Expanding Opportunities for Children and Families

Photo: Hiawatha Academies

Our Goal

We seek to assist children and families living in poverty to attain equitable access to academic, social development, and mental health/wellness opportunities and systems that are inclusive and center their human dignity and humanity thereby providing the potential for an educated, informed, and liberated student, parent, and community.

Geography: Minnesota – 7 County Metro Area

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Our Beliefs

To achieve this goal, we believe:

  • Children and their families are resilient, resourceful and have a wealth of knowledge on how to improve their lives and shape the world they want to live in.
  • Education is key to helping children, families, and communities overcome poverty.
  • Knowledge, history, experience, and perspectives of children, families, and communities are at the heart of ensuring every child feels safe to learn and grow to shape their own path in the world.
  • Culturally relevant ways of learning and innovative practices grounded in strong outcomes of engagement and accountability to the communities are essential.
  • Academic achievement and social emotional and mental well-being happen through a comprehensive network of quality home, school, and community support.
  • There is a strong interconnectedness of academics, social and emotional learning, and mental health.
  • Work grounded in racial equity ensures race, economic status, gender identity, multilingual, sexual orientation and/or ability are viewed as assets.
  • A strong ecosystem that includes direct services and systems change work that includes education leaders, advocates, and policy work will produce lasting outcomes for children, families, and communities.
  • Continuous, intensive, and relevant support spanning consecutive years along the continuum of learning for children (ranging in age from prenatal to 18) produces effective and sustainable outcomes.

 

Why this is important

For far too long Minnesota has been known as a state with some of the greatest disparities in education, livable wage jobs, homeownership, and health outcomes between people of White descent and Black, Indigenous/Native American/American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Latinx/Latine/Latino/Hispanic.

Promoting equity in education for ALL children is essential and promoting racial equity in education is a pathway to justice. Racial equity is the gateway for ensuring that ALL children and families living in poverty are honored and celebrated in just and inclusive ways that allow for them to learn and thrive in their education and beyond. In the words of Angela Glover Blackwell, “Centering blackness doesn’t leave anybody out. What it does is center the root causes that are killing everybody.”

Photo: Northside Achievement Zone

Our Partners

We are interested in partnering with nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations and public schools that directly serve or strengthen systems that directly serve children and families living in poverty in the 7-county metro area.

We prioritize organizations centering equity and culturally relevant ways of learning and innovative practices grounded in strong outcomes of engagement and accountability to the children ages prenatal to 18 and their families. We prioritize organizations that are centering Racial Equity both internally and externally and organizations with leadership and boards that are reflective of the community served.

Our desire is to support:

  • 501(c)(3) organizations providing direct services to populations with at least 60 percent of people living in poverty, as defined by the Federal Poverty Guidelines.
  • We welcome unrestricted or program requests from organizations.
  • We will consider program/project support for public schools (district or charter) serving a population with at least 80 percent of students receiving free and reduced lunch.
  • 501(c)(3) organizations strengthening/changing systems that serve people living in poverty.

Photo: WE WIN Institute, Inc.

We partner with organizations that:

  • Engage beneficiaries in design
  • Center student voice and engage families and community as essential partners.
  • Directly support children in social and emotional, academic, and mental health/wellbeing
  • Change, create and/or improve systems to create pathways for children to have equitable access to social and emotional, academic, and mental health /wellbeing resources
  • Partner with home, schools, and communities
  • Provide consistent, sustained and asset-based support over multiple years
  • Work toward outcomes
  • Demonstrate quality

 

Although the following strategies may complement our overall Foundation goal, they fall outside of our desired focus: Research, Nonecumenical organizations or programs, direct religious activities or organizations that receive a significant source of funding from sectarian solicitations, special events or sponsorships, and support to an individual.

Our Committee

James C. Burroughs II

(he/him)

James C. Burroughs II

James Burroughs is a pioneer when it comes to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. James C. Burroughs is the Senior vice president of government and community relations and chief equity and inclusion officer. He made history as the first-ever Chief Inclusion Officer for any state when Governor Mark Dayton appointed him to the position in Minnesota. He is currently Senior Vice President, Government and Community Relations, Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer at Children’s Minnesota, one of the largest pediatric health systems in the country. He is responsible for advancing equity and inclusion across the organization as well as
leading advocacy, government affairs and community relations.

Bio

Susuga Leiataua
Dr. Robert Jon Peterson

(he/him)

Susuga Leiataua
Dr. Robert Jon Peterson

The founder and president of TE2 Consulting, LLC, which provides consulting and cultural competency training for education clients and supports BIPOC leaders in growing their businesses. His 20+ years of educational experience as a teacher and administrator inform his practice as an Indigenous leader in the public, non-profit and private sectors. Dr. Peterson is also a published author, recording artist and lecturer at numerous colleges and conferences throughout the U.S. and the Pacific region. He carries the Paramount Matai, or chiefly, title of “Leiataua” from his native homeland of Samoa.

