7 Selected for Two-Year Initiators Fellowship
Social Entrepreneurs from Central, Southwest and West Central Minnesota to receive stipend, mentoring to advance innovative business ideas
From a hydroponic growing system that allows for year-round fresh produce to an immigration-focused law firm with an innovative and affordable fee structure, the field of seven fellows for the 2020-2021 Initiators Fellowship has been selected.
Here’s a closer look at our 2020-2021 fellows:
Fellows from the Initiative Foundation's 14-county region include:
Jonathan Friesner
CROW WING COUNTY: HYDROPONICS
Friesner is bringing to market GroShed, an automated hydroponic growing system that allows for year-round fresh produce, even in the depths of a Minnesota winter.
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Hamdia Mohamed
STEARNS COUNTY: SOBER HOMES
Mohamed’s venture creates safe, secure sober homes to alleviate isolation and provide services for those experiencing depression, addiction and homelessness.
Alise Sjostrom
STEARNS COUNTY: SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
Sjostrom, who launched a cheese-making operation, Redhead Creamery, on her family’s dairy farm, is working on an agritourism and agritainment model that builds excitement and trust around locally produced foods.
Marc Van Herr
STEARNS COUNTY: MENTAL HEALTH
Van Herr can attest that there’s a shortcoming in the mental health care system that can leave patients waiting for weeks to see a therapist.
Fellows from the Southwest Initiative Foundation’s 18-county region include:
Anne O'Keefe-Jackson
RENVILLE COUNTY: TRIBAL ARTS
A member of the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Morton, O’Keefe-Jackson’s enterprise is to increase availability and access to traditional art supplies for native artists coupled with a space to exhibit artwork and to host performance artists.
Erin Schutte Wadzinski
NOBLES COUNTY: IMMIGRATION
After spending a decade on the east coast earning a law degree, Schutte Wadzinksi deliberately returned to her hometown of Worthington to put her skills to work.
The Fellow from West Central Initiative’s nine-county region is:
Rachel Stone
CLAY COUNTY: YOUTH LEADERSHIP
As an educator, Stone’s venture is to equip young people with the knowledge and skills they need to manage daily activities and confidently face new situations while creating pathways to educational and entrepreneurial opportunities.