City to City Exchange to Minneapolis-Saint Paul Speaker Bios and Session Information
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City to City Exchange to Minneapolis-Saint Paul Speaker Bios and Session Information MONDAY WHAT A VIEW! PRIVATE/PUBLIC COLLABORATION IN URBAN RENEWAL The development of Gold Medal Park, the Guthrie and Private Sector partnerships • Jay Cowles, Principal, Knudsen/Cowles LLC, Itasca Project member • Page Cowles, board member and immediate past Chair of The Trust for Public Land • Matt Kucharski, President, Padilla Jay Cowles International Market Square 275 Market Street, Suite 274B Minneapolis Minnesota 55405 [email protected] http://www.greenminneapolis.org Jay is a board member of Green Minneapolis, the newly established parks and greening conservancy serving downtown Minneapolis, and of Mississippi Park Connection, the nonprofit partner to the national park which flows for 72 miles through the heart of the metro area. He is a former chair of the Saint Paul Riverfront Corporation, which led efforts to establish Landmark Plaza and renovate Harriet Island Regional Park in downtown Saint Paul. Jay is also a Trustee of Minnesota State (Colleges and Universities), and serves on several advisory boards to the University of Minnesota. He is a founding member of the Itasca Project, a business-led regional leadership collaboration, as well as an executive committee member of the Minneapolis Regional chamber of Commerce and the Minneapolis Downtown Council. Jay's career includes owning a small commercial printing business, roles in several media-related businesses, and leading a private family investment office. Jay worked at his family's business, Cowles Media Company, for many years, serving as Chair of the Board at the time of the company's sale (including the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper) in 1998. Jay grew up in Minneapolis, graduated from Harvard (BA Government) and Harvard Business School (MBA), and lives in Saint Paul with his wife Page. They have three young adult children. Page Knudsen Cowles Knudsen | Cowles 275 Market Street, Suite 274B Minneapolis, Minnesota 55405 [email protected] http://www.knudsenvineyards.com Page is 16-year member and immediate past Chair of the national board of the Trust for Public Land (TPL), an organization that creates parks and conserves land for people to enjoy, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. She is also immediate past chair and a board member of The Trust for Public Land’s Action Fund, TPL’s separate 501(c)(4) lobbying affiliate. She is a founding member of TPL’s Minnesota Advisory Board and a past Chair. In addition, she serves on the Board of Advisors for the Yale School of Management in New Haven, CT. On behalf of the Knudsen family, she is Managing Partner of Knudsen Vineyards in Dundee, OR and President of Madison Valley Park Foundation, which stewarded Julia Lee’s Park in Seattle for 23 years until its donation to the city in late 2016. Page was an investment professional during the 1980’s, and a founder/partner in an independent trade book publishing company during the 1990’s. An active volunteer in the Twin Cities for many years, Page has served on the boards of the Children’s Theater Company, Planned Parenthood Minnesota/South Dakota and Graywolf Press, a nationally acclaimed literary book publisher. She is a former trustee of St. Paul Academy and Summit School, an independent school in St. Paul, MN. A Seattle, WA native, Page received her B.A. from Yale College, her M.B.A. from Harvard University and is a retired Chartered Financial Analyst. She and husband Jay, have three young adult children. 1 | Page Matt Kucharski President 1101 West River Parkway, Suite 400 Minneapolis, MN 55415 [email protected] http://www.PadillaCo.com Matt has nearly 30 years experience helping organizations build, grow and protect their brands and reputations. As Padilla's president, he leads the firm's industry practice groups (which include environmental sciences/agribusiness, food/beverage, health, manufacturing, technology, consumer, higher education and financial services), supervises the research and insights team and assists with crises and critical issues. He is a sought-after presentation and media coach, and is a sought-after speaker on communications and marketing issues and trends. Matt also is a long-time adjunct instructor at the University of Minnesota and sits on the boards of Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever and the American Heart Association. Suggested Session Resources: http://www.goldmedalpark.org http://landscapevoice.com/gold-medal-park/ TUESDAY THE WONDER OF WARD 3 Discussion of the accelerate development in Ward 3/”East Town” • Dan Collison, Director of Downtown Partnerships for the MDC-DID • Jacob Frey, City Council Member, Ward 3 Jacob Frey Minneapolis Council