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2233 University Ave West, Suite 310
Saint Paul, MN 55114
651-251-0690
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Meggie Wittorf is a marketing and strategy leader and a lifelong equity advocate, who has a passion for politics and improving our communities. Meggie brings nearly a decade of experience as a finance professional and brand manager at General Mills, where she managed P&Ls, developed strategic plans, and led cross-functional teams.
Meggie holds an undergraduate degree from Drake University and an MBA from the University of Minnesota. While at the U of M, she led the Women’s Mentorship program where she focused on addressing challenges in the opportunity pipeline, improving gender balance in higher-education programs, and securing mentors in underrepresented fields. Meggie is also a board member of OutFront Minnesota, where she works to protect and strengthen LGBTQ rights.
Meggie lives in Minneapolis with her husband Steve. They enjoy spending time with their family, trying new foods, and imagining that the Vikings will make it to the Super Bowl in this lifetime.
Liz Young has worked in politics for almost a decade and brings nearly nine years of fundraising experience with her to Women Winning. She has fundraising experience at all levels of government: federal, statewide, legislative and municipal. Most recently, she served on Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter’s transition team where she helped to organize his week of inaugural activities. Prior to that she spent five years with the MN Senate and served as the Senate DFL Caucus’ Finance Director in 2016.Liz has spent much of her career working to elect people of color and women to office. She served as Deputy Finance Director for Margaret Anderson Kelliher’s historic gubernatorial campaign when she became the first woman to be endorsed by a major party, a career highlight for Liz. An avid reader and baker, before working in politics she spent two years teaching English in Japan. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Syracuse University and holds a dual degree in Political Science and French.
Taylor grew up in the Twin Cities and thinks of herself as a champion for the great state of Minnesota. She discovered her passion for politics as a volunteer for Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign for president and an intern for the Minnesota DFL. While enrolled at Mount Holyoke College, the first women’s college in the United States, she served as an intern for Elizabeth Warren’s campaign for U.S. Senate. She stayed involved in politics throughout her college career as a leader in student political groups. Taylor graduated summa cum laude from Mount Holyoke and was then employed as Curatorial Fellow and Guest Curator at the college’s art museum, where she gained valuable project management and communications experience. Upon her return to the Twin Cities, she joined the development department at a social services nonprofit on the East Side of Saint Paul. In that role, Taylor oversaw the planning and execution of special events and fundraisers, cultivated and engaged donors, and contributed to the organization’s communications and outreach initiatives. As Communications and Advancement Manager, Taylor supports Women Winning's communications, marketing, and fundraising efforts.
Shannon Holloman has been involved with Women Winning since she began as a PLOT and Executive Office Intern in 2018. A graduate of Hamline University with a B.A. in Sociology, she has spent the past several years involved in community outreach, education, and issue-based advocacy. Prior to joining the Women Winning team, Shannon served as the Volunteer Resource Assistant and Advocacy Assistant at a nonprofit organization that builds financial wellbeing through free tax preparation and financial services, products, and coaching. In these dual roles she assisted the volunteer department with recruitment, on-boarding, and scheduling of more than 500 volunteers, and maintained on-going strategic legislative initiatives to promote financial stability and equity for individuals and families. Shannon brings her excellent organizational skills and outstanding commitment to advance social and reproductive justice to our team.
Alana Petersen is Managing Director of Federal Relations at Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP. Previously, she served as Senator Tina Smith's Deputy Chief of Staff and State Director and coordinated the work of the Tina Smith for Minnesota campaign. Alana brings a wealth of knowledge and a sharp political instinct through her 20 years of Congressional experience and through her involvement in every Minnesota election since 1998.
