Karin Birkeland, Alfonso N. Cornish II, Keith Holloman, Angelica Klebsch, Jesse Ross, and Heath Rudduck start three-year terms this month
Minneapolis, Minn. – The Minneapolis Parks Foundation today announced that its Board of Directors named Dorothy Bridges as its chair. Bridges, who retired as Senior Vice President from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis in 2018, will serve a two-year term. The Board also welcomed six new members for three-year terms: Karin Birkeland, community leader; Alfonso N. Cornish II, J.D., Director of Government Affairs for Target Corporation; Keith Holloman, Senior Research Specialist at Medtronic; Angelica Klebsch, Senior Director of Policy & Community Development at CLUES; Jesse Ross, Director of Special Projects, ConextMSP, at The Minneapolis Foundation; and Heath Rudduck, Chief Creative Officer at Padilla.
The Minneapolis Parks Foundation is an independent donor-supported non-profit that helps envision and deliver transformative parks and public spaces by working closely with public partners and in collaboration with community. As the primary philanthropic partner to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, the Parks Foundation is nearing completion of the RiverFirst Capital Campaign, which will bring $18.1 million in philanthropy for two transformative Mississippi Riverfront projects – Water Works and the Great Northern Greenway River Link. The park and pavilion at Water Works, which broke ground in 2019, will be complete in fall 2020, followed by the grand opening of The Sioux Chef’s restaurant in spring 2021. The first phase of the River Link, called the Overlook, will be constructed and open to the public this summer.
“I am super pumped about where this organization is right now. The success of our RiverFirst Campaign is a launching pad for additional visionary investments in the Minneapolis Parks System,” says Dorothy Bridges, who has served on the Parks Foundation Board of Directors since 2014. “Karin, Al, Keith, Angelica, Jesse, and Heath bring to our board a shared passion for our mission and diversity of thought. When you have a diversity of ideas, you get the best result. Together with our already dedicated board members, these folks around the table will help us plan for how we can best help transform lives through our wonderful park system.”
Since 2003, the Parks Foundation has raised more than $22 million for transformative parks projects in Minneapolis. In addition to RiverFirst, the Parks Foundation supports innovative parks projects throughout Minneapolis through equity funding, including Little Free Libraries® at all recreation centers, and also champions world-class design through its Next Generation of Parks™ Event Series.
About the 2020 Parks Foundation Board of Directors
The 27-member Parks Foundation Board of Directors also includes the following members: Stuart Ackerberg, CEO of Ackerberg Group; Nima Ahmadi, Senior Director of Strategic Ventures and Platforms at Cardiovascular Systems; Dan Avchen, ED of Strategic Growth for HGA Architects; Sarah Duniway, Attorney at Lathrop GPM LLP; Dayna Frank, EVP/Co-Owner of First Avenue; Jacob Frey, Mayor of the City of Minneapolis; Martha Gabbert, retired, Room and Board Properties; Joe Gibbons, Senior VP-Wealth Management of Boyd, Gibbons & Associates, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith; Jocelyn Hale, Partner in MillerHale Associates; Mark Heithoff, Mark Heithoff Photography; Pahoua Yang Hoffman, Executive Director of the Citizens League; Steve King, Chairman of Landscape Structures; Mary McCarthy, community leader; Tom Paul, President, Medicare at Bright Health; Paul Reyelts, CFO (retired) of Valspar; Jasmine RuKim, Founder & CEO of Monicat Data; Heidi Schmidt, Director of Marketing for NTH; and Peter Thrane, Partner in Stinson Leonard Street. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s Superintendent Al Bangoura and Commissioner-at-Large Meg Forney will also serve as ex officio Board Members in 2020.
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