OUR BOARD

Our board brings together neighbors, business owners, and community leaders working together to support a strong and inclusive Downtown Longfellow.

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Ayanna Muata

Resident / Independent Artist

  • Ayanna Muata is a longtime South Minneapolis BIPOC resident who has lived in the Longfellow neighborhood for over 30 years since moving to Minnesota from Chicago in 1989. She is a composer, artist, and musician (The Muatas, Waning Moon Photography), and she has worked for both academic and public libraries since 2006. Ayanna also served as a DEI consultant and is skilled in helping others understand benefits and burdens on folks who are underrepresented in our community. She is passionate about advancing racial and gender equity, and cultivating positive relationships with neighbors and community members thoughtfully advocating for social change. 

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Chris Mozena

The Hook & Ladder Theater

  • Chris Mozena, is a managing partner at Nobool Presents and co-founder of The Hook & Ladder Theater. Chris has been involved in nearly every facet of the music and entertainment industries, including 20+ years serving the non-profit arts sector. Chris continues to dedicate himself to developing, educating and promoting the emerging artists in our community through his work at The Hook & Ladder Theater, which celebrates 10-years in 2026! 

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Cristina Montoya

Resident

  • Cristina Montoya was born and raised in central Colorado. They like to consider themselves a first and half generation Chicanx. Their dad immigrated from Mexico and their mom is first generation to her parents from Mexico, as well. Cristina graduated University of Denver with a focus on Classical Performance on the upright bass. They’ve always had an affinity for bikes and during college they were a bike courier/bike mechanic at their local bike shop. After graduation, they moved to Red Wing, Minnesota for Violin Repair School. They continued to work on bikes, eventually settling in Minneapolis. After Quarantine, they started working for the Hub in 2021, where they have taken on a bigger role as the Education Coordinator and Worker-Owner.

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Ingrid Rasmussen

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church

  • Reverend Ingrid C. A. Rasmussen was ordained in 2013 and serves as Lead Pastor at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis. She is committed to the work of justice and believes the church is called to be active in the public square. She is a leader with a number of place-based organizations and is active in the Minneapolis Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She has written for The Christian Century, Duke University’s Faith and Leadership, Journal of Lutheran Ethics, and other publications. Ingrid lives in Longfellow with her husband Paul, and together they run to keep up with their two sweet and lively children.

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Francisco E. Segovia

COPAL

  • Francisco E. Segovia is a visionary leader with a distinguished career spanning over two decades, dedicated to fostering collaborative networks and alliances across diverse communities. With an unwavering commitment to effecting meaningful change, Francisco has devoted his career to dismantling barriers that constrict opportunities for individuals.

    For fourteen impactful years, Francisco served as the director of the Waite House Center in South Minneapolis, igniting transformative change by harnessing his passion, foresight, and extensive experience. His tenure was marked by the facilitation of grassroots leadership development, the provision of asset-based services, the cultivation of self-sufficiency, and fervent advocacy for systemic change at local and state levels.

    Driven by an unyielding passion for justice and equity, Francisco embarked on a new chapter, founding COPAL, a member-based Latine organization. Under his guidance, COPAL has evolved into an influential force, dedicated to pushing for more equitable outcomes and assisting thousands of Latines across Minnesota in diverse areas. Through their efforts, COPAL has played a pivotal role in passing significant legislation, becoming a trusted and influential voice for Latine communities across the state and nationally.

    In addition to his role at COPAL, Francisco actively engages in The Minnesota Civic Studies Initiative, a pivotal project by the College of Education & Human Development at the University of Minnesota, facilitating dialogues among leaders representing diverse political viewpoints.

    Francisco leads the strategic vision of COPAL, employing a global perspective while taking localized actions to pave the way for a brighter future for Latines in Minnesota. His commitment to effecting enduring, positive change is evident in COPAL's transformative impact, driving towards a more just and equitable society for all Latines.

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Hannah Wydeven

Solcana Fitness

  • Hannah Wydeven is the owner of Solcana Fitness, founded in 2014. She is also the founder of The Inclusive Coach, an instructional course and model for fitness instructors on building inclusive health & wellness practices that truly serve all people. She was born in Madison, WI but attended Macalester College as an '09 graduate and has called Minneapolis home ever since. A former teacher herself, Hannah now has two children in Minneapolis public schools and can be found volunteering weekly. Hannah is also an improv and musical performer & teacher in the Twin Cities and can be found performing her musical solo shows, as well as teaching musical improv through Very Good Improv. 

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Kate Winkle

Arbeiter Brewing Co.

