Minneapolis, MN [August 31, 2022]— Mortenson Family Foundation is pleased to
announce that Maryan Abdinur has joined the Foundation as a Community Relationship
Officer for its Sustaining Environmental Systems program. Maryan brings varied and
deep knowledge and direct experience to join the Foundation in its goal of enabling all
Minnesotans to have equitable and sustainable access to healthy land and water.
Maryan grew up in a farming and camel nomadic community in East Africa known to her
and her people as Arlaadi (“our lands/the lands”), today known as central/southwest
Somalia and eastern Kenya.
Maryan’s work is highly influenced by the knowledge and memories of the Arlaadi, its
people, and the teachings of her grandparents, which instilled in her a passion for a just
stewardship of the land and the belief that the wellbeing of the earth is essential to
individual wellness and individual wellness is essential to the wellness of the whole.
Maryan is joining Mortenson Family Foundation from Hope Community Inc., where she
led their Food, Land and Community program. As part of her role at Hope, Maryan was
a member of the City of Minneapolis’s Green Zones Policy Recommendations Design
Team and has served two terms on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s (MPCA)
Environmental Justice Advisory Group. Prior to being at Hope, Maryan worked with the
Land Stewardship Project and did her internship with the Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency where she worked with their Environmental Justice team on Community
Engagement.
Maryan currently serves on the boards of Philadelphia Community Farm in Osceola
Wisconsin, a Somali women wellness collective in Minneapolis, and an energy research
organization based in Kenya and Somalia.
“I am so excited to join this phenomenal team and support Mortenson Family
Foundation’s goal to enable all Minnesotans to have equitable and sustainable access
to healthy land and water,” Maryan said.
“Maryan’s passion for land stewardship, commitment to environmental justice, and
ability to facilitate conversations with an array of most impacted voices are valuable
experiences for the Foundation and the communities we serve,” said Ambar Hanson,
executive director.
To learn more about the Sustaining Environmental Systems grant program Maryan is
leading, visit www.mortenson family.org
Contact:
Ambar Hanson, Executive Director
Mortenson Family Foundation
763-287-5770
ambar.hanson@mortensonfamily.org
