Meet Shawn Lewis, the Minneapolis Parks Foundation’s Community Relations Manager

If you live in North Minneapolis, you may have already met Shawn Lewis, the Minneapolis Parks Foundation’s Community Relations Manager. Throughout the spring and summer, Lewis has been on the move from civic meetings to community events, to picnics and cultivation parties, making sure North Minneapolis neighbors know all about the big changes coming to North Commons Park next year, in the largest investment ever made in a  Minneapolis neighborhood park. 

So you’re the fellow people have been seeing all summer with design renderings of North Commons Park?

That’s right! They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, and it’s true—I’ve been having a lot of long conversations with residents who are really engaged and curious about what’s coming to their park. They know North Commons right now as a 1970s-style recreation center, but to see an upgraded version that looks like 2027, it’s quite a change, you know?

What are you hearing from residents about Transforming North Commons? 

There’s a lot of excitement, but there’s also [some caution and] mistrust about things that have been promised in North Minneapolis that haven’t come [to pass]. When I tell people the timeline and that this is going to get started in 2025, with plans to be open in 2027, some people are very happy, and some people have said these changes are long overdue. 

The new playground is already up, and that’s been an important way of trying to demonstrate to the community that we’re serious about doing this. The launch of the Minneapolis Parks Foundation’s capital campaign, and its plans to raise $20 million for this project, has been important to residents. The Parks Foundation’s steadfast commitment to the North Commons project helps community members understand that this is a priority that needs to get done. 

What do you like to talk about when you talk about the parks? 

One thing I’ve enjoyed about this work is that it’s allowed me to reintroduce myself to the park system, to know more about what’s offered in our parks and the communities we serve, and to recognize that great parks don’t happen overnight—there’s years and years of planning involved. Parks go way beyond recreation and physical health benefits–they provide emotional and mental health to communities, too. So the more I’ve come to learn about what’s possible through the parks, and how they serve a diverse population with as few barriers as possible, the more I want to share that with donors, with parks users, with people in the community. When you realize what a great experience the parks offer, you don’t want to keep it to yourself.