bushCONNECT 

The Bush Foundation hosted more than 1,000 participants at bushCONNECT on Oct. 1, 2018, at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. About 40 partner organizations brought a diverse network of people together and created inspiring programming around a theme of working across difference, and Michele Norris gave the keynote address. 

bushCON Keynote

Michele Norris, a Peabody Award-winning journalist, founder of The Race Card Project and executive director of The Bridge, The Aspen Institute’s new program on race, identity, connectivity and inclusion, gives the keynote address at bushCON 2018.

bushCON Sessions

Green Card Voices highlights the stories of immigrants in our region and invites participants to explore their own similarities and differences through a new card game they developed called Story Stitch.

Salon Sessions

Seitu Jones (BF ’92, ’04) hosts an intimate salon conversation with bushCON participants.

Salon Sessions

Kevin Goodno, Bush Foundation board member, hosts an intimate salon conversation with bushCON participants.

City Tours

bushCON attendees could opt into pre-event walking tours around Minneapolis the day before bushCON. Here, Tane Danger (BF’14), leads a crew toward the Finnegans Brew Co. and Finnovation Lab.

Salon Sessions

Mary Brainerd, Bush Foundation board member, hosts an intimate salon conversation with bushCON participants.

bushCON

Attendees from across the region are fired up to start the day.

Partners

bushCON is made possible thanks to our numerous recruitment and programming partners who help build the day’s audience and sessions. The group met to kick off planning at the Guthrie Theater, which hosts bushCON.

Photo booth

Attendees pose for the camera at the bushCON photo booth.

bushCON Sessions

Bush Foundation board member Curt Johnson introduces the Giant Steps panel in the main theater at bushCON.

Network Zone

Ready Go artists host creative activities throughout the building to spark people’s thinking and facilitate connections.

Event Sponsorship

The Bush Foundation sponsors events across the region where people can share ideas and build stronger networks.

Block x Block

Twin Cities LISC brought together more than 200 community leaders at their Block x Block summit to share ideas and push the edge of what’s possible in our communities. Here, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey share their thoughts on creating a more inclusive economy and helping people stay in the places they love.

Block x Block

Bush Foundation board member and Juxtaposition Arts CEO DeAnna Cummings (BF’07) was a featured speaker.

Grow Our Own Summit

Southwest Initiative Foundation board member Abdirizak “Zack” Mahboub (BF’10) of Willmar, Minnesota, poses a question at the Grow Our Own Summit.

Pollen’s Cross Pollination Dinner

Pollen’s Cross Pollination Dinner mixes up various networks and groups to facilitate relationship building and discussions. This group includes Nausheena Hussain (BF’16) and Rabbi Michael Adam Latz.

TEDxBemidji

TEDxBemidji speaker Eric Carlson shares his talk about the democratizing power of creative technologies in design, manufacturing, education and play-based learning through his experience running Kelliher Public School’s award-winning Fab Lab.

GameChanger Ideas Festival

Andrew Solomon speaks with the crowd at the GameChanger Ideas Festival in Bismarck, North Dakota, which is billed as “a rock concert for your mind.”

Morning Fill Up

Artist Kevin Pourier (BF’06) and Matt Ehlman, Ph.D. (BF’15) of The Numad Group discuss the artistic journey that led Kevin to be awarded Best of Show at the Santa Fe Indian Market, the world’s largest and most prestigious Indian art market, as part of the monthly Morning Fill Up conversation series at The Garage in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Twin Cities Startup Week

Sharon Kennedy Vickers (BF’18), a leader in the “tech for good” social entrepreneurship movement, speaks at Twin Cities Startup Week.

Minnesota Council on Foundations

Leaders in philanthropy build connections at the annual Minnesota Council on Foundations conference.

Equity Summit

Alex West Steinman (BF’19) and Bethany Iverson, co-founders of The Coven, speak at the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce Equity Summit.

Community Skills-Based Challenge

HandsOn Twin Cities hosted a Community Skills-Based Challenge in partnership with Northside Achievement Zone to bring together corporate and nonprofit leaders to brainstorm and solve challenges together. Pictured here, Anne Kvinge facilitates.

Bush Foundation Events

Bush Foundation staff and board members travel and host events to build connections with our grantees and others doing important work to make our region better for everyone. In 2018, we sent cohorts to national conferences; connected with Bush Fellows, educators and arts and culture leaders; and hosted gatherings in Owatonna, Minnesota; Rapid City, South Dakota; northeast Minnesota and Leech Lake tribal communities.

bushCON On the Road

The Bush Foundation funded scholarships for people from our region to attend Upswell in Los Angeles, Independent Sector’s national conference that brings leaders together from across sectors.

bushCON On the Road

The Bush Foundation funded scholarships for people from our region to attend SOCAP in San Francisco to build skills around social entrepreneurship.

Leading the Way to Individualized Learning

The Bush Foundation hosted our third summit on individualized learning in partnership with The School Leadership Project. Speakers included Caroline Hill of DC Equity Lab, who gave the keynote address.

Leading the Way to Individualized Learning

The Bush Foundation hosted our third summit on individualized learning in partnership with The School Leadership Project. Speakers included students.

Leading the Way to Individualized Learning

The Bush Foundation hosted our third summit on individualized learning in partnership with The School Leadership Project. Speakers included Bush Foundation board member Jen Alstad.

Office Hours

The Bush Foundation partnered with other foundations and Propel Nonprofits to host conversations and financial training in Owatonna, Minnesota, and Rapid City, South Dakota.

Bush Foundation board retreat

Bush Foundation board members and management team spent time during their annual retreat learning about education innovations in tribal communities during a gathering with Leech Lake tribal leaders.

Native Ed Advisory Group

As part of the Bush Foundation’s work to support individualized learning in schools, we gathered a Native Education Advisory Group to connect with tribal education leaders.

Bush Foundation board retreat

Bush Foundation board members and management team spent time during their annual retreat learning about the Natural Resources Research Institute in northeast Minnesota.

Native Education Advisory Group

As part of the Bush Foundation’s work to support individualized learning in schools, we gathered a Native Education Advisory Group to connect with tribal education leaders.

Archibald Bush Scholars

The inaugural group of Archibald Bush Scholars, pictured with Bush Foundation staff, received college scholarships in honor of Archie Bush and his lifelong commitment to St. Paul and Granite Falls. Wallin Education Partners was supported by the Bush Foundation to direct the program.

Community Creativity Cohort

The Community Creativity Cohort 2 grantees, all from organizations led by rural leaders or leaders who identify as people of color or Indigenous people, gathered together in the fall.

Fellows Retreat

The 2018 Bush Fellows kicked off their Fellowships with a launch retreat.