Who We've Funded

As a teen, Tou SaiKo Lee wandered down a troubled path before creative writing saved his life. His travels to Thailand with his grandmother to learn from Hmong people living in mountain villages further fueled his passion for the arts and his culture

Nevada Littlewolf was the first Anishinaabe woman ever elected to the Virginia City Council and, at age 31, the only council member under the age of 55. That influential experience encouraged her to establish Rural and American Indigenous Leadership

Trista Matascastillo is one of few to have served in three branches of the U.S. military. Often, she was the only woman in her command. After 16 years of service in the Navy, Marine Corps and National Guard, she was compelled to form the Women

Born in Peru, Yuri Nakasato lived through a devastating earthquake, violent civil conflict and epidemics of tuberculosis and cholera. Despite the obstacles, he went on to earn degrees in medicine and business administration. With a “never give up and

State Representative Kim Norton introduced legislation and rallied support for the Destination Medical Center (DMC), an economic development project aimed at positioning Rochester as a premier location for health care. Kim wants to help lead

In 1992, Abdi Roble found a manual camera at a flea market. Captivated, he began taking photography courses at a community college and documenting the Somali immigrant and refugee experience. Ten years later, he founded the Somali Documentary Project

As a member of the Granite Falls City Council for nearly four decades and mayor for 20 years, Dave Smiglewski knows first-hand the challenges and joys of community service. He is witness to an alarming decline in civic and community engagement

Yuko Taniguchi was inspired by how fisherwomen in her native Japan used art to heal from the devastating grief and trauma of a tsunami. That inspiration fuels her work with the Arts at the Bedside Program at the Mayo Clinic, where she helps patients

Larry Tucker devotes his professional career to helping people change the direction of their lives and, he says, “write a different story.” Despite childhood adversity and becoming a parent when he was just 17, Larry earned both his bachelor’s and

Giovanni Veliz is the first immigrant police lieutenant in the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) and the former executive director of the Police Activities League. He is keenly aware of the challenges police departments have in building

As one of Minnesota's civic leaders, Hamse Warfa is concerned about structural integration challenges new immigrants face, particularly immigrants in the Somali community. He bridges cultures through leadership and peacebuilding training, and wants

Martin Wera sees the relationships between good food and good jobs through his focus on hunger relief and workforce development at Ameriprise. He is passionate about exploring ways to unite the food service industry and the nonprofit sector to create