised in Bismarck, ND. After graduating from the University of Mary he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served with the North Dakota Army National Guard and later the North Dakota Air National Guard for a combined total of nine years. He served in a variety of roles but spent the vast majority of his time in Public Affairs. He ended his military service in 2018 as a Technical Sergeant with the 119thFW “Happy Hooligans” in Fargo, ND to fucus on his businesses and work at UND.
It was during his time on the Army side of his military career that he developed his first business- Sletten Logistics, which provides digital solutions for U.S. Army publications. Prior to transitioning to the Air National Guard Sletten opened Lone Tree Outfitters, a traditional brick & mortar sporting goods storefront in Mayville, ND. Lone Tree later pivoted to government contracting and continues to operate in that market today, focusing primarily on law enforcement agencies.
In 2017 Tyler joined the UND Center for Innovation (CFI) as a business coach while also running Lone Tree. Shortly after he was promoted to SBIR/STTR Director to assist small businesses in pursuing federal research & development grants. While at CFI a significant portion of his time has been devoted to developing unique experiential learning opportunities for UND students, most notably CFI’s line of Student-run Enterprises, which allow students to autonomously operate for-profit, student developed businesses, while attending UND.
Tyler currently resides in Grand Forks with his wife, Sarah R. Sletten PhD., two boys, and cat "CiCi". When he is not working at UND or on his businesses he enjoys golf and shooting sports.