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FUTURES Meeting Materials Archive

Past Agendas | Meeting Materials Archive

Past Meeting Agendas

Meeting Materials Archive 

September 2021


May 2021

  • Janet Topolsky, Executive Director of the Community Strategies Group at the Aspen Institute, presented their most recent nationwide research on: Rural Development Hubs: Strengthening America’s Rural Innovation Infrastructure. To listen to a similar talk with Janet, visit the Rural Matters podcast.
  • Jennifer DeCubellis, CEO of Hennepin Healthcare, shared her systems-approach to working in partnership with community and across traditional “buckets of funding” to achieve better outcomes. She asks, “What do individuals need? Why is the system not working for them? How do we design partnerships to drive different outcomes?” To hear from Jennifer, listen to her talk at the Salzburg Global Seminar.
  • Emily Baxter, Executive Director and Developer, We are all Criminals (WAAC) and Richard McLemore II, Board member and also Chief Executive Officer, McLemore Holdings, Incorporated shared their work with “We are all Criminals” with a special feature of the Seen, A prison portrait and poetry project. The new program Rent Help Minnesota was also highlighted. It was created to help Minnesotans who have fallen behind on their rent or fear that could happen.

February 2021

September 2020

  • Ellie Krug returned to AMC Futures, as follow-up to her September 2016 conversation, to share  insights regarding race and difference with a focus on interconnectedness and shared humanity.

February 2020

September 2019

  • Kent Thiesse presented insights from his current work as the Senior Vice President/Senior Ag Loan Officer and a career history with UM Extension and AMC. Thiesse is responsible for agricultural lending at MinnStar Bank and writes a column titled: Focus on Ag. His presentation provided an overview of the volatility of numerous factors related to the Minnesota’s farm economy.
  • Jacob Wascalus, Research Scientist at Wilder Research, presented a new Minnesota Compass Build-Your-Own-Data Tool promoting the use of data and community indicators to better understand trends in different quality-of-life measures across the state. Of note, the new 2019 Compass Points are now available.
  • Chris Cramer, Vice President for Research at the University of Minnesota, presented his work that supports and facilitates research of faculty, staff, and students, and provides strategic direction for ~$1B/year of annual research spending; this level of expenditure ranks Minnesota 8th in the U.S. Cramer's career began with four years of service as an officer in the U.S. Army, including combat duty in Operation Desert Storm, after which he began his academic career at the University of Minnesota, where he also holds the title of Distinguished McKnight and Teaching Professor.
  • Jessica Beyer presented her work on “Child Care as an Economic Driver” as the Business Development Manager at First Children’s Finance. Beyer provides leadership for the Rural Child Care Innovation Program, which supports financial analysis for child care programs, consulting and training programming for family and center-based programs, and partnerships to identify right-sized solutions for new child care businesses.

May 2019

  • Ryan Allen presented his work as an associate professor of community and economic development in urban and regional planning at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs. He authored a report entitled: "Immigrants and Minnesota's Workforce" in partnership with stakeholders across the state. More recently, he has focused on how households have responded to the foreclosure crisis as well as how this crisis has affected neighborhood quality across the country. He is also interested in immigrant home ownership and emerging legislation.
  • Fernando Burga presented his work as an assistant professor for the Master of Urban and Regional Planning program at the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs. He partners with communities in greater Minnesota to explore equity in urban planning particularly in relation to the inclusion of immigrants. He combines history, fieldwork, and design to evaluate how planning addresses immigrant life but also to show how immigrants can engage in the process to assert agency, build political power, and mobilize immigrant-based planning agendas.
  • Tim Marx, President & CEO, Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, works with the dedicated board of directors, talented executive leadership, and hardworking staff to establish the strategic direction of Catholic Charities and to oversee its implementation. He collaborates extensively with faith, civic, and public policy leaders, community partners, donors and volunteers to advance the vision of a community where there is poverty for no one and opportunity for everyone.

