100 Rural Women

Ask a Leading Woman - Cheniqua Johnson
2022-05-25 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Chicago) | Zoom
Join us for one of our next “Ask a Leading Woman” with Cheniqua Johnson, Relationship Manager at the St. Paul & Minnesota Foundation. In addition, Cheniqua is also the current State Outreach & Inclusion Officer of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party where she engages voters across the state, Co-Founder of In Sisterhood, We Brunch, a quarterly brunch series for women and gender nonbinary folks, and a current New Leaders Council Fellow of the Twin Cities Chapter!
Register for Ask a Leading Woman with Cheniqua Johnson!
Cheniqua will share her life experiences and current work before we host a facilitated discussion. We invite you to join us exactly as you are for an empowering presentation about the different paths leadership can take in rural areas. Bring beverages, children, breakfast, pets, or work – we look forward to hosting you!
About Cheniqua Johnson
Cheniqua Johnson (she/her) is a public servant, grant maker, and community organizer. In her current role at the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, Cheniqua supports the work of nonprofit organizations throughout the metro and in Greater Minnesota. Cheniqua is responsible for reviewing grantmaking in health and civic engagement.
In addition, Cheniqua is also the current State Outreach & Inclusion Officer of the Minnesota Democratic -Farmer-Labor Party where she engages voters across the state, Co-Founder of In Sisterhood, We Brunch, a quarterly brunch series for women and gender nonbinary folks, and a current New Leaders Council Fellow of the Twin Cities Chapter.
Cheniqua is a first-generation college graduate and TRIO alum who received her Bachelor of Science degree in Family Social Science from the University of Minnesota.
Post-graduation, Cheniqua has worked in community organizing, politics, and Congress. Some of her previous roles include being a Legislative Assistant for the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Aviation, Honorary City Council member of her hometown Worthington, Minnesota, Staff Assistant for former Congressman, now Attorney General, Keith Ellison, and former candidate for Minnesota State Representative.
Outside of work, Cheniqua can be found socializing, organizing, or tapping into anything musical. She is a huge fan of live music and loves to travel, plan events, bring people together, or enjoy time on a beach!

Network
2022-05-24 12:00 - 13:00, 2022-05-17 12:00 - 13:00
Register for this networking session!
Join us for one of our weekly networking sessions. We invite you to join us exactly as you are for some intentional relationship building. We look forward to hosting you!

Resiliency Session - All level yoga with Alisa Benson
2022-05-24 08:00 - 08:30, 2022-05-23 12:00 - 12:30, 2022-05-17 08:00 - 08:30, 2022-05-16 12:00 - 12:30, 2022-05-10 08:00 - 08:30, 2022-05-09 12:00 - 12:30, 2022-04-26 08:00 - 08:30, 2022-04-25 12:00 - 12:30 and 1 more date
Register for this resiliency session!
Join us for one of our weekly resiliency sessions with Alisa. We invite you to join us exactly as you are for a session focusing on all level yoga. No equipment or gear necessary, just join in comfy clothes and Alisa will lead you through the rest.
Class description
Feel the benefits of linking your breath with movement. We will explore well-rounded sequences that build core strength, and increase balance and flexibility. Each class will include an opening meditation, options for practicing comfortably at your own pace, and an ending relaxation. This class is appropriate for all levels. A yoga mat is helpful if available.
Meet the Instructor!

Morning Connections
2022-05-19 08:30 - 09:00, 2022-05-12 08:30 - 09:00, 2022-04-28 08:30 - 09:00, 2022-04-21 08:30 - 09:00
Register for this Morning Connection!
These sessions will consist of light conversation in an undirected space. Bring beverages, children, breakfast, pets, or work – the goal is to connect informally with a host who will facilitate.

Reflections from the Polish-Ukrainian Border with Bernadine Joselyn
2022-05-18 18:30 - 19:30
We are excited to hear from Bernadine Joselyn who just spent three weeks at the Polish-Ukrainian border welcoming and processing evacuees fleeing Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Bernadine, who is director of Public Policy and Engagement at Blandin Foundation, lived and worked in Russia 20 years ago with the U.S. Foreign Service and other international development organizations, and now lives in Grand Rapids, MN with her Ukrainian husband. Bernadine heard about the opportunity to help and quickly found herself in the evacuee center at Korcwoza, about 20 kilometers from the actual border; it was a huge wholesale warehouse space, repurposed for the evacuees. Volunteers from all over the world had come to help. Some were organized with groups such as Red Cross of Doctors without Borders; some came without affiliation. With Ukrainian men between the ages of 16 and 60 forbidden from leaving the country, the evacuees were overwhelmingly women and children. Some had left with nothing but the clothes on their back.
Bernadine’s mission was to make them safe, meet their immediate needs (food, clothing, SIM cards) and to help them find a place to stay. Bernadine will tell us about the process, the people and the politics as well as how we can help. You can learn more about her trip from her recent article in the Women’s Press.
Resources: How to host Ukrainian refugees: US Department of Homeland Security. dhs.gov/ukraine. We Are Light- formerly American Refugee Committee, based in MN is Coordinating humanitarian relief on the ground. Accepting donations. https://wearealight.org/
Register for our Wednesday, May 18 Webinar!

