Who We've Funded

Maureen Ramirez started working at the University of Minnesota in 2001 in Latino student recruitment. She quickly saw how the system worked against students, particularly those who were undocumented, and was determined to act. Maureen started

While most attorneys at this stage in their career are fighting to make partner, Christina Sambor is fighting human trafficking in North Dakota. The rural isolation, overburdened law enforcement agencies and explosion in transient populations in the

Lori Saroya co-founded the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Minnesota (CAIR-MN), the state's only Muslim civil rights and legal advocacy organization, when she was a senior in college. Six years later, Lori's vision is to create a society where

Marvin Sims wants to level the playing field for all disadvantaged students. As the dean of students at Irondale High School, he created Students Together Respecting the Importance and Purpose of Education in Schools (STRIPES), a mentoring program

Native Nations Rebuilders Program (cohort 6) - Steve currently serves as the external affairs director for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, a position that allows him to work on issues ranging from water rights to education reform to housing

Native Nations Rebuilders Program (cohort 6) - Veronica lives on the Fond Du Lac Reservation, currently works in the tribal scholarship office. She is also involved in language revitalization and has helped with signage that identifies the local

Malini Srivastava wants North Dakota to become more energy efficient. That's no easy feat: the state is one of the nation's coldest, has an abundance of fossil fuel resources, ranks first in per-capita residential energy consumption, and is dead last

Native Nations Rebuilders Program (cohort 6) - Cheyanne is a citizen of the Lower Sioux Mdewakanton Indian Community and a descendent of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. She maintains close ties to both cultures and communities. Cheyanne’s role models

Chris Stewart has served on the Minneapolis School Board and is the founding director of the African American Leadership Forum. He will use his Fellowship to research, design and prototype a new model for a networked, intergenerational black

Michael Strand fears our technology has compromised our ability to tackle complex challenges. Issues that could easily be resolved through conversation are now recast as "zero-sum" games with a clear "winners" and "losers." Social media has amplified

Native Nations Rebuilders Program (cohort 6) - Anna is a graduate of Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and received her bachelor’s degree from Oglala Lakota College. At age 23, Anna ran and won a seat on the Oglala Lakota County

Charlie Thayer wants to make it easier for stories about Native culture to be told in the voice of Native people. Particularly stories of healing from historical trauma or its aftermath. His vision is to create a platform from which the voices of the