St. Paul -- (January 13, 2006 GMS) --
Governor Tim Pawlenty recently named 15
Minnesotans to his new Council on Faith and
Community Service Initiatives. The Council will
partner with state and local agencies and existing
religious and community organizations to ensure that
groups have a level playing field to access grants and
will encourage greater cooperation to successfully
serve those in need. Lee Buckley was named
Special Advisor on Faith and Community Service
Initiatives by Governor Pawlenty on November 8,
2005.
The Council on Faith and Community Service
Initiatives includes leaders who represent the
diversity of the State of Minnesota geographically,
ethnically, by gender and faith. Governor Pawlenty
recruited leaders from faith, community, foundation,
public, private and philanthropic organizations who
have the influence and resources to “get things
done.”
“Those appointed to serve on this new council have
an excellent mix of ability and experience to pioneer
this new initiative for the State of Minnesota,”
Governor Pawlenty said. “I am honored this high-
powered group has agreed to serve the state in this
capacity.”
The Council will provide a single point of contact for
organizations, eliminating duplication of effort and
streamlining the process. It will convene in January to
conduct a thorough current state assessment of:
- educational and training opportunities provided to
faith and community organizations related to
accessing public and private funds
- existing best practice models and services
provided through faith and community organizations
through public and private funds
- obvious barriers to existing public and private
funding opportunities
Additionally, the Council is expected to make
recommendations on how to level the playing field for
faith and community organizations and increase
access to public and private funding opportunities.
A number of faith and community organizations,
foundations and private entities who currently serve
as providers of services or intermediaries for sub-
grants have been identified as potential partners with
the Minnesota Office on Faith and Community Service
Initiatives. Additionally, departments within the State
of Minnesota are identifying liaisons to work with the
Office to maximize equal access to state funding
opportunities to faith and community
organizations.
Preliminary efforts are underway to launch the
Minnesota Office on Faith and Community Service
web-based directory of federal and state resources
by the end of March 2006.
Members of the Governor’s Council on Faith and
Community Service Initiatives appointed to two
year terms include:
Kim Jeffries of Maplewood hosts a daily talk
show featuring Christian news and newsmakers heard
weekdays on KTIS AM 900 Minneapolis/St. Paul. She
hosted and produced "Life Redeemed" on KTIS AM
and FM From 2004 to 2005, "WCCO Midday Live"
weekdays from 2001 to 2004 and co-hosted a
morning show on WCCO Television from 1998 to 2004
after reporting feature stories the prior year. Jeffries
is active in lay ministry, leading a weekly Bible study
at Washington County Jail through Missionary
Evangelism to Corrections and has served at
Sandstone Federal Correctional Facility through
Charis Ministry. She established the non-profit
organization, "Tell Them I Love Them" Ministry in
2002 as an outreach to people hurt by abortion.
Bruce Robbins of Minneapolis is Senior
Minister of Hennepin Avenue United Methodist
Church, a position he has held since 2004. From
1990 to 2004, he served as General Secretary and
from 1986 to 1990 Associate General Secretary for
the General commission on Christian Unity and
Interreligious Concerns for the United Methodist
Church. He holds leadership positions in the World
Council of Churches, was an executive board member
for the National Council of Churches of Christ, USA
and the World Conference on Religion and Peace.
Nancy Haapoja of Redwood Falls, is the
Redwood Falls Youth for Christ Campus Life Director,
a position she has held since 1989 where she
provides spiritual life guidance for junior and senior
high school, and college age students. She is a
charter board member of Redwood Falls Crisis
Pregnancy Center and has been Vice President of the
Redwood Ministerial Association since 1994.
Megan Doyle of Eden Prairie is co-founder of
Hope For The City, a compassion organization that
uses corporate surplus in society to help fight
poverty, hunger and disease. She is a founding
member of Nehemiah Partners, a ministry to train and
equip business people to recognize and answer the
call of God on their lives. Doyle has been published
and is a contributing author in a book by Rich
Marshall entitled God@Work. She has also published
articles in leading Christian magazines and is a
contributing author in the Thomas Nelson "Women's
Devotional Bible."
Elsa Vega-Perez of St. Paul is Senior
Program Officer for the Otto Bremer Foundation.
Previously, she worked in nonprofit organizational
management, community resource development,
served as the Minnesota State Equal Opportunity
Director and as Special Assistant to the General
Superintendent of Schools for the Chicago Board of
Education. She currently serves as a trustee to the
St. Paul Foundation, and a board director to the
National Urban Fellows, Inc. and the National Network
of Grantmakers.
Mariam Mohamed of Shoreview has been
program officer in Grantmaking for Children and
Families for the McKnight Foundation since March
2005. Previously, she served as executive director of
the Somali Parent Teacher Association in Minneapolis
since 2002 and instructor at the Owatonna Workforce
Development Center. Mohamed has served on boards
of directors for the Greater Minnesota housing fund
and the United Way of Owatonna, among others.