Alana was born and raised in Minnesota. After graduating from the University of Minnesota, Morris in 1991, she moved to Washington, DC to work on Capitol Hill for a Minnesota House member, David Minge. In 1998, Alana returned to Minnesota to run his re-election campaign. She followed this by a U.S. Senate campaign in 2000, and a congressional recount in the fall of 2000. To broaden her political experience, Alana served as Executive Director of a statewide non-profit organization, Target Market. With an annual budget of $6 million dollars, Target Market promoted an anti-tobacco message to high school students. In 2002, when Minnesota used their tobacco endowment as part of a budget fix, Alana began consulting for a national political consulting firm, Grassroots Solutions. There, Alana worked with national labor unions, congressional candidates, and the pro-choice community to develop plans for the 2004 election cycle. After having her first son, Alana took a job closer to home in northern Minnesota. She worked for Minnesota Congressman, Jim Oberstar, and ran his congressional re-election campaign in 2006, and joined Al Franken’s U.S. Senate campaign in September of 2008. After the election, Alana served as a Director for the 2008 statewide hand recount. In July of 2009, when Al Franken was sworn in to the U.S. Senate, Alana joined Senator Franken’s staff as the State Director. In the 2010 election cycle, she was asked to serve as Field Director for Mark Dayton’s recount for Governor. In 2014, Alana served as Senior Advisor to Senator Franken’s re-election campaign where she oversaw the Organizing Department of the campaign. The Organizing Department had a political, field and training sections with a total of 87 employees. Senator Franken had the largest paid organizing team in the state in the cycle and was recognized as being a well-run campaign. “I’ve got to give the award for best [campaign] to Al Franken because guess who we’re not talking about today. Closest Senate election six years ago - Al Franken, recount all of those things. How did this guy survive? Six years of a well-run campaign.” –Chuck Todd, MEET THE PRESS 11/2/2014
Alana and her husband Thom reside in Pine City, Minnesota with their two sons Dylan and Waylon. The Petersen’s play and watch a lot of baseball, and raise and show both miniature and large horses at county fairs across the state and in the Minnesota State Fair. The family is active in local Farmers Union where Alana serves as the County Treasurer. She also serves on the East Central Regional Arts Council Board.
Emma Faris was born and raised into a political family that taught her that “showing up” was the duty of every woman. She has been attending Women Winning events since she was a little girl and understands the importance of putting her strengths to work. Since 2010 (when she became one of the first members of Women Winning's LAUNCH Committee), she has simply continued to put one foot in front of the other, showing up to support all of the powerful and impactful things Women Winning does to protect our reproductive rights in the state of Minnesota and beyond. She has been a Realtor for 18+ years and is very honored to be in a leadership position with this organization! Emma is currently a Real Estate Agent with Re/Max Results.
Luchelle Stevens is a senior strategist and advisor to national and local campaigns. She has led winning progressive issue battles at the state and national level including healthcare reform, comprehensive immigration reform, raising the minimum wage, and voting rights. An expert political and community organizer, Stevens served as the Campaign Manager of Our Vote Our Future, the coalition campaign that helped Minnesota become the first state in the nation to defeat a voter ID constitutional amendment.
Stevens previously served as chief of staff for the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Prior to that, she held numerous leadership roles with Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
Earlier in her career, Stevens served in the U.S. Navy as an air traffic controller and as an aerographer’s mate (meteorology). Stevens is a Gulf War Veteran.
Ashleigh is a lawyer at Best & Flanagan LLP and focuses on labor and employment law, appellate advocacy, and general civil litigation. She has argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and the Minnesota Supreme Court. She was recently recognized as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers. Ashleigh graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School and the College of Saint Benedict. She got her start in politics by interning in the White House during the Obama Administration, for Senator Amy Klobuchar, and for the City of Minneapolis. Ashleigh also serves on the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Justice Foundation.
Kate Bryant has served as Chair of the Minnetonka Public Schools Foundation and her community work has earned her many recognitions including the Minnetonka Public Schools' Spinnaker Award.
Dr. Alice Mann is a board-certified family physician, who has spent years serving underserved communities all over the world, including Haiti, Brazil, Nicaragua, and Zimbabwe. She provided medical relief in both Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, and in Kos, a Syrian refugee camp in Greece.
While practicing medicine in Minnesota, she witnessed first-hand the inequities within our healthcare system, which inspired her run for the Minnesota House of Representatives in 2018. She won her race for District 56B, defeating a two-term incumbent, and was able to pass the biggest healthcare accountability bill of the biennium by licensing and regulating the practice of pharmacy benefit managers in Minnesota. She also passed bills that fully funded Minnesota's Tobacco QuitLine, expanded MetroMobility services in her district, established the state’s Rare Disease Advisory Council, and more. Because of her work in women's health, she was awarded the National Organization of Women Victoria Mastrobuono Award for Women's Health.
She currently works as an emergency room physician and also as the Primary Care Director at Wayside Recovery Center, an organization focused on breaking the cycle of addiction and trauma for women and their families.
Alice was born in Brazil and lives in Minnesota with her husband Elliot, and her three sons: Max (8), Alex (6) and Marcelo (4).
Chanda Smith Baker has over 20 years of experience working in, for, and with underestimated communities. In 2017, Chanda joined The Minneapolis Foundation as the Senior Vice President of Impact where she oversees the Foundation’s grantmaking programs, provides strategic direction to community initiatives and partnerships, and is the event and podcast host of Conversations with Chanda.
