25 Years of Leadership: Alumni Feature, Divine Islam

25 Years of Leadership: Alumni Feature, Divine Islam

For almost a decade, community organizing, beautifying public spaces, and bringing young leaders together have been central activities in Divine Islam’s life. Back in 2011, after an EF1 tornado hit North Minneapolis, Divine took on her first job at Project Sweetie...
25 Years of Leadership: Alumni Feature, Mary Lee Vang

25 Years of Leadership: Alumni Feature, Mary Lee Vang

During the sweltering summer of 2000, Mary Lee Vang, a 15-year-old high school student from the West Side of St. Paul, spent her days crafting meals over a hot stove. Each morning, her and a friend would collect food from neighborhood markets and bring it back to the...
25 Years of Leadership: Alumni Feature, Tyler Berres

25 Years of Leadership: Alumni Feature, Tyler Berres

Teachers truly don’t receive enough credit. For decades, maybe even centuries, teachers have not only taught young people how to read, write, and multiply, they have also served as community connectors. Over the past 25 years, Youth Farm has seen just how instrumental...
25 Years of Leadership: Alumni Feature, Shanna Woods

25 Years of Leadership: Alumni Feature, Shanna Woods

In the summer of 1999, Elsie Churchill, who had recently relocated to Minneapolis from Chicago, kept noticing a group of neighborhood youth working in an urban garden right below her 16th floor window in the Charles Horn Towers. As a seasoned community organizer, it...