Hi all!  I'm Maureen Wagner.  I'm a grad student at the U working on dual masters degrees in Public Policy and Social Work.  I was fortunate to learn about Citizens League and obtain a membership last semester when I did some work on the Pathways to Prosperity project through Common Grounds, an interdisciplinary student organization that brings together graduate students from the business, law, and policy schools.  I'm excited to continue working on this great project and to get involved with Citizens League directly.

Hey folks! I'm Janna Caywood. I worked last year with Bob DeBoer and the great "Phase III" committee (the group that framed the recommendations) on this project.  I'm very interested in the Community Networks recommendation and hope to help flesh that out more.  I've been a member of the Citizens League since 2007.  I served on the Water Policy Study Committee in 2008-2009 and I'm also on the Policy Advisory Committee.  In my community, the Como neighborhood of Saint Paul, I'm Lead Organizer of the Como Lake Neighbor Network.  My fellow neighbors and I are working with each other and with local government to build a "collaborative water governance model," as called for in the CL water policy report.  I hope to share what I am learning about "networks" with this group, and to learn from all of you!

Hi everyone. I'm Mark Cullen (picture coming soon) and I'm looking forward to beginning my involvement with this group. My day job is with the Corporation for National and Community Service. You probably know us by our program names (AmeriCorps, VISTA, Senior Corps, Learn and Serve America, etc). I'm excited to see where some potential opportunities exist for our work and yours.

I'm also excited because I think this group may provide an opportunity to get involved in the community apart from my day job. I've lived in the Twin Cities area for about a year and a half and am looking to fill some free time with activities that benefit my new community.

Looking forward to meeting you soon,

Mark

Great to be a part of this group. I was fortunate to be a part of the initial Pathways to Prosperity Steering Committee and wanted to continue to be engaged in this important effort.  I bring to this effort years of experience as the former President at Neighborhood House, a 115 year old settlement house and years of working on public policy issues on the Board of Directors of United Neighborhood Centers of America, the Greater Twin Cities United Way and Missouri Association for Social Welfare. 

I look forward to exchanging ideas and crafting solutions together that can remove barriers to people seeking to improve their lives and those of their children and to establish a strong trampoline that helps individual and families bounce back from adversity.  Onward and upward. 

Hello Everyone.  I am Richard Johnson, Hennepin County Administrator.  Iwant to wish all of you a safe and successful new year.

I have been involved with this project for the last couple of years since it is a critical part of how we serve the residents of Hennepin County.  I am looking forward to where we may take this.

Greetings, everyone.  I'm Anna Schumacher.  I interned with the League as a research intern on the Pathways to Prosperity project during the summer of 2009.  Since then I have graduated from the College of Saint Benedict and continue to attend meetings and events as a member of the Citizens League.  I am delighted to be a member of the steering team and have the opportunity to continue this important work.

Hi there. I'm Aaron Pearson, SVP at the PR firm Weber Shandwick, and I've also been a member of the Citizens League's policy advisory committee the last couple years. I'm basically here as a generalist on the issue but with expertise in building grassroots advocacy and leveraging traditional and social media to gain public support for initiatives. My "thing" is really approaches that tackle underlying problems, not just symptoms, and that's very much what the Pathways to Prosperity project is all about. 

Hi all:  I am Carla Johnson, VP of Hunger-Free Minnesota Strategy & Partnerships, an emerging multi-sector collaboration to close the gap on missing meals in Minnesota by 2013.  This work is being lead by Second Harvest Heartland, where I've worked since 2007, bringing 21 years of community-based leadership into the hunger space.  My husband and I have been members of Citizen's League for a number of years and I look forward to learning more about the Pathways to Prosperity Project and learning more about the use of CitiZing.

Hi everyone. I am Adam Arling, a Communications and Policy intern at the Citizens League, and I will be assisting Bob with coordinating this project on Citizing. I look forward to working with you all on this next phase of our work!