Previously, Chanda was at Pillsbury United Communities where she led the complex community-based nonprofit to pursue bold strategies to address systemic inequities. She spent 17 years at the organization and served in a variety of leadership positions before assuming the role of President and CEO in 2011. Under leadership as CEO, the organization launched several impactful efforts such as the purchased and relaunched North News and the opening North Market, a full-service grocery store in North Minneapolis.
Chanda’s civic leadership has been recognized with several awards and commendations, including Minnesota Business Magazine’s Real Power 50 (2018); Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal Women in Business Honoree (2017); Hubert H. Humphrey Leadership Award (2014); and Minnesota Vikings Hometown Hero honoree (2011).
Chanda has served on numerous nonprofit and philanthropic boards throughout her career. Today she serves as a Trustee at the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, board member of Regional Chamber of Commerce, CommonBond Community Inc, and Public Allies.
Chanda is a proud native and current resident of North Minneapolis.
KaYing Yang is a social justice advocate who has built and led community development efforts in the US and in Asia. Over twenty years ago KaYing began her career as a community organizer and nonprofit leader providing social services and advocacy to refugees and immigrants. Nationally and globally, KaYing worked in coalition with civil rights groups and international development agencies to address educational, economic and gender inequities. In 2013, she became the co-founder and President of RedGreen Rivers, a social enterprise working with women and girls in the Mekong Region to build sustainable communities. Today, she is the Director of Programs for the Coalition of Asian American Leaders. She is also a recipient of a 2019 Bush Fellowship from the Bush Foundation.
Kathy Murphy is a retired business consultant with Andersen Consulting and Accenture, and a former account representative for a software company based in Silicon Valley. Kathy holds a BS in Economics and Statistics and an MBA from the University of Minnesota.
With a passion for community, Kathy is an engaged leader and volunteer. Kathy has assumed leadership roles with University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Minneapolis Institute of Art Friends Board, and the Wayzata and Minnetonka Garden Clubs.
Kathy has two adult daughters and lives in Woodland with her husband, Norm Rickeman.
Jackie joined the Bush Foundation as the Education Portfolio Director in 2018. She manages the strategy, programs, and partnerships for the Foundation’s education initiative, which focuses on making education more relevant for students in terms of who they are, how they learn, and where they want to go.
Prior to the Bush Foundation, Jackie spent over a decade working in public school district administration. Most recently, she led the Office of Strategic Planning, Policy and Grants Development for Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS). In that role she led several high-impact projects including developing and implementing multiple district strategic plans, developing inclusive policies, and managing informational campaigns for two successful referendum ballot issues. Prior to SPPS, she worked in operations and budget management with Chicago Public Schools. She also has experience working in brand marketing and manufacturing engineering.
Jackie currently serves on the board of Genesys Works - Twin Cities (GWTC). GWTC works with over 350 high school and college students, most of whom are from low-income households and/or are first gen college students. The students receive training and are placed in year-long internships in information technology. She is also on the Executive Committee for Generation Next, which uses a collective impact model to improve outcomes for students at SPPS and Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS.)
Jackie is originally from St. Louis, Missouri. She has a bachelor's degree from Stanford University and a master's degree from Northwestern University – Kellogg School of Management. She lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and two young daughters.
Cynthia Bauerly has extensive experience in law, management, and public policy, serving in key public sector leadership and management roles in Washington D.C. and in Minnesota. She has also worked and volunteered for national, state, and local campaigns and recounts for over thirty years.
Most recently, Cynthia served as Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Revenue from 2015 to 2020. She led over 1,400 employees as they helped Minnesotans access the economic opportunities of the tax code and collected over $23 billion annually to fund state services. Prior to joining Revenue, she served as Deputy Commissioner of Workforce Development at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) where she led the department’s work of providing economic security for transitioning workers and workforce training and readiness.
From 2008 to 2013, Bauerly served as a Commissioner of the United States Federal Election Commission and as Chair of the agency in 2011. She also served as Legislative Director for Senator Chuck Schumer developing and implementing a broad policy agenda that included working with the Senate Rules, Judiciary, and Finance Committees and the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. She has also worked in private practice in both Minnesota and Washington, D.C.
Bauerly earned a B.A. from Concordia College in Moorhead, a J.D. from Indiana University School of Law-Bloomington, and a M.P.A. from Indiana University’s School of Environmental and Public Affairs. She grew up in central Minnesota and now lives in Minneapolis with her husband and their dog, Kiko.
