Cedar Riverside Neighborhood Leadership Forum

Friday, October 27

Cedar Commons

Forum Overview
The Cedar Riverside Neighborhood Leadership Forumis a monthly gathering of Cedar Riverside neighborhood leaders aimed at networking and skill-building, hosted by the Augsburg College Sabo Center for Democracy and Citizenship and the University of Minnesota Center for Integrative Leadership. The leadership forum offers an opportunity to connect with leaders across the neighborhood and to participate in conversation about leadership and theneighborhood.
The Neighborhood Leadership Forum will be held the third Friday of the month from October – April. The Forum includes time for participants to connect and engage with each other in new ways, so as to strengthen relationships and build trust. Each session will also spotlight a neighborhood organization, as well as discussion and action on neighborhood issues. We will draw upon the talents and experiences of resource people from Augsburg and the University to build capacity on organizational and leadership development topics of interest to the group. During the first forum, we focused on our neighborhood assets or “bright spots” and what we hope to gain from participation in the forums. We identified and discussed neighborhood issues/topics of interest for future forums. / What is happening in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood right now? What are
Bright Spots in the neighborhood?
  • Intersectionality of neighborhood
  • Teen Tech Center (opening Dec. 4 @ Brian Coyle)
  • Diversity
  • Energy in neighborhood
  • Involved neighbors
  • University students (Augsburg & UMN)
  • Cultural and spiritual diversity
  • Renewed focus on community at CRCS
  • Young people
  • Rich history welcoming new immigrants
  • Institutional connectors (Ex. Cedar Commons)
  • Hennepin Co. library presence
  • Early childhood taskforce of CRNRP

Neighborhood Leaders present:
Abdi Mukhtar, PUC, Brian Coyle
Deb Wolking, West Bank CDC
Saeed Bihi, CROC
YasameenSajady, PUC, Brian Coyle
Crystal, KFAI
Carla Nielson, West Bank Safety Center
Jennifer Weber, CRCS
Mahdi Abdi, PUC, Brian Coyle
Dave Alderson, CRNRP
NimoYusef, UMN, Extension
Claire Norman, Ausgburg, Sabo Center
R. Gail Bartolo, Augsburg, Campus Kitchen /
Neighborhood issues we’d like to address:
  • Need a central hub for neighborhood info (ex. community calendar, facebook page)
  • Maximize opportunities for youth and issues facing youth
  • Bring youth voices to the table
  • Shared community spaces
  • Identify spaces, partner with “institutions” (UMN, St. Kate’s)Augsburg more ”open door” than U of M, too much red tape to access space
  • Work toward solving community issues together, don’t want to just talk
  • Bring in resource people around solving issues
  • Political climate concerns
Local elections, national, international
  • Neighborhood funding
Where? Why? Risks? CVE? Accountability? Transparency? / Skills we’re interested in learning:
  • Grassroots fundraising
  • Volunteer recruitment of diverse audiences
  • Management
  • Self-care
  • Trauma training

Next forum: November 17, 10:30am – 12:00 noon, Cedar Commons

Cedar Riverside Neighborhood Leadership Forum facilitated by Steve Peacock, and Merrie Benasutti,