MN VOICES | Yvonne Cheung Ho: Building a strong minority business community in Minnesota

By |

Yvonne Cheung Ho came to the United States from Hong Kong in 1972. “I had a sister in Minnesota at the time,” Cheung Ho recalled. “She told me about Minnesota. She told me everything. But the only thing she didn’t mention was the winter!” Cheung Ho laughs.Today, as President and CEO of the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA), Cheung Ho helps entrepreneurs of color, including immigrants, to succeed in Minnesota. This spring, she was honored by St. Mary’s University of Minnesota with the Hendrickson Institute for Ethical Leadership award.“She’s pretty inspirational,” said Lindsay McCabe, Executive Director of the Hendrickson Institute, “She’s an inspiring role model for women, especially young women.”Getting a start in businessCheung Ho came to Minnesota for higher education and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a major in business administration in December of 1975.After graduation, Cheung Ho found a job at IBM. Continue Reading

MN VOICES | University of Minnesota student Anna Kaminski connects education, trash collection and passion for human rights

By |

University of Minnesota student Anna Kaminski jumped at the chance to teach classes to Iraqi citizens, and also helped to establish regular trash pick-up in her host city of Najaf. While basic utilities are taken for granted in the United States, destruction from the war has caused many important quality of life measurements to crumble in Iraq.

Continue Reading

MN VOICES | Mikkel Beckmen finds dignity and poetry at St. Stephen’s homeless shelter in Minneapolis

By |

I sat down to talk with Mikkel Beckmen, executive director of St. Stephen’s Human Services, in the midst of the organization’s move to its new site at 2309 Nicollet Avenue.  Staff people bustled to get ready for the office’s big re-opening on July 5th.  Despite the myriad responsibilities his position requires, especially with a big move on the horizon, Beckmen gave the impression of being someone who always has time for people who need his help (writers included).Beckmen started working in a homeless shelter 22 years ago as a film student looking for a part-time job.  He had recently returned from working in London, and previously had been a graduate student in poetry and literature. Continue Reading

MN VOICES | From Victory Gardens to urban farming in St. Paul, Diane Dodge grows food and relationships

By |

I meet Diane on a hot July morning and we walk together to a nearby bus stop. Diane has suggested that we attend Chalchiutlicue, an Environmental Justice Summit and Ceremony in West St. Paul, and do our interview on the bus, en route. I agree, and we are off. As the day progresses, I realize that this suggestion in many ways epitomizes Diane’s style—active, engaged in the community, and adventurous. Continue Reading

MN VOICES | Kathy Tunheim tells a new jobs story in Minnesota

By |

CORRECTED 6/29/2012: A year and a half ago, Governor Mark Dayton asked Kathy Tunheim to serve as a senior adviser, working to generate a public discussion on jobs and job creation. Tunheim is the principal and CEO for Tunheim Associates, a public relations and media firm and is the president of IPREX, a worldwide network of public relations firms. Her job as senior adviser to the governor for job creation is a part-time, volunteer position.When asked what she and the administration hoped to accomplish, Tunheim said that they want to start a discussion that asks: “What do facts and analysis say about what will drive job growth and economic vitality in Minnesota; what kinds of jobs should Minnesota focus on creating and where is our competitive advantage; and what are the specific opportunities before us and how do we seize them?” One year later, said Tunheim, “We thought the most important thing was to listen.” Since January 2011, when Dayton took office, she and her colleagues working with the administration asked, “What are you seeing that is creating jobs? What’s working? What are the things that really get in the way?She said different parts of the state are facing different challenges and are facing different economies. “In the metropolitan urban core, there is a misalignment between the jobs that employers are trying to fill and what the skill sets are,” Tunheim said.  The challenge in northwest Minnesota  is quite different. Continue Reading

MN VOICES | Noya Woodrich, a new leader but old friend for the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches

By |

It’s going to be a short move for Noya Woodrich on July 3, just down the hall to her new corner office. That’s the day she’ll take over as President and CEO of the Greater Minneapolis Council of Churches (GMCC) from Rev. Gary Reierson who retires after 23 years at the post. She’ll be both the first woman and the first American Indian to head the 107-year-old organization; even so, the change is more evolution than revolution.