Susan L. Hilgart of Brainerd is Team Leader
with a private non-profit employment and training
service provider, Rural Minnesota Concentrated
Employment Provider, Inc. Previously she worked as
a human resources professional from 1991 to 2005 in
the public and private sector. She currently serves
as chair of the City of Brainerd Police and fire Civil
Service Commission, co-chair of the Brainerd Area Job
Service Employer Committee and as a member of the
children's ministry to the Lakewood Evangelical Free
Church.
Richard H. Coleman of Eagan serves as Chief
Operating Officer for Kingdom Oil, a Christian
community foundation. In September of 1979, he
was ordained an Itinerant Elder through the African
Methodist Episcopal church and has preached
nationally and abroad in Nairobi, Mombassa and
Kisumu in Kenya, Kigali Rwanda and Port Elizabeth in
the Republic of South Africa. He has served a
number of organizations including as board member
and secretary to Greater Minneapolis Council of
Churches; denominational representative to
Minnesota Council of Churches; board member to
United Way of Minneapolis, Hennepin County
American Cancer Society, TURN and the African
American Adoption Agency; Co-chair of the Luis Palau
2004 Twin Cities Festival; Commissioner of Hennepin
County African American Men's Project and member
of a number of other faith and community
organizations.
Yvonne Cheung Ho of St. Paul is the Chief
Executive Officer of the Metropolitan Economic
Development Association (MEDA), a position she has
held since 1999. She began as a director with MEDA
in 1993, became vice president of business
development and programs in 1995, and served as
executive director of the Minnesota Minority Supplier
Development Council for MEDA from 1993 to 1997.
She is a board member to the Minneapolis
Foundation, American Indian Neighborhood
Development Corporation, Children's Theatre
Company, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits
and North Memorial Health Care.
Windell "Clint" Calvert of Rochester is the
Leadership Development Specialist to Mission Service
Corps of the North American Mission Board. He was
mission pastor to Emmanuel Baptist Church in
Rochester from 1998 to 2004. From 1988 to 1998, he
served as pastor to Baptist Churches in Crandall,
Sweetwater and Clyde, Texas. He worked as
development director at the Ability Building Center,
Inc. from 1999 to 2003 and for Pricewaterhouse
Coopers, LLP in Houston Texas from 1995 to 1999.
G. Paul Beaumaster of Faribault has been
Rice County Attorney since 1999. He is a member of
the Faribault Rotary, Faribault and Northfield Chamber
of Commerce, board member of the Rice County
Historical Society, South Central Technical College
Foundation - Faribault, Community Corrections and
Womansafe. He serves as a volunteer to Meals-On-
Wheels, American Red Cross, and the Minnesota
Association for Children with Learning Disabilities.
Andrew Parker of Minnetonka was founder
of Smith Parker, PLLP before establishing the law firm
of Parker Rosen. Parker was a co-founder of the
Minnesota Chapter of the American Israel Public
Affairs Committee and currently serves on the board
of the Minneapolis Jewish Federation. He was a
member of Governor Carlson's Task Force reviewing
public sector employment contracts and the
Minnesota Academic Excellence Foundation. Parker is
a member of the Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park
and studies at the Minneapolis Community Kollel
(Torah Education Center) where he received the
Kollel Visionary Award in 2004.
Patricia L. Peterson of Bloomington is
Coordinator for the Minnesota Faith Health
Consortium, a position she has held since 2002.
Previously she was vice president of Twin Cities
Urban Reconciliation Network (TURN) from 1996 to
2002 and Director of Family Ministries and Program
Director for Hope Presbyterian Church from 1977 to
1996. She currently serves on the board of the
American Indian Community Development Corporation,
the North Central Health Ministries Network and
Wheels to Work.
Krishna M. Saxena of St. Paul is a retired
associate professor of Pediatrics in the Department of
Family Practice at the University of Minnesota and
served as Director of Pediatric Endocrinology and
Diabetes at Children's Hospital of St. Paul.
Previously, he was Director and Associate Director of
Medical Education at Children's Hospital of St. Paul
Children's Hospital; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
at the University of Minnesota; Chairman of Pediatrics
at Irwin Hospital and Associate Professor at Maulana
Azad Medical College in New Delhi, India; pediatrician
and lecturer in pediatrics at King George's Medical
College in Lucknow, India; and medical officer for
Provincial Medical Services in Bhowall, U.P., India.
Richard Ober of Dellwood is currently the
vice president of operations at the Union Gospel
Mission Twin Cities after serving as their director of
development from 1993 to 2005. For thirteen years
prior to joining Union Gospel Mission, Ober was
employed by Seagate Technology, Inc. He is a
member of the board of the Mardag Foundation and
the Management Improvement Fund Advisory
Committee for the St. Paul Foundation and was a
member of the board for the Union Gospel Mission
from 1989 to 1992.
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