Graves Ventures featured leader: Carla Godwin
Carla Godwin, Executive Director of the PERIS Foundation, grew up in a family with a legacy of both trauma and resilience. Having experienced the generational impact of family separation, she saw that systems sometimes fail those who are vulnerable, particularly women, children, and youth. Her experience inspired a desire to understand how we overcome and thrive in spite of obstacles, individually and collectively, and how we can create human centered systems.
Graves Ventures featured leader Kenneth Eban
Kenneth believes that public education should matter to every single person. Even if you don’t have children in the Minneapolis Public Schools, the success of the district should matter to everyone who wants this city to be a great place to live. “There are so many issues today, like public safety, housing and climate change, and we’re going to need our young people to be well educated so they can help us solve these pressing problems,” says Kenneth Eban, Executive Director of the Advancing Equity Coalition (AEC).
Graves Ventures featured leader: Kristy Snyder
As a 16 year-old, Kristy Snyder was forced to leave her home, and navigate the courts to become an Emancipated Minor. Kristy’s experiences as a youth have informed her professional passions, and she is dedicated to transforming what it means to have access to the system and the culture of power.
“Young people are cut out of systems that align with what they need. They are disconnected from school and work because adult-designed systems often operate without youth voice, and there are barriers that prevent them from accessing these systems,” noted Kristy. Both Snyder and her co-lead Quincy Powe envision a world where all youth are equipped to design their lives and to thrive.
Graves Ventures featured leader: Alondra Cano
After the Minneapolis uprising in response to George Floyd’s murder, Alondra Cano worried that gentrification and instability threatened to erase the Latin American community from Lake Street. Alondra, a grassroots organizer and former Minneapolis City Councilmember, has long been passionate about ensuring that policy-making is driven by grassroots organizing that includes local artists and musicians who can promote racial healing and drive economic sustainability.