Continue Reading

FREE SPEECH ZONE | The Second Chance Prom: Dancing with the Minnesota Freedom Band

By |

Last night I attended the Minnesota Freedom Band’s “Second Chance Prom” at a glittery dance center in a St. Paul strip mall. The scarred wood floor was slick, as were the bottoms of my used men’s black wing tips, as was, frankly, my outfit: a 1940s Japanese “mourning” tuxedo with tails over a Hanes black v-neck t-shirt and a pair of gray and black pinstriped pants. The sleeves were a bit short, and the shoulders a bit tight, but overall, given the thousands of miles separating the continent I live on from the continent it came from, and the decades interceding its first owner and me, it fit quite well.Before you permanently settle on the belief that I am an ego-maniac, I want to add that everyone at the Second Chance Prom looked smashing. There were bright pink and forest green and gold gowns worn by women and one man; black tuxes worn by a number of men (and me); short flowing skirts; dark jeans; some sort of floral hat get up; fedoras; and suit, tie, and vest outfits worn by men and women. Continue Reading

MN VOICES | Tenzin Pelkyi: From refugee family to U of M law student

By |

In a coffee shop full of University of Minnesota students behind glowing screens in the peak of finals weekend study hours, there is nothing outwardly remarkable about Tenzin Pelkyi. Her quiet demeanor and small stature are in stark contrast to this college senior’s accomplishments, life story and dedication to advocating for human rights of the Tibetan people and of the diaspora.As a former Tibetan refugee born in New Delhi, India who can still envision India’s yogis, monkeys and beautiful natural environment, she considers herself much like her native Minnesotan U of M classmates.“The great thing about this state is that there are a number different refugee populations here,” Pelkyi said. “With this exposure, many Minnesotans take civic engagement seriously, are aware of the larger world, and are able to think more broadly about society, racism, and education.” Pelkyi’s mother and father escaped Tibet in the 1959 Tibetan Uprising and lived in exile in India till the 1990s. In 1992, Pelkyi’s father obtained one of only 1,000 visas given to Tibetans to resettle in the United States.Minnesota has the second-largest Tibetan refugee population in the United States. Some may wonder why refugees from India, Tibet, or anywhere would come to such a cold and landlocked state as Minnesota. The Twin Cities became the largest of the settlement sites as volunteers successfully organized host families and jobs for the immigrants. Because of restrictions of the U.S. Tibetan Resettlement Project, Pelkyi and the rest of her family were not able to join her father in the United States until four years later. Human Rights ScholarshipTenzin Pelkyi won the Sullivan Ballou award this year from the University of Minnesota. Here’s what she had to say:First of all, it was really amazing and overwhelming to have the Tibetan peoples’ struggle recognized and have all my efforts toward this end read aloud to a room full of people who were as passionate as I am about human rights. Continue Reading

MN VOICES | Playing nice with DJ Shannon Blowtorch, an entertainer who’s making a difference

By |

Shannon Blowtorch, one of the Twin Cities’ busiest DJs, knows the local queer nightlife scene like few others—which means that she knows a unified “queer scene” doesn’t exist. “The gay boys have their own thing going on. The lesbians don’t have their own bar, but there are different nights in the Twin Cities that work for them.” And then there are the indie queers, who prefer the likes of Le Tigre to Justin Bieber. There’s the Berlin dance night for them…and then there are dance nights Blowtorch helps run for queer women of color. “We see Somalis, Chinese, Indians…it’s pretty beautiful to see that happen in the Midwest.”Blowtorch has earned her savvy: she averages 15 to 20 DJ gigs a month, playing for everyone from the collegiate hipsters at Triple Double to the drag-and-burlesque crowd at Grown and Sexy Pride. Continue Reading