SPEAKER BIOS
Tawanna A. Black - Founder & CEO, Center for Economic Inclusion
Tawanna A. Black is a nationally recognized thought leader known for influencing, inspiring, and equipping cross-sector leaders to transform a personal conviction for equality into actions that produce equitable and thriving communities.
In 2017, Tawanna launched the Center for Economic Inclusion, the nation’s first organization dedicated exclusively to creating inclusive regional economies by equipping public and private sector employers to dismantle institutional racism and build shared accountability for inclusive economic growth.
As Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Tawanna leads a team of people who offer ground-breaking consulting products and services to move businesses and local and regional governments from diversity and inclusion programs to triple bottom line results that are good for employees, employers, and communities; foster shared accountability for regional inclusive growth; change the narrative about the economic imperative and value of closing racial wealth gaps.
Tawanna is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow of the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. She has a Bachelor of Public Administration Degree from Washburn University in Topeka, KS.
DR. Stephanie Burrage - Chief Equity Officer, Office of Governor Tim Walz & Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan
Dr. Stephanie Burrage is Chief Equity Officer for the Office of Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan.
She is responsible for connecting external stakeholders with state government partners for the purpose of achieving equity and opportunity for everyone in the state of Minnesota.
Throughout her career, Dr. Burrage has impacted policy and practice as an educational consultant. Some of her work has included consulting on turnaround school transformation, Board of Education training, as well as leadership strategies for districts and companies. Dr. Burrage also serves on the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) National Career and Technology Education (CTE) Advisory Council.
Ling Becker - Ramsey County
Ling Becker is the Director of Workforce Solutions for Ramsey County and Executive Director of the Workforce Innovation Board of Ramsey County.
Ling oversees a department of 80 staff who deliver $20M dollars annually of workforce services and programs to residents and businesses of Ramsey County in partnership with dozens of community-based organizations. Since the pandemic, Ling has been overseeing millions of additional federally funded program to build a more equitable recovery.
Prior to her current role, Ling was the Executive Director of the Vadnais Heights Economic Development Corporation serving the NE metro connecting businesses and local governments on economic development projects and programs. In that role, Ling lead several award-winning workforce partnerships with local school district, community colleges and employer partners.
Christina Berry - NEOO Partners
As an Sr. Economic Development Advisor with NEOO, Christina brings over 20-years’ of nuanced experience in leading brownfield redevelopments, master planning, and small town economic development initiatives.
She champions NEOO’s expansion efforts in the Deep South (Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee) with a focus on rural county and small town planning needs. Christina’s deep planning experience managing city planning departments and complex planning efforts elevates the support of NEOO’s municipal planning support services.
Christina is also the founder and Chief Tea Officer of ‘Sippsi Good Tea, a southern inspired loose leaf and bottled tea company operating in the south.
Christina has a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from Jackson State University, a Master’s in Real Estate Development from Auburn University, and an undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Garfield Bowen - 3M
As 3M’s Vice President of Social & Environmental Justice, Garfield Bowen orchestrates across the company to leverage the full capabilities of 3M to drive equity in our workplaces, communities, and business practices and more recently to shape our corporate environmental justice agenda.
Prior to his appointment in August 2020, Garfield held several positions across the company during his 9 years where he delivered growth from new products in a $4.5B business as well as improved flow and speed of global value streams in manufacturing. As such, he occupied roles of Global R&D Operations & PMO Director and Global Commercialization Director both in the Safety & Industrial Business Group. He was also Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Global Quality Leader, and PMO Leader in the Transportation & Electronics Business Group. Before joining 3M, Garfield had 18 years of progressive experience in the Information Technology field as a Software Engineer, Project Manager, Head of IT, Director of PMO, and Associate Chief Information Officer.
Garfield has a Master of Science Degree in Management Information Systems from the University of the West Indies and a business certificate from Columbia Business School. With a passion for service, Garfield serves on the 3M Political Action Committee Board, Children’s Minnesota Hospital Board, as well as his local church board. He is a Jamaican native and is married to Mauvalyn. They have two boys and live in Plymouth, Minnesota.
Colette Campbell - Bremer Bank
Colette Campbell has been on the senior leadership team at Bremer Bank since 2017. In her current role, she serves as the Chief Talent Acquisition and Diversity Officer. In this enterprise position, Colette leads Bremer’s talent acquisition, diversity, equity and inclusion strategy, which includes shaping Bremer’s recruiting processes and incorporating DEI into Bremer Banks overall business.