Andrea Mokros has spent a career in communications, strategic planning, and event production at the local, state, and national level. Currently, she serves as Senior Vice President in Weber Shandwick’s Minneapolis office. Previously, she served as Vice President of Communications and Events for the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee, hosting one of the world’s pre-eminent sporting events in Minnesota – creating and promoting Minnesota’s brand as ‘The Bold North.’
Prior to returning to Minnesota, Andrea served in the White House as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Strategic Planning for the First Lady. In this role, she oversaw the strategic planning process for all aspects of First Lady Michelle Obama’s engagement, including managing an active scheduling and advance team that took all of Mrs. Obama’s events from inception to completion. During her tenure, Andrea led the First Lady’s trips to China, Africa, the 2012 Olympics, as well as countless other domestic and international events; created programming for the spouses of world leaders at U.S.-hosted summits, including NATO and the UN General Assembly; and produced major national tours on behalf of the First Lady’s Let’s Move!, Joining Forces, Reach Higher and Let Girls Learn initiatives.
Prior to joining the White House, Andrea served as Deputy Chief of Staff in the office of Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, where she led communications and outreach efforts; serving as spokesperson, crafting and executing communications strategies in support of the Governor’s initiatives, and leading major events from the State of the State address, to press conferences and bill signings. She has also served as Deputy Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN); as lead advance for Senator John Kerry’s Presidential campaign; and as Director of the Executive Offices at the Washington, DC, offices of Kissinger McLarty Associates. Andrea also headed her own consultancy, Mokros Strategies LLC, providing strategic and communications guidance to non-profit and political organizations.
Andrea is a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and a proud graduate of the University of Minnesota. She currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Kathy Heltzer serves as the Director of BSW/MSW Field Education in the Department of Social Work at the University of Minnesota Duluth where she has been on the faculty since 1998. Prior to this Kathy was a social worker for the Professional Association of Treatment Homes (PATH) working with children and families in the foster care system. Kathy grew up in St. Louis Park, Minnesota and moved to Duluth after spending a year in New Zealand as a Rotary Exchange student. She graduated from UMD with a Bachelor's Degree in Social Development and then worked two years in child protection before attending graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where where earned a Master's Degree in Social Work (MSW). She is active in the Duluth community and was recognized in 2014 for her community work with the Chancellor's Award for Public Service by UMD. Prior to this she received the College of Education and Human Service Professions Outstanding Service Award. Non-profit board work has included serving as the President of the Duluth Family Area YMCA, a trustee for the Duluth Area YMCA Foundation/Board of Trustees and the Human Development Center. She received the Albert and Louise Ordean "Making a Difference" Award in 1991 for her volunteer work as a long-term mentor with the Mentor Duluth program. She is a graduate of the Blandin Community Leadership Program. More recently, she is working on a collaborative effort, "Dementia Friendly Duluth" and has been involved in launching an initiative for people with dementia and their care partners to participate in the "Victory Chorus". She can often be found emceeing community events and helping raise money through live auctions for a variety of non-profit organizations.
Makeda Zulu-Gillespie is the University of Minnesota Robert J. Jones Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center’s (UROC) chief executive officer. She provides executive oversight of strategic planning, revenue generation, financial stewardship, organizational development, staff management, and operational activities. She has been a part of this University-community place-based innovation since 2006.
Over the last 25+ years Zulu-Gillespie has served her community personally and professionally. She has served on boards of Juxtaposition Arts and Towerside Innovation District. Makeda is a former Senate District 59 party chair, and has been instrumental in a few campaigns for office. She is currently a board member of Parents in Community Action Head Start and Black Storytellers Alliance. Her impact spans work in youth development, childcare and family programming for almost a decade with the Twin Cities YMCA, then added community development, as an organizer for the Northside Residents Redevelopment Council. The University awarded her the Outstanding Community Service Award (2014).
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business management from Grambling State University and a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
Makeda believes in Ubuntu – I am because we are; self-determined people who work collaboratively in purpose and creativity to make positive change. She lives in North Minneapolis.
Betsy Sitkoff is a consultant with Process for Peace, LLC, a practice she founded in 2013. Process for Peace provides leadership to organizations, community groups, and schools addressing a broad range of needs including support for immigrant and refugee families, and family and community violence.
Betsy is community activist and a past board president of the National Council of Jewish Women MN.
