Paul Robinson is the Executive Minister of newly formed Serve Locally for the Evangelical Covenant Church. Prior to this Paul served as the Executive Minister of Love Mercy Do Justice (LMDJ) since June of 2019. The mission of LMDJ is to join God in making things right in a broken world. Prior to this role Paul was Senior Community Leadership Manager with the Wilder Center for Communities, former Director of the organization’s James P. Shannon Leadership Institute and Church Planter.

Paul has partnered with nonprofit, for-profit, education, government and community individuals and organizations in core value clarification, leadership development, intercultural agility, and capacity building to help them better lead themselves and others. Paul is most comfortable at the intersection of ideas, difference, passion and effective action. He enjoys using his skills in meeting design, facilitation and convening to catalyze meaningful connections to stimulate individual and community transformation.

Robinson holds a B.S. degree in Finance from Eastern Illinois University and a Master of Divinity degree from McCormick Theological Seminary. Paul Robinson is 2017 AARP Minnesota and Pollen Fifty over Fifty honoree. Paul is married to Kim and together they have seven adult children. Number seven, Danyelle Joy Robinson is a senior at St. Thomas University.

Damon has been a leader in the non-profit/philanthropic sectors for the past 16+ years developing a strong reputation in leadership development, civic engagement and facilitation training programs and services. During that time he has served as the Grantmaking Director for the Bush Fellowship at Bush Foundation (2021 to 2023), Director of the James P. Shannon Leadership Institute, Program Manager for the Neighborhood Leadership Program and Program Staff for the Youth Leadership Initiative all programs of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation (2007 to 2020). In addition, Damon is grateful to have served as an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas since 2012 as part of the Aquinas Honors Seminar and the Justice and Peace Studies Program.

Damon has come to a critical understanding of self that serves as the foundation for his own engagement across communities. He sums it up in the statement, "I support the change makers among us." Not only does he feel this is a better description of his work, it gets to his core belief that we can all be a changemaker, leader or influencer no matter where we are positioned in organizations or communities.

Damon believes strong leadership development to be about creating the conditions for effective reflection and analysis that serves to increase the capacity of individuals in most effectively living into their best self. Damon feels it is a privilege to work with individuals as they do the deep, personal work of understanding self in order to better serve others.

Amanda Ziebell Mawanda is an Organizational Development and Leadership Consultant. She brings over twenty years of nonprofit experience to her work with nonprofit organizations and faith communities. Her work is grounded in a deep belief in the power of authentic, reciprocal relationships to transform individuals and communities. Her greatest motivation is the endless creativity, ingenuity, and passion of the individuals and groups she works with to address the most pressing challenges we face collectively. In her current work at Propel Nonprofits, Amanda facilitates Leaders Circles® for executive leaders in Greater MN and works with nonprofit professionals and boards to clarify purpose, manage change, and to develop boards that are effective, and mission driven. She has extensive experience in working with Women-led and BIPOC-centered/led nonprofits, faith-based groups, foundations, and groups experiencing transition or conflict.

Amanda holds a certificate in Ethics and Leadership from St. Catherine University, is licensed as a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) Certified Practitioner and is an Intercultural Development Inventory® (IDI) Qualified Administrator. She is a Qualified Neutral/Civil Facilitative Mediator under Minnesota Rule 114 and has studied Strategies for Trauma and Resilience (STAR) with the MN Peacebuilding Leadership Institute. Amanda has trained with the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center and the Center for Courage and Renewal. She has B.A. in Political Science from Hamline University and a M.A. in Organizational Leadership from the University of St. Catherine, with a concentration in Spirituality. As a current doctoral candidate (Ed.D.), Amanda’s research focuses on transformational leadership practices.

Amanda is a strong advocate for women and children. Her advocacy has included serving as a delegate to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and on the boards of several nonprofits and foundations dedicated to this work, including as a former Trustee of the Sheltering Arms Foundation. She is currently on the Board of Regents at St. Mary’s University and serves on the strategic direction committee for the Alliance for Nonprofit Management.

She is the mama of two amazing kids, Isa Kyabaggu (5), and Idris Allen Nakibinge (2), and splits her time between the Corcoran neighborhood in south Minneapolis and the family farm in Rushford, MN. Amanda is a fervent reader of poetry, a home chef, and a prolific urban gardener.

Heather Britt joined the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation in June of 2022. As executive director of Wilder Research, Heather’s role is to enable teams and partners to flourish in their endeavors to understand community and community change over time, to steward program evaluation of Wilder Foundation activities carefully, and to help ensure research and evaluation efforts yield insight and impact across St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, and the nation.

She is a behavioral epidemiologist passionate about robust, person and family-centered interventions and supports to enhance and improve well-being and health-related outcomes, as well as the extent to which such robust interventions can have long-term and broader social impacts in communities. She seeks to ensure that the research and evaluation process is as engaged and participatory as possible, as well as deploys holistic measures in their assessment of impact.

Heather has her doctorate in epidemiology from the University of Minnesota, her master of public health from the University of North Carolina, and her bachelor of science from Cornell University. She lives in St. Paul and has two children – Maddy, a college junior, and Henry, a college freshman, both graduates of St. Paul’s Central High School. They have two rescue cats who keep their home lively and their clothes fur-covered.

Julie Cohen hails from the Gulf shores of the Florida panhandle, but has lived in Minneapolis long enough that she proudly calls herself a Minnesotan. She is insatiably curious about how community power, narratives, and relationships flourish and evolve. She recently joined the Loft Literary Center as the Development Director and is thrilled to support an organization that has given her so much as an aspiring memoirist.