Colette’s past positions include serving as faculty in business, human resources and human development disciplines. She has provided coaching, training and consulting services for many years through her own consulting business. Colette holds degrees in religious studies, counseling, management, leadership and human development.
Colette brings both a personal and professional diversity to her position. She was raised in Canada by Jamaican-born parents and has lived and/or taught on almost every continent in the world. Colette is passionate about creating spaces to help people better understand themselves and others to work better together.
Prince Corbett
Prince Corbett (he/him) serves in the role of Racial and Health Equity Administrator at Ramsey County, MN where he works to change public policies and systems that will help abolish racial disparities. He is a 2022 Bush Fellow and was in the 2022 Harvard Kennedy School of Business Young American Leaders Program. He is a native of Dayton, OH currently residing in St. Paul, MN. During the COVID-19 pandemic Prince co-lead Ramsey County’s Racial Equity and Community Engagement Response Team that developed community-based racial equity strategies and solutions focused on reducing racial inequities caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently Prince is a board member of the Minnesota Board of Public Defense.
Dr. Paul Campbell - Brown Venture Group, LLC.
Dr. Paul Campbell is a co-founder and managing partner at Brown Venture Group, LLC. Launched in 2018, Brown Venture Group, LLC is a venture capital firm exclusively for Black, Latinx, and Indigenous technology startups and founders.
Prior to launching Brown Venture Group, Dr. Campbell was a telecommunication sales executive as well as a serial entrepreneur, launching startups in IoT and media production. He has also formed inclusive collaborative partnerships with federal agencies such as NASA, USPTO, and the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) for technology transfer offices to help de-risk under resourced innovators as they look to raise capital for their startups.
Dr. Campbell has been featured in publications such as Tribal Business News, Forbes, Bloomberg, Black Enterprise Magazine, and Authority Magazine. He holds a Doctorate in Social Entrepreneurship and an MBA in Global Business Management.
To date, Brown Venture Group has made 26 investments in portfolio companies out of their Inaugural fund.
David Edgerton Jr. - The DEJ Group LLC
David is the founder and managing principal of The DEJ Group LLC, an executive search and recruiting firm dedicated to uncovering the real needs of organizations and bringing forward a diverse set of candidates with an array of backgrounds and experiences.
For over 26 years, David has successfully held roles within businesses that leverage technology and people to achieve optimal results.
David has a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina A&T State University and an MBA from the Carlson School of Management, and an MA in Human Resource Management at Concordia University – St. Paul. He has worked for several companies in the Twin Cities area including Andersen Windows and Doors, The National Marrow Donor Program, Best Buy, Imation Corporation, Smead Manufacturing, and Ambient Consulting.
Junita Flowers - Junita’s Jar
As an Sr. Economic Development Advisor with NEOO, Christina brings over 20-years’ of nuanced experience in leading brownfield redevelopments, master planning, and small town economic development initiatives. She champions NEOO’s expansion efforts in the Deep South (Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee) with a focus on rural county and small town planning needs. Christina’s deep planning experience managing city planning departments and complex planning efforts elevates the support of NEOO’s municipal planning support services.
Christina is also the founder and Chief Tea Officer of ‘Sippsi Good Tea, a southern inspired loose leaf and bottled tea company operating in the south.
Christina has a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from Jackson State University, a Master’s in Real Estate Development from Auburn University, and an undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Drinal Foster - Wells Fargo
Drinal (Dra-Nell) Foster is a Senior Vice President in Wealth & Investment Management Technology and is responsible for driving global forward-leaning employee engagement and employee experience strategies for building a high-performance workforce, anchored in diversity, equity & inclusion (DE&I).
A 28-year Wells Fargo veteran, Drinal started her financial services career at the company on the frontline as a teller. Throughout her career, she has led various business functions and geographically disbursed teams across the globe. She brings 20 years of advanced leadership experience in the fields of Human Resources and DE&I.
In 2023, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal named Drinal as an influential business leader and gave top honors with the distinguished Women in Business award. They also recognized her as one of the “Top Black Leaders” in the Twin Cities market.
Drinal holds a degree in Organizational Leadership and Communication from Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), has credentials as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and is a Certified Professional (SHRM-CP).
Gloria Freeman - Olu’s Home, Inc.
Seeing a critical need for community-based services, Gloria dedicated her career to helping fill that need, with the founding of Olu’s Home, Inc. in 1999. Olu’s Home operates as a licensed care organization that provides residential and in-home services to persons with developmental disabilities and mental illnesses, as well as the elderly.