Betsy holds a BS in Child Psychology and a Parent Education License from the University of Minnesota, and a MA in Public Administration from Hamline University. In 2016 Betsy completed her 230-hour yoga teacher training certificate.
Betsy has two children and lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Steve.
Babette Apland is a senior executive with a proven track record in launching new and innovative health care solutions. Her passion is creating patient-centered health care and developing successful strategies for organizations to grow and succeed in complex and changing marketplaces. Babette began her career building new and innovative health care delivery services. After studying international health care systems in Sweden, she joined HealthPartners, an integrated health care financing and delivery system serving 1.5 million members and 1 million patients with over 1,700 physicians. During her career at HealthPartners, Babette launched and grew several divisions including provider relations and partnerships, population health and behavioral health. Most recently Babette joined American Public Media Group to lead a new national initiative to measurably raise the American public’s and key stakeholder’s awareness and understanding of mental health. Her goals include activating public conversation and creating a platform for change through leveraging APMG’s innovative media and convening capabilities including new on-air programming, on demand programming, digital content, civic engagement and live events.
Kim has significant political, policy and advocacy experience. She works with healthcare advocacy organizations to maintain open access to life saving therapies for people living with rare disease. Kim’s career began in youth leadership development. Her passion for working to make a difference led her to a career in public policy. Kim was a candidate for the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1992. Her past positions have included roles in federal and state government, the University of Minnesota, pharmaceutical associations, biopharmaceutical manufacturers and public relations firms.
Rose has spent her career developing policy and driving solutions in government and in the private sector. Rose currently serves as the Director of External Affairs for Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare, a nonprofit pediatric hospital, where she oversees federal policy, advocacy, communications, and community relations.
Prior to joining Gillette Children’s, Rose spent four years in private consulting at KDCR Partners where she advised Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, and trade associations on key decisions related to policy and political strategy.
Rose also worked for nearly 10 years in various roles for Senator Klobuchar, most recently as her Chief of Staff. In this capacity, Rose oversaw the legislative, communications, and political operations in Senator Klobuchar’s office and provided key strategic guidance to the Senator. In addition, Rose served as Senator Klobuchar’s Legislative Director and was the Senator’s Legislative Assistant for health care during formulation and passage of the Affordable Care Act.
Rose currently lives in Minneapolis with her husband Tom and two young children.
Suzan McGinnis is the Director of the Ethics Team at Target Corporation. Suzan is responsible for the design, implementation, and management of the company’s ethics program, and related processes, including the creation and maintenance of relevant policies and procedures. Before joining Target, Suzan worked in ethics and compliance at another large retailer based in the greater Minneapolis metropolitan area. Suzan currently serves as a Steering Committee and an Advisory Board Member for the Program in Organizational Ethics & Compliance at University of St. Thomas School of Law. She also serves on the Executive Team and Board of the Friends of the Hennepin County Libraries. Suzan has a B.A. in English from Augustana College, a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science from UW-Milwaukee, and a J.D. from Hamline University School of Law. Suzan lives in Minneapolis with her partner and their two Siberian huskies.
City Council Member Katie Roche is running for Chisago County Commissioner representing District 3, which includes Lindstrom, Chisago City, and south Chisago Lake Township. Council Member Roche is a licensed teacher who began serving her city in 2017 as a planning commissioner and a member on the economic development authority. In her role as a city council member, she has strongly advocated for transparency and collaboration with other governing bodies to address the goals of our community and county. The priorities that she would like to address when elected to the County Board include incentivizing economic development in the area with the intention of broadening our tax base, promoting the necessity of accessible and reliable broadband, initiating communication with the local school boards to address future planning and growth, advocating for veterans and workforce housing in order to meet the needs of District 3 residents, collaborating with county staff to enable accessible and affordable child care, and ensuring transparency and collaboration amongst the county, cities, and township. When elected County Commissioner of District 3, Council Member Roche will continue to connect with voters in her District and work hard to find solutions to issues that we all care about!
Sheila Webb is running for Robbinsdale City Council in Ward 2. Sheila has worked in the field of social services for over 24 years; she has spent the last 6 years working as a school social worker. Sheila serves as Chair of Robbinsdale Human Rights Commission, Secretary for the League of Women Voters-CNHEPR and is on the Board of Directors for the Seven Dreams Education Foundation. Sheila is also a member of the Hennepin County Race Equity Advisory Council. When elected, Sheila will work to push the voices of Ward 2 and promote community engagement. Sheila will also work to assert an agenda that includes diversity, equity, inclusion and safety for the city of Robbinsdale.