Bio

Sheila Williams Ridge

(she/her)

Sheila Williams Ridge

Sheila is a Director at the University of Minnesota Child Development Lab School. She has a bachelor’s degree in biology, a graduate degree in education, and over twenty years of experience as an early childhood administrator and educator. Sheila is co-author of the book, Nature-Based Learning for Young Children: Anytime, Anywhere, on Any Budget, published by Redleaf Press and several other publications. Sheila serves on several boards focusing on early childhood education, equity and anti-bias education, environmental education, conservation, and k-12 education.

Bio

Samantha N. Diaz

(she/her)

Samantha N. Diaz

Samantha has a wide range of public policy and political experience in education, labor rights, and public health. Samantha is the Political Director of SEIU - Local 26, Minnesota's property services union. Samantha has served as the Director of the Office of Public Charter Schools (OPCS), providing oversight and evaluation for all charter schools authorized by Pillsbury United Communities and as the Education Legislation & Policy Director at the Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs. Prior to Samantha’s work in Minnesota, she served as Legislative Director for the Chairman of the Health, Human Services and Senior Citizen Committee in the New Jersey State Legislature. She received her master’s in public administration at Baruch College – Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, and a bachelor’s degree in history at Kean University. Samantha is also an alumnus of the National Urban Fellows leadership development program.

Bio

Rinal Ray

(she/her)

Rinal Ray

Rinal Ray lives in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis with her family. They enjoy bike rides, family game nights, good food and time with friends. She currently serves on the Dowling Community School Site Council. Professionally, Rinal is the Assistant Commissioner for Housing Stability at Minnesota Housing. In this work she leads housing stability grant programs and supportive housing initiatives to prevent or exit homelessness informed by people directly impacted, providers and community. Previously, she was the CEO at People Serving People where Rinal led a dynamic team in responding to the crisis of family homelessness through shelter, supportive services, early childhood education, and worked to change systems to prevent the experience of family homelessness. Rinal has also worked on the policy team for the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, as a staff attorney at the Minnesota Justice Foundation, and as an adjunct faculty member in the MAPL program at Metro State.

Bio

Dana Mortenson

(she/her)

Dana Mortenson

Dana Mortenson is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of World Savvy, a national education nonprofit working to educate and engage youth as responsible global citizens. For 20 years, she has been influencing and changing the conversation about education with educators, administrators, parents and community members. Since 2002, Mortenson has led World Savvy through a significant national expansion, reaching more than 808,000 middle and high school youth and 7,000 educators across 45 US states and 32 countries, from offices in Minneapolis, San Francisco and New York. World Savvy supports change agents in K-12 education to create more inclusive, adaptive schools that ensure all young people can develop the skills and dispositions needed to thrive in a more diverse, interconnected world. Her organization's work has been featured on PBS, The New York Times, Edutopia, and a range of local and national media outlets covering education and innovation. Mortenson is an Ashoka Fellow, a Nation Swell Council Member, named one of The New Leaders Council's 40 under 40 Progressive American Leaders, and winner of the Tides Foundation's Jane Bagley Lehman Award for Excellence in Public Advocacy. She is a frequent global education and social entrepreneurship speaker at high-profile convenings. Mortenson is an advisor and board member to a range of nonprofits working at the intersection of education, global citizenship, and innovation. She earned an undergraduate degree in international relations from Connecticut College and a master's degree in International Affairs with a concentration in economic and political development from Columbia University.

Bio

David Mortenson

(he/him)

David Mortenson

David Mortenson is the CEO of the parent company, M. A. Mortenson Companies, Inc., and Chairman of Mortenson, a privately-held U.S. based, top-20 developer, builder and engineering services provider serving the commercial, institutional and energy sectors headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. Mortenson has more than 5,000 team members in 13 North American offices.

Some of the company’s most notable accomplishments include:

  • North America’s largest design builder of wind and solar energy
  • The largest sports builder in America
  • Awarded “Best Place to Work” over 40 times in multiple location over the past ten years
  • Among Forbes’ 500 Largest Private Companies (#93)
  • Dedicated to giving back 5% of the company’s net pre-tax profits to local charities every year

 

David joined the family business after serving in the Navy. He worked his way up through the project management ranks to eventually lead the company’s west coast business before returning to company headquarters to ultimately lead the family business.

Bio

Katie Mortenson

(she/her)

Katie Mortenson

Katie is a parent, volunteer, and advocate for the needs of the underserved in her community and in the developing world. She has been shaped and inspired by her work, involvement and travel with several international humanitarian organizations including Children’s HeartLink, Alight and Common Hope, and by her many years teaching English as a Second Language in the Twin Cities and abroad. She spends much of her time working with and supporting refugees, hosting international college students, enjoying the outdoors, and being active in her neighborhood school and community.

Bio

Jack Mortenson

(he/him)

Jack Mortenson

As asset manager for Mortenson Properties, the real estate investment arm of the family business, Jack oversees a portfolio comprising 4 million square feet of industrial and office properties in Denver and Salt Lake City. Pursuant to the company’s mission to invest for the greater good, Jack approaches investment and development projects with a focus on community building and sustainability. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Colgate University and is actively involved with local ULI and NAIOP chapters, as well as the Downtown Denver Partnership. Based in Denver, Jack enjoys spending time in the mountains with his girlfriend and their dog.

Bio

“There’s no limit to what we can accomplish when we work together.”

Photo: Northside Achievement Zone

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