Currently, the company operates eleven sites within the Twin Cities area.
In late 2021, Gloria decided to expand once more and purchased a building in Uptown Minneapolis. This building has seven commercial spaces and eleven apartment units and is the first planned site of her upcoming business – Beauté Atout. Set to open its doors in July 2022, Beauté Atout is a luxury incubator of spaces for sole propriety business owners in the health and beauty industry.
While developing her business, Gloria has continued her education by participating in the Small Business Administration's Emerging Leaders Initiative, an intensive MBA-level training program for executives of high potential. In addition, Gloria attended Harvard Business Publishing through the Women Presidents’ Organization.
Amelia Hardy - Best buy
Amelia Hardy is the Chief Inclusion, Diversity, and Talent Officer and Senior Vice President at Best Buy. In this role, she oversees the company’s strategy for creating and sustaining a more equitable environment and workforce, both at Best Buy and in the communities we serve and is responsible for building an inclusive culture companywide that is also representative of the customers that we serve. Her responsibilities include ID&E, Talent Acquisition and ESG coordination.
Prior to joining Best Buy in 2014, Amelia held a variety of leadership roles at Fortune 100 companies, including 14 years at 3M. Her career experiences include marketing, strategy, brand management, p&l management and product commercialization.
She currently serves on multiple national and community boards including the Boys & Girls Club of the Twin Cities, MEDA, The Cowles Center, the Northside Achievement Zone and Minnesota Community Care.
Vachel Hudson - Reinvesting in Communities and Housing
Vachel Hudson is the Founder of Reinvesting in Communities and Housing (R.I.C.H.).
Vachel facilitates and hosts free financial and housing workshops connecting families to economic empowerment tools and consults with leaders on community development and engagement strategies.
Over the years, Vachel’s work has involved financial literacy, homeownership advocacy and education at Aeon, Urban League Twin Cities, and most recently, First Independence Bank, the only black-owned bank in Minnesota and headquartered in Detroit, MI.
Vachel attended a historically black college and university, Kentucky State University for undergrad, where he also played football and graduated with a Mass Communications and Marketing Degree. He earned his MBA from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota and has received numerous awards for his work including 2018 Finance & Commerce Magazine Rising Young Professional, National Urban League Young Professional’s President of the Year and YP Honors Trailblazer Award.
An Garagiola - University of Minnesota
An Garagiola, descendent of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, is a mother of three, a Ph.D. student in American Studies, and Project Manager in the Office of Native American Affairs at the University of Minnesota, where she recently graduated with a Master of Public Policy degree from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Her studies and work commingle at the confluence of research ethics and Indigenous rights. An is part of the core research team on the Towards Recognition and University-Tribal Healing (TRUTH) Project.
She was the University Coordinator and a lead researcher for TRUTH, scouring the historical archives at UMN and MNHS to uproot the full story of the founding board of regents. Through the examination of treaties, legislation, maps, archived communications, ledgers, and financial records, Garagiola’s research has uncovered how the founding regents drove a pattern of wealth transfer from Indigenous Peoples to the institution, often for their own personal gain.
Michael A. Jackson - Black Tech Talent
During both a global pandemic and worldwide civil rights movement and now moving into a recession, 40 under 40 CEO Mike Jackson has launched and led Black Tech Talent to being a brand trusted by more than 100 companies around the country with 7000 community members around the world.
Jackson has not only thrived in a space that is led by few African Americans but has changed the way the overall industry looks at Black people in technology. His innovative and unique approach to building community around IT recruitment includes an annual Black Tech Talent Summit bringing together recruiters and talent both locally and internationally. A Community TechFest which is an all ages technology fair created to engage and inspire the youth and Black Circuit, an original Superhero who exists in real life via costume and in the metaverse.
Under Mike’s leadership, Black Tech Talent has won numerous awards including 40 under 40 (MSPBJ), Tech Talent (Tekne Awards), Community Impact (Twin Cities Business Mag), Inclusive Evolution (MN Startup Awards), Beta Showcase (Beta.MN) Social Impact (MinneInno/Fire Awards) and more.
Dr. Pamela Jolly - Founder & CEO, Torch Enterprises Inc.
Dr. Pamela Jolly has enjoyed a career in the financial services industry in banking, strategic consulting, private equity/venture capital, and data analytics.