Julie Strahan is running for a first term on the Roseville City Council. Ms. Strahan is a Human Resources Director for a nonprofit dementia care facility. She served as a teacher for 10 years, in public, private and charter schools. She is a member of ERA MN, the League of Women Voters, and has served on several Arts boards. Ms. Strahan desires to build on the connections she has created in her 17 years of living in Roseville to move Roseville forward with new ideas and creative solutions to building community.
Gaylene Spolarich, an Indigenous mother, grandmother, and caregiver who lives in Palisade (Aitkin County), and a Democrat running for Minnesota House District 10B. In times like these, when care is a matter of life and death, we need strong and independent leadership for our district. Gaylene has lived in Aitkin County for 56 years, and for the past 25 years, has worked in City Government and Tribal Government, focusing mostly on the issues facing low-income families, children, and our small and rural places.
Together, her family and her community have faced economic challenges, as well as healthcare challenges. We will face this current crisis in the same ways we have those others: by caring for those around us, making difficult decisions in transparent and open ways, and searching for the common ground where we can build long-term health and well-being for all people, not just when it seems profitable or practical.
Gaylene is running because she's passionate about representing her district, and about inspiring others like her—those who care, but have been invisible or quiet—to step up, get involved, and support one another. She's also running because she believes it’s never too late to speak up and work hard for the things you value.
Diane Nguyen is running for Minnesota State Senator District 30, which includes Albertville, Big Lake, Elk River, Dayton, Hanover and St. Michael. She is a mother of an eleven-year-old boy attending 100% Distance Learning at Salk Middle School, engaged to Chad Hobot and has her licenses in insurances and real estate. Diane Nguyen is a win for labor unions, local jobs and economic growth, schools and student’s safety from Covid-19 and affordable healthcare for families and individuals.
Christa Mims is running for Minneapolis School Board in District 4. Christa is a social worker for Hennepin County and leads work to reduce racial disparities in education for youth involved in county systems. Christa is a 2020 Fellow for the New Leaders Council-Twin Cities and serves on the board of directors for the Domestic Abuse Project (DAP). When elected, Christa Mims will ensure that community voice is represented in decision making and that youth in Minneapolis Public Schools have equitable access to an excellent education.
Jamila Mame was born and raised in Oromia and is the youngest of 13 children. Her family immigrated to the United States from Ethiopia. She attended Philander Smith College and graduated with a bachelors in Political Science and Psychology. After college, she worked for the DFL as to mobilize community and elevate the rights and voices of the Oromo people who are far too often forgotten by our political structures. Fighting for BIPOC womxn and connecting with marginalized young people is at the heart of her work. In St. Paul, she created the African Youth Development Center, a place where all children are celebrated and supported regardless of gender, social status or wealth. Jamila is running because she knows what it feels like to be left out of spaces and conversations that determine your future. She will fight to ensure all SPPS students have a seat at the table.
Katie Malchow is running for State Representative in District 32B which includes Chisago, Lindstrom, Taylors Falls, parts of North Branch and Wyoming, as well as many wonderful smaller towns and townships. Katie is the current chamber of commerce director, has worked with community members to found the Chisago Lakes Early Literacy Project, volunteered on the PTO board and lent her time towards many other community projects. Katie's legislative priorities are to promote equitable funding for schools, universal broadband, and support for small businesses. Once elected, Katie will show voters in her district that despite political affiliation, constituents deserve representation that values their opinions, ideals, and voices.
Connie Lindstrom is the DFL-endorsed candidate for Minnesota House District 1A, which encompasses Kittson, Marshall and Roseau counties, as well as portions of Pennington County including the city of Thief River Falls. Lindstrom is employed as a business analyst in the agriculture and biofuels sectors, and has earned a master's degree in business administration from the University of North Dakota, with a concentration in government and policy. Lindstrom’s focus as a legislator is on developing policies that will promote and encourage economic stability and growth for the communities in Northwest Minnesota. She believes it is critical that we make appropriate investments in our region, because our state and our nation were built by all of us having access to a few basic things: high-quality public education, good health, and transportation and communication networks that don't stop at the city limits. Those things are the tools everyone, everywhere, needs to have a fair shot at success if they work hard. Connie’s commitment to ensuring that all Minnesotans have access to these basics has earned her the endorsement of many other organizations who share these same goals, such as Education Minnesota, the Minnesota Farmers Union PAC, Minnesota AFL-CIO and AFSCME Council 5.