Member, Ward 3 350 South 5th Street, Room 307 Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415 [email protected] http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/ In 2013, Jacob Frey was elected to represent the new and incredibly dynamic Third Ward. As the first annual recipient of the City of Minneapolis Martin Luther King Jr. award, Jacob has repeatedly shown the ability to work in collaboration with a team to positively impact our diverse community. Jacob grew up in Northern Virginia, and received a track scholarship to attend the College of William and Mary. After graduating with a degree in Government, Jacob received a contract from a shoe company to run professionally, and successfully competed for Team USA. He simultaneously attended law school at Villanova University. While practicing law, Jacob established a strong commitment for community organization, and helping those who are less fortunate. Before taking elected office Jacob championed a wide range of causes from founding The Big Gay Race to representing employees experiencing discrimination in the workplace. As a council member, Jacob's leadership has resulted in tremendous growth in the Third Ward. In addition, Jacob helped bring the affordable housing trust fund to record levels and helped bring a new school to serve Third Ward families. Jacob championed new transportation options like Lyft, lead on public realm improvement projects like the Commons, the dramatic reduction of surface parking lots, and a fully connected Mississippi trail in Northeast. Dan Collison Director of Downtown Partnerships for the MDC-DID 81 South 9th Street, Suite 260 Minneapolis, MN 55402 [email protected] http://www.mplsdowntown.com Dan Collison is Director Downtown Partnerships for the MDC-DID and Executive Director of the East Town Business Partnership and the 2020 Partners. Collison chairs the 2025 Plan East Town Development Task Force that is actively implementing best practices for holistic development in the East Town and North Loop areas. As a civic leader he has been 2 | Page instrumental in catalyzing new business growth and forging new strategic and equity focused collaborations between business leaders, civic leaders, and the residential communities in the downtown sector. Suggested Session Resources: http://www.startribune.com/downtown-east-or-east-downtown-is-now-going-to-be-called-east-town/378418721/ http://www.rejournals.com/2016/11/15/the-downtown-minneapolis-landscape-is-transforming/ “POTHOLE CONFIDENTIAL” THE LIFE & TIMES OF MINNEAPOLIS History of 12 years of Minneapolis • Former 3-term Mayor of Minneapolis and current President of The Minneapolis Foundation, R.T. Rybak R.T. Rybak President Minneapolis Foundation 80 S. 8th Street, Suite 800 Minneapolis MN 55402 [email protected] http://www.mplsfoundation.org R.T. Rybak has served as President and CEO of The Minneapolis Foundation since 2016. As leader of one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the country, Rybak oversees the management of nearly $700 million in assets and the average annual distribution of more than $50 million in grants. Before leading The Minneapolis Foundation, Rybak served as executive director of Generation Next, a coalition of civic, business, and school leaders focused on closing the educational opportunity gap in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Prior to that, he served as mayor of Minneapolis from 2002 to 2013. Rybak is the author of "Pothole Confidential," a memoir about his 12 years as mayor of Minneapolis. A Minneapolis native, Rybak spent almost 30 years working in journalism, commercial real estate, publishing, and the Internet. He and his wife Megan O’Hara, have two grown children. Suggested Session Resources: https://www.amazon.com/Pothole-Confidential-Life-Mayor-Minneapolis/dp/0816699402 https://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2016/05/qa-rt-rybak-his-new-gig-minneapolis-foundation-and-whether-or-not-hell-run-g STRATEGIC HOUSING DEVELOPMENT • Andrea Brennan, Director, Housing Policy and Development, City of Minneapolis • Stephen B. Wellington, Jr., President, Wellington Management Andrea Brennan Housing Policy & Development Director City of Minneapolis 105 Fifth Avenue South, Suite 200 Minneapolis, MN 55401 [email protected] http://www.minneapolismn.gov/cped Andrea Brennan is Housing Policy & Development Director for the City of Minneapolis where she establishes housing policy, finances and redevelops single and multifamily residential real estate to stimulate private investment, increase the tax base and sustain a healthy housing market in Minneapolis. Prior to this position, she served as the Director of Community and Economic Development for the Dakota County Community Development Agency and Deputy Executive Director for the Washington County Housing and Redevelopment Authority. Andrea has a Master’s