She is the CEO of Torch Enterprises Inc, a strategic investment company she has run for the past 20 years. Dr. Jolly is the author of five books on her dissertation, Legacy Wealth, and often serves as a subject matter expert on Black Wealth for cities and large philanthropic organizations.
Recently Dr. Jolly completed a national study of Black Women, Trust, and the financial services industry and an econometric model designed to quantify the need for increased investment in Black-led social and economic change.
Rose Judkins - Medica
Rose Judkins is a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Partner at Medica. Rose has been instrumental in the development and advancement of Medica’s 6 Employee Resource Groups and manages various programs and initiatives within Medica and the community at large. She is also an experienced facilitator and instructional designer of diversity training and development programs for employees at all levels of the organization.
Rose has over 30 years of Human Resources experience in the areas of Learning and Development, Leadership Development, Organizational Effectiveness, Diversity & Inclusion, change management, and consultation in the finance and healthcare for profit/nonprofit sectors. Rose received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Human Resource Management from Baruch College in New York City.
Tammylynne Jonas - Donaldson Company
Tammylynne Jonas is the CIO at Donaldson Company, a $3.3B global leader in technology-led filtration products and solutions based in Bloomington, MN. In her role, and as a member of Donaldson’s executive leadership team, Tammylynne is responsible for implementing strategic technology solutions that drive business success and growth. She leads teams in Europe, Asia and the Americas in application development, infrastructure, architecture, data analytics and security.
Tammylynne has a distinguished career in technology that spans almost 25 years. She has worked in a variety of industries, and in both privately- and publicly-held companies. She is known as an exceptional leader, a respected tech speaker, and a generous mentor for her team members and other women and minorities in technology. As a mother of three, you will also find her volunteering with Girl Scouts, Girls on the Run and the Plymouth-Wayzata sports organization.
Molly Kinder - Fellow, Brookings Institution Metro program
Molly Kinder is a fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Metro program and a nationally recognized expert in low-wage work, economic inequality, and labor policy.
Molly's scholarship has been covered widely by national media and she has appeared regularly on NPR and other media outlets.
Molly has more than twenty years of experience in public policy, social innovation, policy research, philanthropy and teaching. Previously, Molly co-founded a $200 million social impact fund and was vice president of policy. She served in the Obama administration as a director in a new innovation program and led New America's research on the future of work. She was a professor of practice at Georgetown University and is the co-author of one of the Center for Global Development's best-selling books.
Maggie Lorenz, Executive Director, Lower Phalen Creek Project
Cris Stainbrook, a Lakota, is President of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) which has provided over $100 million of grants and services over the past 20 years to Indian nations and individual Indian people focused on recovering land within reservation boundaries to Indian ownership and management. He is also board chair of the Indian Land Capital Company, a CDFI subsidiary of ILTF.
Prior to ILTF, Cris was the senior program officer at Northwest Area Foundation. He has served on the boards of the St. Paul and Minnesota community foundations, Grotto Foundation and ACLU of MN. He currently serves of the board of the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities. Earlier in his career he worked on economic and community development with Pacific Northwest tribes and Native Alaska villages. Cris holds a Masters of Fisheries Science from Oregon State University.
Dr. Carla Manzoni - LatinoLEAD
Dr. Carla Manzoni, PhD, MA, is an equity-centered strategist and community-builder with the goal to create the infrastructure needed to expand the success, influence, and power of marginalized communities.
An immigrant and scholar with transnational lived experiences and global connections; Dr. Manzoni’s research has delved into diversity and inclusion, representation, gender, human rights, and narratives of community.
Dr. Manzoni currently serves as the Director of Leadership Development at LatinoLEAD where she is co-creating waterways and pipelines to have more Latinx leaders in Minnesota via a leadership program, monthly events, partnerships and coalition building.
A leader of her community, Dr. Manzoni has participated in a variety of projects with Latinx-serving organizations and volunteered to increase the representation and success of BIPOC, immigrant, multilanguage and multicultural populations and is Board Member of HACER MN.
David McGee - Build Wealth Minnesota
David McGee is the founder and current Executive Director of Build Wealth Minnesota (BWMN); which is a 501c3 non-profit designated as a Community Development Financial Institution by the US Department of Treasury. Since 2004 BWMN has worked to help thousands of families become self sufficient and build assets while attaining sustainable social and economic wealth.
