Jaylani Hussein is the executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN). In 2013, he created Zeila Consultants to develop and offer cross-cultural training workshops on East African cultures. Jaylani has been active with various community organizations in Minnesota including the Islamic Cultural Center of Minnesota Board of Directors, Wilder Foundation Advisory Board, Muslim Youth of Minnesota Advisory Board, Islamic Resource Group Speakers Bureau, and ARAHA Board of Directors. He received the 2015 the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits annual “Visionary Leader” award.  Jaylani’s family emigrated from Somalia to Minnesota in 1993, he is trilingual (English, Somali, Arabic), and holds degrees in community development and city planning from St. Cloud State University and political science from North Dakota State University.

Dr. Abdul M. Omari holds a B.A. in global studies, a master’s of public policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and a PhD in comparative and international development education from the University of Minnesota. Abdul’s research is focused on the perceptions of mentoring and the role of Cultural Intelligence within mentoring relationships. For several years, he has taught leadership courses for undergraduate students. Abdul is the founder of AMO Enterprise, which helps people better connect in individual and team settings through leadership seminars, keynotes, and mentoring. Abdul is devoted to civic and public service. He is an elected member of the Board of Regents at the University of Minnesota, serves on the Board of Directors for the YMCA Greater Twin Cities, AchieveMpls, and Civic Eagle. Omari is a proud native of Minneapolis, Minnesota with immigrant parents from Kenya and Jordan.

The core inspiration for LOTT’s compositions is the Romantic Period of classical music. The chordal structures, intervals, and melodies heard throughout her songs are reminiscent of those used by Antonin Dvorak, Alexander Borodin, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, French Impressionist composer, Maurice Ravel, and then condensed into pop songs. She explores the range on her violin by utilizing a looping pedal and similar techniques employed by looping violinist pioneers, Andrew Bird, Kishi Bashi, and Owen Pallet. LOTT has been likened to a modern day torch singer of indie music – both in her lyrical themes and vocal styling. She has been greatly influenced by Patsy Cline’s catalogue of songs about unrequited love and heartbreak. LOTT was awarded “Best Acoustic Performer” in City Pages Best Of the Twin Cities 2015.

As statewide executive recruiter for the State of Minnesota, Anika Ward partners with community and state agency leaders to recruit diverse candidates for executive leadership positions. Over the past eighteen years, Anika has collaborated to improve outcomes for youth and families through leadership and volunteerism at community organizations, including ARTS-Us African diaspora arts & cultural education, Bond Community Health Center, Save our Sons, Southeast Asian Teacher Licensure Program, and the Science Museum of Minnesota. Anika’s previous role was director for the Kitty Andersen Youth Science Center at the Science Museum of Minnesota, where she served as principal investigator for several major STEM workforce initiatives, including Bits 2 Bytes, an NSF-funded initiative to connect youth and young adults from communities of color to careers in food justice and computer programming. Anika studied music education at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, and holds a M.A. degree in human services, and a B.A. in human resource management from Concordia University – Saint Paul.

Kabo Yang is the executive director of the MN Women’s Consortium, a statewide nonprofit organization advocating on issues affecting women. She has also consulted independently on management and leadership projects with local nonprofits for the last seven years.  Kabo’s career in the nonprofit sector includes positions at Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services and Greater Twin Cities United Way.  She has also served on numerous boards, currently with the MN Food Association, Headwaters Foundation for Justice, and the MN Hmong Chamber of Commerce. Kabo has a bachelor’s degree in business administration, a master’s degree in organizational leadership, a second master’s degree in human and organizational systems, and is currently pursuing a PhD in that same program.  Her research interests include immigrants, women, and leadership.  

Tenzin is the program and outreach strategist at Pollen. She currently serves on the LOCUS Planning Committee, the Leaders of Today and Tomorrow Advisory Board, the Ordway Notes from Asia: Vocabulary of Movement and Sound Advisory Committee, and the MN Machik Community Engagement and Fundraising Committee. Tenzin graduated from St. Olaf College with a degree in political science and has a number of experiences working with local and international nonprofits. Tenzin was born in a Tibetan refugee settlement in northern India and grew up in  Minneapolis, where she is actively involved in Tibetan-American community through political organizing and the Tibetan performing arts group. Tenzin values cross-cultural and cross-sector collaborations and loves to learn about the intersectionalities of the world.