February 2019

  • Morrison County demonstrated benefits of their new drone to aid emergency responders and mobile command trailer to streamline communication in emergency situations.
  • Lillian McDonald, Managing Director, shared her work with TPT Now. A channel that reaches diverse communities with health and safety information. Her presentation reviewed the nation’s first 24/7 TV channel with real-time, emergency alerts in English, Spanish, Hmong, and Somali.
  • Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service is available for free nationwide trainings on Crisis Management & Response. The Harvard Kennedy School case study on Toronto’s SARS Crisis was the topic for this AMC Futures session. If you would like to invite the TEEX facilitators to your county, please contact Heather Bandeen (hbandeen@mncounties.org), Research & Program Development Manager at AMC.
  • Patrice Kunesh, Assistant Vice President & Directorfor Center for Indian Country Development at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. She is of Standing Rock Lakota descent, has extensive experience representing American Indian tribes throughout the country. We were honored that she joined us to share about her life’s work.

September 2018

  • TwinCities RISE assists individuals in poverty on the path to stable employment. They focus on long-term results – with 81% of graduates staying at their jobs after one year, this 12-month job retention rate is nearly twice the national average. One of the tools that makes this possible is the Minnesota Employers’ Fair Chance Hiring Guide.
  • Better Angels, launched in 2016, is a bipartisan citizen’s movement to unify our divided nation. By bringing red and blue Americans together into a working alliance, we’re building new ways to talk to one another, participate together in public life, and influence the direction of the nation. This emerging initiative was featured on CBS This Morning.
  • The Minnesota Workforce Strategy Consultants at the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) develop innovative workforce solutions by aligning resources, facilitating collaboration, and leveraging expertise to drive economic equity and growth. These positions are relatively new at DEED. To find a consultant near you, please review the statewide service regions.
  • Kandiyohi County’s CEO program, with Tyler Gehrking, encourages students in the Willmar-area to create their own businesses and present them to local banking investors and entrepreneurs via an annual trade show. Students graduate from this class owning a business and gaining priceless leadership experience.

May 2018

  • FutureGood with Trista Harris, President of the Minnesota Council on Foundations: As our country moves towards a time of more uncertainty, keeping an eye toward the future allows us to imagine beyond the confusion of today and instead build a new tomorrow. 
  • We Are All Criminals (WAAC): We Are All Criminals is a non-profit organization dedicated to challenging society’s perceptions of what it means to be “criminal.” Through shared stories of those who committed or were accused of committing crimes, those who got away with them, and those who have been directly affected by the criminal justice system, we seek to erase the barriers that separate us. If you missed Emily's talk, please watch this video.
  • Ujamaa Place: Since opening their doors seven years ago, Ujamaa Place has served over 2,000 mostly men of color in efforts to transform communities in the greater St. Paul area. Please visit this video for an overview of their work to disrupt mass incarceration. 
  • Ban the Box: This document provides an overview of Minnesota hiring requirements for public employers, in place since 2009, enforced by the MN Department of Human Rights.


February 2018

September 2017

  • Dr. Mark Thomas
    Visit the University of Minnesota Department of Neuroscience for a snapshot of his research and current projects.
  • FADED Fentanyl's Impact Video
    FADED is a documentary that follows four families that have been impacted by the synthetic drug Fentanyl.  This video is intended to help inform you about the extreme dangers of Fentanyl, a lethal synthetic drug impacting our community and is resulting in overdoses and death. This is not an issue that is targeting certain socioeconomic classes; it is being abused by a wide range of youth and is easily obtained.
  • Sarah Reese, Polk County Public Health Director
    Polk-Mahnomen-Norman Community Health Services Administrator
    Resource Handouts:
    Strategies to Provide Information  
    Strategies to Conduct a Community Assessment on Rx Abuse
  • St. Gabriel's Health & Morrison County Partnership: Successfully Combatting the Opioid Epidemic
    A hospital prescription bottle was found at the scene of an overdose. In a county of just over 30,000 residents, one of the community’s four pharmacies alone filled 40,000 narcotic pill prescriptions every single month. Staff members at CHI St. Gabriel’s Health knew they had to do something.

Related Resources:

May 2017


February 2017

September 2016