David has been training underserved populations in financial literacy education for over 17 years in addition to developing and administering culturally sensitive courses in Credit Awareness, Mortgage Underwriting, Loan Origination, Homeownership education etc. He has been certified locally and nationally in a number of capacities including housing development, loan origination, homebuyer education, financial literacy, credit counseling and other social leadership roles.
David has spent many years serving and empowering members of his community, serving on boards and working with various community organizations.
Kenya McKnight-Ahad - Black Women’s Wealth Alliance
Kenya McKnight Ahad is the founder and CEO of the Black Women’s Wealth Alliance (BWWA), a public benefit corporation that focuses on increasing the economic stability and prosperity of historical black women and girls.
Under McKnight-Ahad’s leadership BWWA has served more than 4,000 black women across Minnesota to date, investing over $200,000, 000 in small capacity grants. Lived as a resident of North Minneapolis for 35 years, McKnight started her career as a public and charter school educator.
Since 2007, she has served in key leadership roles across the economic development sector in metro Minnesota, including on community development boards, commissions, and related initiatives.
Additionally, she has extensive experience as a direct business service provider, facilitating lending and technical support to more than 400 micro businesses, leading business legal & marketing clinics, as well as a youth entrepreneurship programs.
Toni Newborn - City of St. Paul
Toni Newborn (she/her/hers) serves as the Director of Human Resources. In this role, Toni and her team act as strategic leaders and partners supporting departments to attract, develop, and retain a diverse workforce and to foster an inclusive workplace culture that supports equity and innovation.
Toni’s educational background commenced in Birmingham, Alabama, her hometown, where she graduated from Birmingham-Southern College in 2003 with a B.A in Political Science. In 2007, she obtained a Juris Doctorate degree from William Mitchell College of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Shortly thereafter, Toni became a licensed attorney for the State of Minnesota in 2008.
In 2017, Toni was tapped to serve on the transition team for incoming mayor Melvin Carter III, in which she led the first community-based hiring process for the City of Saint Paul's department directors. In 2018, Toni was appointed to serve as a hiring director on the transition team for the newly elected State of Minnesota Governor- elect Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor-elect Peggy Flanagan.
Deanna Pesik - Ramsey County
Deanna Pesik is the Chief Compliance & Ethics Officer for Ramsey County, where she established the county’s Compliance & Ethics Office, and oversees healthcare compliance, data practices, internal audit, workplace investigations, records management, and administrative policy.
Deanna joined Ramsey County in 2019 after relocating to Minnesota from Asia where she lived and worked for over a decade. While overseas she worked for several multinational companies based in Asia and Europe, including at Deutsche Bank where she served as Senior Vice President for Anti-Money Laundering & Business Line, and at Volvo Group, where she served as their Global Anti-Corruption Counsel. She has served in legal and compliance management roles at Lazada Group, Visa International, and Yahoo!.
R. Lynn Pingol - MaKee Co.
R. Lynn Pingol is committed to bringing small businesses access to the procurement and contracting opportunities in the public and private sectors.
As a Filipina American immigrant entrepreneur, Lynn understand what it’s like to be ostracized based on her ethnicity and gender. '
Her knowledge and her passion about connecting the ecosystem of procurement and contracting for small businesses has resulted in assisting minorities and women achieve over $42M in contracts.
In 2022, Lynn began hosting a weekly podcast – Procurement Games and Open Conversations, which boasts over 100k downloads and was picked up by IHeart Radio during its first season.
In 2023, Lynn received her patent on a Software as a Service platform for procurement data management platform and method, which will further her intentional and purposefully support in getting small and diverse businesses contracted. PROCURRIO is currently in Phase II development and will look to launch in 2024.
In 2024, Lynn will be launching the "HUB" – The first construction industry specific Incubator and Small Business Resource Center in the United States, focused on sub-contractors.
Tamara Pinkney - Center for Economic Inclusion
As AVP of Human Resources, Tamara partners with the CEO and senior leaders to plan, lead, direct, develop, and coordinate talent acquisition; talent management and development; organizational design; succession planning; employee relations and engagement; compliance, and compensation and benefits strategy for the Center. She develops and leads human resources strategies across the organization in support of the Center’s goal to amplify its impact as the region’s leading authority on inclusive growth and economic inclusion, and its executive leadership as a trusted thought-leader.
Tamara is a founding member of the HireRight Customer Advisory Board; member and regional chair of Jack & Jill of America, Inc.; lifetime member of the National Black MBA Association; and holds memberships in the Society for Resource Management and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Tamara holds a Master in Business Administration from Strayer University in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia.
