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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.
Jillia has extensive experience working as a community organizer and fundraiser as well as campaign experience on the local, state and national level. At Project 515 and OutFront Minnesota, Jillia advocated for the passage of marriage equality and the Minnesota Safe & Supportive Schools Act. Jillia served as the Finance Director for womenwinning-endorsed candidate Ilhan Omar’s historic 2016 campaign. In 2017, Jillia was the first woman to run for the Ward 1 Minneapolis City Council seat, challenging a two-term incumbent. She was endorsed by over 16 organizations—including womenwinning—and came within two percentage points of winning. Originally from Duluth, Jillia graduated from the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts and lives in Minneapolis with her partner Monica and their beloved mutt Romeo.
Nevada Littlewolf is a leader with more than 20 years of experience working across sectors of community, government, philanthropy, non-profit, and business. She is a former elected official, serving on the Virginia, MN City Council from 2008-2018. Nevada understands that people are all on their own journey and loves being a part of other’s growth and development. She has spent her life working for equity, especially on behalf of women, children, communities of color, and indigenous people. Nevada's leadership includes service on the boards of Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, ClearWay MN, and Minnesota Urban Debate League. She is a citizen of Leech Lake Nation. Nevada holds a BFA from University of Minnesota Duluth, is currently an MPA graduate student at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and is a 2016 Bush Fellow.
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.
Julie Strother is the Government Relations Director at the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. Prior to working at the Secretary of State's office, she was an attorney at Lockridge Grindal Nauen in Minneapolis. At the 2013 DFL Women's Summit, Julie was inducted into the DFL Women’s Hall of Fame as a “Rising Star."
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.
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.
Lisa Byrne is a financial advisor with UBS Financial Services. She has been with UBS for 4 years, and was previously with Merrill Lynch. She has an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and holds certifications in several specialties including non-profit management and financial mediation for divorce. She has served as the Chair of Zenon Dance Company for six years and served on the board of The Ordway Circle of Stars. Previously, she was very active with Planned Parenthood and served as silent auction chair, gala chair, and on several other committees.
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.
Mary is Executive Director and Co-Founder of Giving Voice Initiative, a community chorus movement for people with dementia and their care partners. She previously served as the Executive Director of the Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging, Director of Aging Programs at the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, and Executive Director of the Alzheimer’s Association MN-ND Chapter for nearly nine years. Mary served on the Alzheimer’s Disease Working Group formed by the Minnesota Legislature in 2009 which led to a call to prepare Minnesota for the impact of Alzheimer’s disease and the creation of ACT on Alzheimer’s collaborative - she is former chair of ACT’s Executive Leadership Council. Mary is a founding member of the Women Against Alzheimer’s, a national coalition of women focused on increasing research and awareness for Alzheimer’s.
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.
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.
Christine Lindblad is a trial lawyer with Fox Rothschild LLP, a national Am Law 100 firm. She specializes in complex commercial disputes, insurance coverage disputes, and lender liability lawsuits and remedy enforcement procedures. She is the Fox Women’s Initiative connectivity liaison for the Minneapolis office. She was recently recognized as The Best Lawyers in America for commercial litigation – 2015 Edition. She and her husband have three children, ages 14, 12 and 2.
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.
Susan Shields is the President and co-owner of The Airtex Group, a $23M home textile and OEM manufacturing Company. Through her vision and leadership, she has developed an organization which has become a leading name in the private label home textile industry among the most trusted national retailers. As an accomplished entrepreneur and business leader, Susan has created opportunity in the whitespaces of her industry – spotting trends, visualizing saleable concepts, and bringing them to life in a way customers will buy. Susan’s innovative ideas have helped change the retail landscape nationwide. Susan is a savvy business leader in decorative home textiles with years of experience in sourcing and manufacturing. She has built business partnerships in China, India, Pakistan, the U.S. and Europe, and developed strong and lasting relationships with textile mills and weavers, textile printers, fabric converters, and factory owners. Her relationships and reputation with some of the most prestigious home retailers in the U.S. have opened opportunities for exceptional growth for her company. Throughout her career, Susan Shields has brought thoughtful leadership and entrepreneurial vision to startup companies and has a passion to help and guide young women who want to start their own businesses. Prior to The Airtex Group, she created a successful women’s travel accessories company, Bags and Baggage, and grew it to a multimillion dollar brand with both national and international distribution.
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.
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.
Alfreda Daniels is a community organizer with the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation (MRLF). She lives in Brooklyn Center and is running for Brooklyn Center City Council. Alfreda was born in Liberia, lived in a Ghanaian refugee camp and later migrated to the US as a refugee. Alfreda attended St. Cloud State University where she studied Political Science, International Relations and Human Relations.Alfreda mostly organizes in the Northwest area suburbs of the Twin Cities where she engages community and union members around issues ranging from employment, immigration and education to transportation. In doing so, she helps create non-transactional relationships between communities of color and the labor movement where they are collectively working to build power for change.
In early 2015, she organized the Northwest Suburbs Community and Labor Collective whose mission is to build an intentional multi-sector partnership that will take on working family’s issues, develop leaders and build political power in the Northwest area suburbs as the labor movement expands.
