Eight Selected for the Minnesota Young American Leaders Program

(KNSI) — Eight young professionals from around the St. Cloud area have been selected for the 2023 cohort of the Harvard Business School’s Young American Leaders Program in Minnesota.

The participants are:

Shirwa Adan, Executive Director of the Central Minnesota Community Empowerment Organization
Nicole Bukowski, Human Resources Generalist for Rinke Noonan, Attorneys at Law
Njeri Clement, Director of Cultural Fluency, Equity & Inclusion at St. Cloud Technical & Community College
Abdi Daisane, Owner/Manager of Blooming Kids Childcare Center and Daisane Consulting
Ekram Elmoge, Family Engagement Manager for the United Way of Central Minnesota
Cassandra Miles, Executive Director of the Great River Children’s Museum
Bruce Powlish, Branch Manager of Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union
John Waletzko, President of Bradbury Stamm Construction.

The MYALP is an intensive idea sharing program at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus to be held May 22nd and 23rd, aimed at educating “young leaders about how to work across sectors to help their communities and our region prosper inclusively,” according to a press release.

“Our region has an abundance of smart, dedicated young leaders, so it was not easy to pick just eight of them to be part of MYALP this year,” said Patti Gartland, President of the Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation, which distributed calls for local MYALP nominations and coordinated the selection process locally. “But these outstanding participants are sure to bring back new ideas on how to make a difference in our region, and we thank them for their interest.”

Gartland said those chosen to participate in MYALP have a track record of civic engagement in cross-sector collaborations.

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