About Our Guest Bloggers

The LearnmoreMN blog features the voices of community members, sharing their perspectives about school success and the educational challenges we face in Minnesota. Guest bloggers will change every month.

June 2009

Maureen Ramirez directs the Minnesota Civic Engagement Table, coordinating electoral and advocacy work for a coalition of nonprofits. She is a Regent of the University of Minnesota, with ten years experience working with college students and their families.

May 2009

Tia'Lana Hunter is a junior at Edison High School in Northeast Minneapolis. She participates in ThreeSixty, a youth journalism program for high school students of color at the University of St. Thomas. She recently wrote an article for ThreeSixty about the "fresh start" Edison underwent last year because its students did not do well on state assessment tests.

April 2009

John Fitzgerald is a fellow at Minnesota 2020, a think tank focusing on public policy issues. He focuses on education. Fitzgerald has spent nearly 20 years as a newspaper reporter and editor in Minnesota, Florida, Iowa and Montana. The Minnesota School Public Relations Association recently awarded him the 2008 Excellence in Educational Media Award.

March 2009

Rogelio Muñoz, Jr. is the executive director of the Chicano Latino Affairs Council for the State of Minnesota. He works to capture the Latino voice and bring it to the halls of the State Capitol. He advises the governor and legislature and he and council staff involve Latinos around the state in research and civic engagement.

February 2009

Tiffany Hasbrouck works at Deloitte & Touche LLP and volunteers with AchieveMpls. She is the co-lead for the Deloitte Volunteer Initiative which presents a six-week workshop series at the Achieve College and Career Centers. The workshop was developed in the summer of 2007 and includes Resume Writing, Interview, and College Search skills.

January 2009

Joe Nathan directs the University of Minnesota's Center for School Change at the Humphrey Institute. The Center works at the school, community and policy levels to help increase academic achievement and graduation rates. Funding is received from the Blandin, Bill and Melinda Gates, Carlson, Carnegie Frey, and Rockefeller Foundations, plus the Minnesota and US Departments of Education. The Center's current projects include helping policymakers understand research-based priorities for increasing high school and post-secondary graduation rates, helping train a new generation of K-12 leaders and helping convince more students to take challenging courses while in high school.

December 2008

Elona Street-Stewart is chair of both the Minnesota Minority Education Partnership and the Saint Paul School Board of Education. She was the first American Indian to serve on the board of an urban school district in Minnesota. She has served in many positions that have resulted in improved access and opportunity for American Indian and other students of color, immigrant families and those living in poverty.

November 2008

Jessica Ihrke is Vice President of Education/Workforce Development for the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce. She works collaboratively across sectors to advance a highly skilled and competitive educational and workforce development system for preK to the most seasoned worker/learner. The Workforce 2020 effort in Rochester includes initiatives such as LearnDoEarn, STEM, Worklife Flexibility and Diversity in Business. Ihrke is a former elementary educator.

October 2008

Debra Pridgen is Community Relations Specialist for the Girl Scouts of  Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys. She works with diverse communities of color to identify, promote and coordinate community-based collaborations and partnerships. Debra was a Girl Scout as a girl and is a Lifetime member. She joined the Girl Scouts in 1996 as a membership staff person.

September 2008

Arnise Roberson is the Program Manager for the Achieve!Minneapolis Career and College Centers. These centers help ALL Minneapolis public high school students develop a plan for what they’ll do after high school. Previously Roberson was the Career and College Center Coordinator at North Community High School in Minneapolis and assistant director of Undergraduate Admission at Hamline University.

August 2008

Kathy Glampe is the director of the TRiO/Student Support Services program at St. Olaf College. Federally-funded TRiO programs provide educational opportunity to low-income and first-generation students and students with disabilities. Glampe has worked with TRiO programs for 15 years and serves as the cochair of the Legislation and Education committee of the Minnesota TRiO board.

July 2008

Jenny Wright is the director of the Minneapolis Beacons Network, a collaborative of youth development organizations including the YMCA of Minneapolis, The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities, The YWCA of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Community Education. Each day these organizations partner with the Minneapolis Public Schools to transform schools into afterschool and summer youth centers for low-income youth and their families.

June 2008

Jon Pekel is the full-time volunteer president of mygrowthplan.org, a nonprofit organization that provides growth planning services for high school and college age youth. For 40 years Jon has used a variety of platforms for his life-purpose of serving others and championing justice for all — as a clergyman, public affairs officer, consultant and teacher.

April 2008

Katherine Bristol is a senior at Macalester College, receiving her degree in Psychology, Geography, and Urban Education. She has worked both in and out of schools on topics such as special education and workforce readiness. Most recently, she was a head researcher for the Mayor's Forum in which Minnesota state educational policy and best practices were discussed.

March 2008

Dr. Josie Johnson is the former University of Minnesota associate vice president for minority student affairs. In 1996, she “retired” to form Josie Robinson Johnson and Associates — which helps educational institutions resolve diversity issues. As an activist, educator and dedicated community volunteer, she strives to make the world a better place, especially for underserved people of color.

February 2008

William Tully is the Education and Enrichment Activities Coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities. He has worked in the area of college access for four years, with BBBS and previously Admission Possible, and is committed to making education accessible and equal for all. To contact him directly, email wtully@bigstwincities.org or call 651.789.2445.