Amáda Márquez Simula is running for Mayor of Columbia Heights. Amáda is the Adult Enrichment/Senior Program Manager at the Columbia Heights School District bringing creative ideas, education, and community spirit to adult community ed classes. She was named the 2017 Columbia Heights Humanitarian of the Year for her service to the city. Amáda is the outgoing President and founding member of HeightsNEXT, a 501(c)3 non-profit serving her community by organizing events on sustainability, social justice education, and environmental causes. When elected, Amáda will continue to represent our diverse communities and work to modernize our public safety plans, create healthy spaces, spend smart, and utilize 21st-century technology solutions to connect our services with our citizens.
Laurie Halverson is running for Dakota County Commissioner in District 3, which includes Eagan, Mendota, Mendota Heights, and Lilydale. Laurie is currently completing her 4th term in the Minnesota House of Representatives from Eagan and serves as chair of the commerce committee. In her time in the House, Laurie has led the way on advancing a wide variety of critical legislation. She is a champion for affordable healthcare, reproductive rights, campaign finance reform, and economic justice. Laurie Halverson has lived and worked in Dakota County for 20 years where she has been an active community leader and volunteer. She has a degree in Political Science from St. Catherine University and attended the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Laurie lives in Eagan with her husband Jason, their son Kai, and their rescue dogs Maggie and Ruby. On the Dakota County Board, Laurie will continue to advance policies that support safe, healthy, and prosperous communities.
Liz Reyer is the DFL endorsed candidate for House District 51B, Eagan. Liz is a business leader, social activist, mother of four, and a long-time Eagan resident. She has been active in local politics and has a long history of involvement in Eagan schools, youth athletics, and other civic matters. In recent years, Liz has been active in the movement for racial justice. She entered this campaign to take on the structural racism that continues to plague Minnesota and believes that each of us has a right to quality and affordable health care, equal justice under the law, a stable climate and clean environment, and a world-class education.
Jen McEwen is running for the Minnesota Senate in District 7 (Duluth). Jen is an attorney representing disabled workers against insurance companies, the Board President of the Damiano Center, and a mother of two children in our public schools. She has a deep appreciation of the challenges we face in Duluth and in the state. Jen is ready to work alongside our community, with political courage and with integrity, to take on these challenges. The time is now. Together, we can build a community where all can prosper. We can build a clean energy future. We can have health care for all.
De’Vonna Pittman is running for Hennepin County Commissioner in District 1, which includes Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, New Hope, Osseo, and Robbinsdale. De’Vonna is a DFL Endorsed candidate who is known as a skilled bridge builder and strategist who creates collaborations between community and government.
De’Vonna founded the Minnesota Black Author’s expo in 2017 with the goal of reducing educational disparities and connecting community, educators, and children to literature written by authors of color. Her 18-year career at Hennepin County includes roles with the Board of Commissioners, Community Corrections, Administration, and Disparity Reduction. As a project coordinator, De’Vonna was integral in major projects, including the Twins Stadium where she coordinated community conversations around accessibility and the environmental impact study.
De’Vonna is a former board member of the City of Lakes Land Trust and the Sexual Violence Center. Since 2013 De’Vonna has hosted countless community forums focused on bringing awareness to childhood sexual abuse.
Sandra Feist is running for the Minnesota House of Representatives representing District 41B, which includes New Brighton, St. Anthony Village, Columbia Heights and Hilltop. Feist is a practicing immigration attorney with nearly two decades of experience advocating for the rights of immigrants. In her legal career, she has been elected to numerous regional and national leadership roles, including Chair of her Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and as a Board Member of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota. She will bring her passion for an inclusive, just society to the Minnesota Legislature.
Gretchen Piper is running for Minnesota Senate representing District 33 which includes Chanhassen, Corcoran, Deephaven, Excelsior, Greenfield, Greenwood, Hamel, Independence, Long Lake, Loretto, Maple Plain, Medina, Minnetonka Beach, Minnetrista, Mound, Orono, St Bonifacius, Shorewood, Spring Park, Tonka Bay and Wayzata.
Gretchen runs a small business advising nonprofits for strategic growth and fundraising, and has spent three decades working on issues including environmental conservation, health care, education, women's empowerment, anti-racism, social services and human rights. Her priorities include access to excellent public and higher education, health care, infrastructure investments, including universal broadband. She believes that investing in our communities will be a key priority for rapid and equitable economic recovery. Her lifetime of problem solving and putting our shared values into action will serve our community with common-sense solutions.
Michele Anderson, a resident of Fergus Falls and a nonprofit leader, is running for Minnesota Senate in District 8, which includes the communities of Alexandria, Fergus Falls, Parkers Prairie, New York Mills, Perham, and Pelican Rapids. Michelle is the Rural Program Director at Springboard for the Arts, a community and economic development organization based in Fergus Falls and Saint Paul. Her rural advocacy writing has been featured in the New York Times and other publications. She is an alum of the Blandin Community Leadership Institute and has served on many boards and committees in Fergus Falls, including the Otter Tail County Historical Society, the Fergus Falls Human Rights Commission, and the Otter Tail County Long Range Strategic Plan Committee. Michele is committed to promoting equity, fighting for women’s rights, protecting the environment, and strengthening rural economies.