Julie spent the last eight years as the Engagement & Advancement Director of Pollen Midwest, where she fostered connection, community, and belonging through intentional relationship building and the art of hospitality. She also managed Pollen’s experiential events, strategic partnerships, and fundraising efforts. Prior to joining Pollen, Julie led the Bush Foundation’s convening strategy and event sponsorship program as part of the communication team. Before finding her way to the nonprofit sector, Julie spent 10 years as a marcom professional working for various advertising agencies and consulting firms.

Outside her professional life, Julie enjoys creative writing, reading, lake walks, knitting, and attending community and cultural events. Her husband adds that she has a television addiction and she does not argue the point. If you need a show recommendation, just ask. Julie is also involved with several nonprofit committees, including the Native Governance Center, Ann Bancroft Foundation, and Headwaters Foundation for Justice. She loves being Aunt Juju to eight niblings and mom to fur babies Millie, Dude, Parker, and Lily.

Ann Kirby has 30+ years serving sector-leading organizations in Minnesota —the University of Minnesota, the Citizens League, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota and Hospitality Minnesota. In roles focused largely on external relations – communications, government and stakeholder relations, marketing and fundraising – she’s gained a richly textured experience of her home state.

Following a professional sabbatical, Ann launched Concord Strategies in 2018, a consultancy focused on helping clients align mission and action, for good, through organizational positioning, operational alignment and stakeholder engagement.

A member of the 2008 Shannon cohort, facilitated by Paul Robinson, Ann is quick to share that the foundation built during her Shannon year continues to get stronger and more integrated as time passes.

Ann joined the Shannon Leadership Institute Board of Directors in 2022 and is glad to have the opportunity to help it build a new sustainable infrastructure for an organization that has served more than 1,200 leaders over its 30-year history.

In addition to the Shannon board, Ann is an active volunteer with Slow Food USA, Open Arms of Minnesota, and Jack’s Caregiver Coalition.

Lindy Yokanovich is the founder and executive director of Cancer Legal Care, a nonprofit organization providing free legal care services to Minnesotans affected by cancer. Cancer Legal Care serves as a national model for using the power of the law to address and resolve cancer’s financial toxicity.

Compelled to bring Cancer Legal Care to life after witnessing first-hand the many legal questions and difficulties cancer survivors in her own family faced, Lindy counts her work with Cancer Legal Care as the most profound and gratifying of her 30+-year legal career.

Lindy’s experience in the Shannon was without peer. Joining the board as the Shannon began its new adventure as a full-fledged nonprofit aligns with her core values and involves nutritious work and people at every turn.

In addition to the Shannon Leadership Institute, Lindy sits on the Board of Directors of GiveMN, is current member of the affiliate faculty at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Inter-professional Health, is a past adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota School of Law and Mitchell Hamline School of Law, and a former Steering Committee Member of the Minnesota Cancer Alliance.

Eric Anderson consults on philanthropic services, family philanthropy, donor stewardship, and nonprofit capacity building. He has worked in college recruiting, alumni and development relations, and philanthropic services.

Most recently at the Minneapolis Foundation (2000 to 2022) he oversaw philanthropic support to 1000+ fund advisors and stewardship of 800+ charitable funds. He provided an optimal experience for individuals, families, and organizations advancing their charitable work in the community.

His responsibilities included overseeing programs and services for donor advisor engagement, assisting fund advisors in achieving their charitable goals, grant screening and selection, and facilitation of various projects as a center for philanthropy advancing an equitable community.

His depth of experience is in philanthropic advising, community relations, volunteer management, strategic planning, program development, asset development, and board relations.

Eric is a Minnesota native and earned his undergraduate degree from Augsburg University. He lives in Minneapolis. He enjoys time with family and friends, being outdoors biking and hiking, cooking, traveling – most often to walk a beach, and practicing mindfulness.

Cat currently works as a project/program management consultant at Securian Financial. She started with the company in December of 2022.

Prior to working for Securian, she spent 13 years working in the nonprofit and local government sectors. Most recently with the City of Saint Paul as the District Council Coordinator in the office of the City Council. Prior to working with the City, she served as the Executive Director for The Great Northern and ran a consulting firm, So Good Consulting.

She holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Minnesota and a Master's degree in Non-Profit Management from Hamline University. Cat served on the Saint Paul Chamber’s Leadership St. Paul curriculum committee from 2017-2023 and chaired the Roseville Human Rights, Inclusion, and Engagement Commission from 2018 - January 2021.

She has 9-year-old twin girls who keep her on her toes and busy with gymnastics, basketball and ice skating. When she's not listening to a true crime podcast or watching a show, she loves to read a good book. Shopping for books is her favorite sport.

Jake is pretty much obsessed with fundraising and believes that a successful strategy, campaign, and message can expand the impact of the nonprofits and schools doing incredible work in our communities. He has helped lead record-breaking and history-making fundraising efforts—and is totally invested in helping Minnesota earn the title “The State of Giving.” GiveMN has helped raise over $400 million for Minnesota nonprofits and schools, and Jake has led six successive record-breaking Give to the Max campaigns since 2016.

Jake was named executive director of GiveMN in 2015 and has a background that spans leadership roles in nonprofits, politics, and higher education. As the senior director of development and community engagement at Open Arms of Minnesota, Jake launched multiple online giving campaigns that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. As co-finance director of Minnesotans United, he helped lead a multimillion-dollar campaign in Minnesota to win the freedom to marry for same sex couples. Jake concurrently attained a master’s degree in political management from The George Washington University while working as a speech writer and associate director of development for The George Washington University Law School.

Jake is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota, University of St. Thomas, and Hamline University, where he teaches courses on fundraising strategy and leadership development. He is also currently the chair of the Tubman Board of Directors, an agency dedicated to helping people navigate their journeys to safety, hope and healing.