When his wife of 25 years died suddenly in 2011, Ralph Bernstein knew that it was time to reexamine his priorities. After a long and successful career in the banking and corporate world, he bought a doggie daycare business and traded his pinstripe suits for jeans and a black polo shirt. Ralph, a native New Yorker, moved to Minnesota in 1996 to work for what is now U.S. Bank. By the time he left the bank in 2013 he had started and built a multi-million-dollar business line and was running the innovation and strategy group for its Corporate Payments division. Bernstein holds degrees in American literature and media from the City University of New York and in business from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. When not at Downtown Dogs, Bernstein spends his time with his grown sons and new daughter-in-law and, of course, his dogs Frannie and Helen.

Catherine Gray joined the The Minneapolis Foundation in 2013 as the Director of Impact Strategy, Civic Engagement. She leads strategic grant-making and partnerships to advance equity through civic participation. An expert in leadership development, she is known internationally for her previous work at The White House Project, an organization aimed at increasing the number of women in civic leadership.  Catherine’s work is informed by her varied life experience as an entrepreneur and innovator, an athlete and a filmmaker. Since childhood, she has been devoted to social justice, advancing women and girls, and LGBTQ causes. Catherine attended Scripps College and Minneapolis College of Art and Design, earning her Bachelors in Fine Arts degree.

“At its core, civic engagement is about building power. Done right, it’s a beautiful and messy journey that can lead to a community that works better for all.”

Jasmine Russell is the founder of Monicat Data, a strategic agency providing data management and technical solutions for the creative economy. She has nine years of experience within quantitative and qualitative market research and digital analytics across markets of creative, retail, consumer products, healthcare, service and technology industries. Art has set the foundation of her perspective in viewing data and Monicat Data seeks to broaden the creative community’s perspective of data usage to elevate understandings of their craft and work. Jasmine additionally volunteers and is working to develop additional technology and art supporting concepts as co-founder of The Green Room MSP (co-working building development campaign), committee member and curator of TEDxMinneapolis, board member of GiveMN and committee member of Graveti, an organization aimed at developing awareness and support for People of Color (POC) in technology.

Lula Saleh is an Ethiopian-Eritrean-American and Saudi-born singer-songwriter, poet, writer, third culture kid, healer, organizer, and Empath. She is passionate about the intersections of art, music, healing justice, the African diaspora and migration, faith and feminism. As an artist, Lula’s poetry and unique fusion of electronic-soul music have gone viral, featured in Button Poetry, Okay Africa, City Pages, Al Jazeera English, The Current, and more.

Currently, Lula works as the Creative Placemaking Program Manager at African Economic Development Solutions (AEDS) and Little Africa, leading all of AEDS’ arts and culture programming with African immigrants in St. Paul. Lula is also the founder of her organization, the East African Diaspora Artists Initiative (EADAI), a global creative and social platform for East African artists. Lula is an inaugural Intercultural Leadership Institute Fellow and a Creative Community Fellow with National Arts Strategies. You can find Lula’s music at soundcloud.com/LulaSaleh, and keep up with her on all social media platforms @lulathelily.

Jay Haapala is associate state director of AARP Minnesota, located in St. Paul and engaging with communities across the state of Minnesota. He leads a group of Life Reimagined Guide volunteers who facilitate workshops designed to help people clarify individual purpose, navigate life’s transitions and take steps toward their goals. He has learned from experts and professional coaches, but also from the wisdom and courage of program participants who don’t know what’s next other than it’s time for a change.

With a master’s degree in holistic career coaching, Nancy Scott combines strength-finder strategies encouraging individuals to reach their optimum personal and professional growth potential. She currently directs a women’s coaching series, DiVA, designed for women seeking transformational changes in their lives. With over 25 years of experience, Nancy has developed educational curriculum for adult learners and trained thousands of professionals seeking greater success in their careers. As the director of education and professional development with Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR), she directed educational initiatives for the organization’s 10,000+ members creating thousands of hours of professional business development workshops. She also successfully navigated the MN Department of Commerce’s approval process resulting in comprehensive continuing education programs for members.

Nancy also provides consulting services for HIRED, a nonprofit organization for dislocated workers. Her focus is on strength-based resume writing and strength-based interviewing.

Brittany Lynch is a DJ, poet, and entrepreneur who fiercely advocates for artists in communities of color. Her work exists at the intersection of media, art, curation and social justice, and community healing. She was named a “Rising Star” by WCCO’s Urban Perspectives and one of five “Influential Young Black Leaders” by The Star Tribune. Miss Brit has been awarded a Verve Spoken Word Grant, Beyond The Pure Grant, and Legacy award for her work in healing communities through art based engagement. Her company, Visions Merging, continues to advocate at the state and city level for intentional urban planning and development that serves its residents and preserves its cultural history. She’s a certified community coach and practitioner of The Orange Method, a practice centered in healing justice and Black liberation. Brittany is also certified community financial ambassador and member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. You can hear all of Miss Brit’s work come together on KFAI FM Radio, where she hosts the Wake Up Call on weekday mornings and Soul Tools Radio on Saturday evenings.