Resiliency Session - Mindfulness & Meditation with Jan Sutton
2022-05-12 12:00 - 12:30, 2022-05-11 08:00 - 08:30, 2022-04-28 12:00 - 12:30, 2022-04-27 08:00 - 08:30, 2022-04-21 12:00 - 12:30, 2022-04-20 08:00 - 08:30
Register for this resiliency session!
Join us for one of our weekly resiliency sessions with Jan. We invite you to join us exactly as you are for a session focusing on mindfulness and meditation. No equipment or gear necessary, just join in comfy clothes and Jan will lead you through the rest.
Class description
How many moments do each of us have to live? None of us knows the answer to this question. During the meditation and mindfulness classes we will practice settling into each moment just as it is; we will practice really noticing and living the moments that we do have. You will engage with new skills and be reminded of things you already know. Most of all, this will be a time to add some lightness to your day and share with others who also want to deepen their experience of the “now”.

May Book Club - Educated
2022-05-11 19:00 - 20:00
This month we will be reading Educated by Tara Westover!
Register for our Book Club!
Book synopsis
Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her “head-for-the-hills bag”. In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father’s junkyard. Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent. Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home. Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one’s life through new eyes and the will to change it.
Resources

About the Book

Author website

Book Review

Networking in Mental Health
2022-05-10 12:00 - 13:00

Ask a Leading Woman - Fallon Ryan
2022-05-06 10:00 - 11:00
Join us for one of our next “Ask a Leading Woman” with Fallon Ryan, Community Engagement Coordinator for Sprout MN, a nonprofit food hub, the Central Chapter Coordinator of Sustainable Farming Association, and one of four Founding Facilitators of MinneAg Network!
Register for Ask a Leading Woman with Fallon Ryan!
Fallon will share her life experiences and current work before we host a facilitated discussion. We invite you to join us exactly as you are for an empowering presentation about the different paths leadership can take in rural areas. Bring beverages, children, breakfast, pets, or work – we look forward to hosting you!
About Fallon
Fallon Ryan is a food systems enthusiast and localized supply chain advocate based in Minnesota. She is a community connector with a pinball like energy. She has spent her career working on farms, with farmers, and with consumers to build a more resilient food community. She currently is the Community Engagement Coordinator for Sprout MN, a nonprofit food hub, the Central Chapter Coordinator of Sustainable Farming Association, and one of four Founding Facilitators of MinneAg Network. In addition to that, Fallon continues to serve on a number of work groups and boards on a local and state level to promote economic development and community collaboration through the local food system. In August she is headed to Vermont Law School to pursue a Juris Doctorate to develop a new set of skills to serve food systems and her community.

The Barriers, Breakthroughs, and Backbone of Elected Rural Women
2022-04-29 10:00 - 11:00
Join us for our next research findings webinar with University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs students Naa Korkoi Larmie, Delaney Stekr, and Caitlyn Walker. They will present the results of their interviews with rural elected women about barriers and supports in one’s journey to elected office.
We invite you to join us exactly as you are for an empowering presentation about the struggles and successes experienced as a female elected official. Bring beverages, children, breakfast, pets, or work – we look forward to hosting you!
Register for our 4/29 Breakfast Club Webinar!

Networking in Health
2022-04-25 16:00 - 17:00
Register for this networking session!
Join us for one of our weekly networking sessions. We invite you to join us exactly as you are for some intentional relationship building for rural folks interested in or working in health. Whether you are in a public health laboratory, county hospital, or a gym – we look forward to hosting you!

Ask a Leading Woman - Jessica Beyer
2022-04-22 10:00 - 11:00
Join us for one of our next “Ask a Leading Woman” with Jessica Beyer, President & CEO of Greater Mankato Growth, Inc.!
Register for Ask a Leading Woman with Jessica Beyer!
Jessica will share her life experiences and current work before we host a facilitated discussion. We invite you to join us exactly as you are for an empowering presentation about the different paths leadership can take in rural areas. Bring beverages, children, breakfast, pets, or work – we look forward to hosting you!
About Jessica
Jessica has been with Greater Mankato Growth, Inc. since November 2019 when she was appointed as President & Chief Executive Officer. She has a master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in organizational leadership, and a bachelor’s degree in business management and mass communications from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Jessica has 15 years of leadership, government, community development, sales and communications experience. Most recently, she served as Waseca County administrator overseeing county operations and organizational development across 14 departments. Prior to her work at Waseca County, she served as a Communications Manager, Business Analyst and Public Information Director for a combined 11 years at Blue Earth County. Additionally, she has business experience within the publishing industry.
Mankato has been home to Jessica the majority of her life and she has been active in the community volunteering and serving on the Boards of the Mankato Area Foundation, Blue Earth County Historical Society, Greater Mankato Area United Way and most recently the Mankato Clinic Foundation and Mayo Clinic Health System Mankato Hospital Board. In addition to her community involvement, Beyer has completed the Blandin Community Leadership Program, the Greater Mankato Leadership Institute and the Elizabeth Kearney Women’s Leadership Program.
Outside of her involvement in the Greater Mankato community, Jessica was selected as a 2010 International German Marshall Memorial Fellow and 2011-12 University of Minnesota Humphrey Policy Fellow. Additionally, she was a 2015 graduate of the Certified Public Communicator Program at Texas Christian University and later sat on the program’s Board. Jessica has a passion for engagement and has given her time and expertise serving on a number of boards in key leadership roles at the national and state level including on the National Association of Counties Board.
Jessica enjoys outdoor activities, traveling, photography and spending time with family. She resides in Mankato with her husband Kurt, daughter Kailey and yellow Labrador Josey.

Networking in Media
2022-04-18 16:00 - 17:00
Register for this networking session!
Join us for one of our weekly networking sessions. We invite you to join us exactly as you are for some intentional relationship building for caregivers in rural areas. Whether you avidly consume rural newspapers, work for a communications office, or are recording a podcast – we look forward to hosting you!