  • Kate Winkel is co-owner of Arbeiter Brewing Co. Kate was born in South Korea, but raised in Minneapolis since 1979. She graduated from South High School in 1997. Her children also attended Minneapolis Public Schools in the Longfellow neighborhood. Kate has spent more than a decade in our craft beer industry as a leader and advocate of DEI. South Minneapolis is very much a part of Kate’s roots and she leads Arbeiter Brewing Co. with the love and dedication she has for this community.

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Jamie Schwesnedl

  • Jamie Schwesnedl is co-owner (with his wife Angela) of Moon Palace Books, opened in Downtown Longfellow in 2012.  Before moving to South Minneapolis in 2007, Jamie worked as a cab driver, a property manager, a novelist, a book publisher, a community-based pirate radio station facilitator, and a trainer and consultant with family foundations. Jamie created the Beyond Prisons Fund at Funding Exchange in 2007, a fund that supported abolitionist alternatives to police and prisons. Jamie lives one mile from Downtown Longfellow with Angela and their daughter.

Moon Palace Books
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Leesa Kelly

Memorialize the Movement

  • Leesa Kelly is an activist, writer, public speaker, and curator. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Memorialize the Movement (MTM), a living archive in Minneapolis dedicated to preserving and activating more than 1,000 plywood murals created in response to the murder of George Floyd and the 2020 uprising.

    Through her work with MTM, Leesa has spoken at over 20 conferences and universities, organized 10 large-scale exhibitions across the Twin Cities and New York, and published Art and Artifact: Murals from the Minneapolis Uprising. She also leads workshops focused on increasing BIPOC representation and visibility within the museum and conservation fields. Her work is grounded in a commitment to dismantling oppressive systems and building new ones that serve all people.

    In 2022, Leesa was named a McWatt Fellow, where she supported Black history research and community engagement in partnership with the Ramsey County Historical Society, Hennepin History Museum, Anoka County Historical Society, and Dakota County Historical Society. She is currently a New Suns Fellow through the Black Collective Foundation and is pursuing her Master’s degree in Heritage Studies and Public History at the University of Minnesota.

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Meena Natarajan

Pangea World Theater

  • Meena Natarajan is a playwright and director and the Co-Artistic and Executive Director of Pangea World Theater, a progressive, international ensemble space that creates at the intersection of art, equity and social justice. Meena has co-curated and designed many of Pangea World Theater’s professional and community-based programs. She has written at least ten full-length works for Pangea, ranging from adaptations of poetry and mythology to original works dealing with war, spirituality, personal and collective memory. Her play, Etchings in the Sand co-created with dancer Ananya Chattterjea has been published by Routledge in a volume called Contemporary Plays by Women of Color: The Second Edition. She is a recent recipient of the Women in Business Award by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. Meena, her husband Dipankar Mukherjee and puppy Jilipi Chellam live in the Longfellow neighborhood and are deeply invested in the neighborhood and the work of co-creating an equitable neighborhood with our community.

Meet Our Staff

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Lisa Boyd

Longfellow Rising Project Manager


  • Lisa started working for Longfellow Rising in early 2024. Her role is to develop goals, strategies and outcomes that reflect the priorities of the organization and move our initiatives forward. Steeped in the principles of human-centered economics, Lisa Boyd has a natural talent for tackling the fundamental causes of poverty and inequality by challenging bias and creating equal economic opportunity.

    Prior to joining Longfellow Rising, Lisa worked for nearly 12 years at Second Harvest Heartland doing capacity building and resource development with a network of MN nonprofit organizations focused on food security programs. Before that, she worked for nearly 10 years in senior housing. Lisa worked internationally over a period of 10 years and has a long history with both nonprofit and government organizations. She has academic training in international sustainable development and applied economics.

    Lisa grew up in Central Illinois and after living in various parts of the U.S. and internationally in three different countries, she has been a resident of the Longfellow neighborhood since 2004. When not using data to change the world, you will find Lisa volunteering with her neighborhood organization.

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Colleen Budge

Communications + Marketing

  • Colleen is a community builder, strategist, and creative working at the intersection of small business, equity, and neighborhood revitalization in South Minneapolis. Deeply rooted in Longfellow, she has spent years supporting local businesses, nonprofits, and community-led initiatives through relationship-driven work that centers trust, visibility, and long-term sustainability. Her work is grounded in the belief that rebuilding is not only about structures, but about restoring social fabric, dignity, and connection.

    In addition to her work with Longfellow Rising, Colleen serves as Manager for the Longfellow Business Association and the Seward Civic & Commerce Association, where she supports hundreds of small businesses through advocacy, education, events, and storytelling.

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