|
|||
State Honors Seven Economic Development Visionaries at ConferenceSt. Paul -- Seven Minnesota economic development visionaries received Minnesota Vision Awards at a Wednesday evening banquet during the 12th annual Minnesota Development Conference in Brooklyn Park. The annual fall conference focuses on community, economic and workforce development. "The seven winners serve as positive role models and champions in their respective fields," said Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Commissioner Dan McElroy. "Each of them embodies the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in economic development, workforce development, and education." This is the fourth year that development conference sponsors have presented the Minnesota Vision Awards, which recognize Minnesotans who constantly seek new ways to innovate and who bring an entrepreneurial spirit to their development activities. The seven winners are: Catherine Jordan is president and CEO of Achieve!Minneapolis, a non-profit organization which raises private funds for major school reform initiatives and works with partner organizations to enhance K-12 curricula, improve teaching and learning, transform high schools and increase career and post-secondary school readiness. She holds a master's degree in law and human services and a bachelor's degree in education from Antioch College. Jordan has extensive experience in non-profit leadership, resource development, marketing, media production, and education program design. Her passion and commitment to youth are reflected through her work as: Co-founder of Teen Age Health Consultants; teacher at Central High School; interim executive of the Girl Scout Council of Greater Minneapolis; president of the Twin Cities' United Arts Council, and executive producer of award-winning media on tobac co use prevention and on HIV/AIDS prevention. Jordan was nominated by Minnesota State Colleges and Universities John Ostrem, who will soon retire as president of the Northwest Minnesota Foundation, has worked for the past 37 years to improve the lives of people in rural Minnesota. He has been a leader in planning, community and economic development, and philanthropy. He was the founding board member of the Northwest Minnesota Foundation when it was established in 1986, and became the foundation's president in 2000. Prior to that, he served 24 years as the executive director of the Headwaters Regional Development Commission. Ostrem holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota and a master's degree in urban studies from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Ostrem was nominated by DEED. Yvonne Cheung Ho is president and CEO of the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA). Ho joined MEDA in 1993 as director of the Business Development and Programs department and served MEDA and the Minnesota Minority Supplier Development Council in other roles prior to becoming MEDA's president and CEO six years later. Ho's leadership is credited with keeping MEDA financially stable and increasing economic opportunities for Minnesota's burgeoning communities of color. Also, MEDA has increased its programming and financial capacity, initiated new training programs, become the host of the federally funded Procurement Technical Assistance Center and increased community partnerships. Ho has received numerous honors for her outstanding service and leadership including the Small Business Administration's 2002 Minority Small Business Advocate Award and the Business Journal's 2002 " Most Influential Women in Business," among others. In 2005, Governor Tim Pawlenty named her as one of 15 Minnesotans to his new Council on Faith Community Service Initiatives. Ho serves on numerous boards including the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits and North Memorial Health Care. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Ho immigrated to the United States in 1972. Ho was nominated by the University of Minnesota. Sharon Bredeson is a member of the Governor's Workforce Development Council and has served on the Minneapolis Workforce Investment Board for twenty years, spending most of this time on its Dislocated Workers committee. In 1979 she founded Staff-Plus, a temporary and permanent placement agency in the Twin Cities area, and has placed more than 30,000 Minnesotans in jobs. Additionally, she has committed more than 35 years to building workforce, economic and individual prosperity for Minnesotans through her volunteer service, serving on regional and international Better Business Bureaus and the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce. Bredeson has been recognized with numerous honors for her leadership and service. She was inducted into the American Staffing Association Hall of Fame as an Industry Leader and into the University of Minnesota Athletic Association's Hall of Fame for scholarship fundraising. S he is immediate past chair of the Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Bureau and a former Trustee of the College of St. Scholastica. She is a member of the Women's Economic Roundtable as one of Minnesota's top 100 leaders. Bredeson was nominated by the Governor's Workforce Development Council. Trish Taylor is chair of the Central Minnesota Workforce Investment Board and represents private industry on the board. Taylor is the co-owner of Taylor Land Surveyors, a small business of 10 employees located in Monticello, Minnesota. Taylor recently concluded a two-year term as the chair of the Minnesota Workforce Council Association, which represents the interests of local elected officials, board chairs, and staff of the local workforce service areas. Taylor, an appointed member of several committees of the Governor's Workforce Development Council, also serves as a member of the Greater Metropolitan Workforce Board; National Association of Workforce Boards; and National Workforce Association. She has been involved in several national projects recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor. The Wright County Economic Development partnership also has honored her as Wright County Citizen of the Year. &nb sp;In addition, Taylor has volunteered with other community organizations including the Monticello Hospital Board, the Community Action Board, the Youth Hockey Board; the Children's Program of Northern Ireland, and Trinity Lutheran Church. Taylor was nominated by the Minnesota Workforce Council Association. Mike Valentine, executive director of the Two Harbors Development Commission, has been active in economic development in Northeast Minnesota for many years, advocating regional partnerships. Valentine is a visionary and mentor on economic development strategies and was instrumental in the start-up of one of the area's first business incubators as well as a business retention and expansion program used as a model throughout the region. Valentine is a former chair and founding member of the Iron Range Economic Alliance, a graduate of the Blandin Community Leadership program, and former chair of the Two Harbors Development Commission. He currently serves on the Northeast Minnesota Workforce Investment Board, the Northland Connection Advisory Board, the Do I.T. Advisory Board, and the Northeast HOME Consortium. He is the chair of the Two Harbors Star City Commission, and the marketing committee of the Iron Rang e Economic Alliance. Valentine is also active in the Lion's Club and received the 2005 state Helen Keller Award for his outstanding work and dedication. Valentine was nominated by the Economic Development Association of Minnesota. Judy Mortrude, assistant supervisor of adult learning with Saint Paul Public Schools - Adult Learning, has been involved in workforce education efforts for more than a decade. She played an instrumental role in Minnesota's Workforce Initiative for a Learning and Mentoring Alliance (WILMA) project. The collaborative project grew Minnesota Adult Basic Education's capacity to deliver on-site, contextualized workforce education programs by 300 percent. Mortrude has been deeply involved in the effort to bring work readiness curriculum and methods into all adult education programming and is one of the guiding forces behind the National Work Readiness Credential pilot in Minnesota. Mortrude was nominated by the Minnesota Department of Education. |
|||