Denetrick Powers - NEOO Partners
As the Head of Planning and Engagement at NEOO, Denetrick leads complex projects through empathetic and data-informed processes to elevate the human experience. He amplifies rich storytelling and transparency to the public by leveraging over 10 years of industry experience in community organizing, public arts, and cultural placemaking. In 2018, Denetrick co-founded NEOO with an intense focus on ensuring voices of diverse communities are brought to the front of the room and that outcomes were tied to needs of the community.
Denetrick has a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Fashion Studies from the University of Minnesota.
Shaylon Scott - Founders First CDC
Shaylon Scott is the Executive Director of Founders First Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit small business growth accelerator that supports historically disinvested founders achieve growth by educating, funding and connecting diverse businesses nationwide.
Her 15+ years of experience in social enterprise work helps her to excel in her work with FFCDC and has led to financial and advocacy expansion in multiple states. She is an award-winning speaker, presenter, entrepreneur and a published writer. She has represented national organizations and causes at events for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, national conferences and multiple community driven initiatives and coalitions. Her various roles in the community as a leader, philanthropist and board member all center around making systemic changes and impact on a larger scale through innovative means.
Shaylon has a BS in Criminal Justice from Wiley College with an educational background in Public Relations and Communications from the University of Texas at Arlington. She’s previously served on advisory committees for grassroot nonprofits and local government as well as being a current member of the Black Innovation Alliance and the Heritage Giving Fund, a philanthropic group of black community leaders that support black female led nonprofit organizations through impact grants.
Taylor Smrikárova - Redesign Inc.
As Director of Real Estate Development at Redesign, Inc., Taylor Smrikárova focuses on the intersection of real estate development, architecture, urban-focused design and community orientation. She believes that the development process itself adds beauty in creating occupiable art.
Taylor holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Northeastern University and a Master of Real Estate Development from the University of Maryland. She currently holds several boards seat including Board Member of Commonbond Housing, Project Committee of Commonbond Housing, City of Minneapolis Zoning Board of Adjustments, Board Member of City of Lakes Land Trust, Project Committee of City of Lakes Land Trust, Board Member of Minnesota Chapter of the Urban Land Institute.
Cris Stainbrook - Indian Land Tenure Foundation
Cris Stainbrook, a Lakota, is President of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) which has provided over $100 million of grants and services over the past 20 years to Indian nations and individual Indian people focused on recovering land within reservation boundaries to Indian ownership and management. He is also board chair of the Indian Land Capital Company, a CDFI subsidiary of ILTF.
Prior to ILTF, Cris was the senior program officer at Northwest Area Foundation. He has served on the boards of the St. Paul and Minnesota community foundations, Grotto Foundation and ACLU of MN. He currently serves of the board of the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities. Earlier in his career he worked on economic and community development with Pacific Northwest tribes and Native Alaska villages. Cris holds a Masters of Fisheries Science from Oregon State University.
Dawn Stevens - Executive Director, Change the World Challenge
Dawn Stevens is the Executive Director of Change the World Challenge, an organization founded by her family that empowers and uplifts the African American community through storytelling and community engagement.
The award-winning television journalist spent 20 years sharing community stories, breaking news stories and one of her last tv features in February 2022 was an in-depth special on finding solutions to gain “Black Wealth.”
Dawn is also the Chief Executive Communications Strategist for EKI-Digital, a digital transformation firm founded by leaders who believe in empowering Black-owned businesses by connecting them to corporations.
Through her tireless efforts to uplift the voices of positivity and her commitment to working alongside others who share that mission, Dawn is a true champion of social justice and positive change.
Wendy Sullivan - Wenrich PD Construction
Wendy Sullivan is founder of WENRICH PD Construction, a certified M/W/DBE Union Temporary & Permanent Fencing and Selective Interior Demolition Commercial and Highway Heavy Contractor since 2015.
While working in the corporate sector, Wendy began buying real estate and ended up renting out a total of forty-seven properties, to Section 8 qualifying renters. Then, she got her contracting license and started rehabbing these properties, hiring plumbers and carpenters to make the changes needed.
“I hire people who may need a second chance in life: people who’ve had bumps in the road and who might be turned away at other places. I allow people opportunities for leadership. There are only two women construction superintendents in the Twin Cities area, only one person of color. I’m currently in the process of hiring one Black woman and one Hispanic woman and I’m going to help put them through the process to become superintendents. They’re young women and they’re going to be rock stars.”
