I think that everybody needs to have a say in it no matter what way of life or group of people you come from...finding middle points in every disagreement and argument rather than picking one side or the other finding a middle point is much better.

I am very much on the nature side of things...but I haven't had much experience with the government side of things and so of course with everything there's always going to be tradeoffs.

we have six um meetings that are prescheduled...they're usually depends on the subject matter it can be an hour and a half sometimes two hours...on the off months...they often will go to farmers markets they will do Outreach at different events of the city.

My background uh is in Community Development and includes affordable multif family real estate development commercial brokerage asset management and real estate lending.

recent Economic Development Trends in Suburban cities...include a growing focus on mixed use development increased emphasis on walkability and Transit oriented development...another important issue I want to highlight is uh the existing supply of naturally occurring affordable housing or NOA in the Twin Cities region is facing significant pressures.

any organization body of government or advisory commission will not operate at its full potential if the makeup of the group is homogeneous...the more diverse the edac is in this regard will enhance the value and Equity it provides.

Opus isn't a Village area but it's that's the that's going to be the transit oriented development...I think 101 and Highway 7 there's a lot of opportunity in that General vicinity.

I've really always had a lifelong interest in Economic Development...My interest of Li and this is over really the last 40 to 50 years it's um uh the whole issue of the the intersection really between um Economic Development all sorts of other factors uh infrastructure housing Public Safety physical um the whole physical element.

how to preserve what's good about this place you have a lot of at this point aging housing how do you keep people from being crowded out of that...appropriate housing...the issues of infrastructure...what happens when you have an aging population who suddenly wants assisted living and large Apartments.

it's a simple rule but unfortunately how do you enforce it you know they good nature was just on just common sense keep your eye on the core Mission and be fair you know be transparent about what you're doing and follow the law.

I call them sort of the the the readers and the doers I am not a doer particularly...and the challenge is having your mix of of of I think both.

I work at the University of Minnesota in uh neurosurgery and uh neuro uh psych and perform research on brain mapping and uh Outreach and Parkinson's...in my masters my focus was on ethics and so this sort of and and with research there's such a lack of diversity that it's come up at almost every single meeting.

certainly there's a lack of affordable housing everywhere so what does that look like here...I know that in Minneapolis they were thinking about repurposing um Office Buildings and certainly there's a lot of you know single story Office Buildings you see that might not be getting much much action right now.

there is a correlation with minorities and those who have less funds and and access to transportation and other things like health care and it's really those folks who would primarily need the affordable housing.

it's really connecting with community members...it takes two to three years to really make a solid relationship enough to be able to do work with them.

spent a decade working in corporate retail at Target corporation uh where I've managed multi-billion dollar pnls and led teams...I've also LED Target Women's Business Council...strongly integrated in my community especially through my engagement through Girls on the Run Minnesota where I serve two terms on their board.

significant opportunity in addressing housing affordability through Innovative Financial models and Partnerships...with the expansion of the Light Rail and bus transit I think there's potential to drive Economic Development around Transit hubs...leveraging state and federal funding programs for redevelopment and infrastructure improvements.

diversity econ uh diversity equity and inclusion are foundational to effective Economic Development...assuring access to affordable housing for all income levels promotes Equity within the city in transit planning it's essential to prioritize routes and developments that benefit underserved communities.

a significant challenge is likely to be achieving consensus on prioritizing projects and competing needs especially if the EDC has a diversity of opinions that truly represent our community.

born in 1948 and raised in Milwaukee Wisconsin...55 years of employment provided me with opportunities to develop skills in organizational process human resources and management.

continuing...in encouraging and supporting the development of a growing housing demand of affordable available and safe housing Business Development and their success and addressing the needs of a growing population in minaka growth fueled by a diverse population diverse in age ethnicity economic and social status.

I believe that uh Dei diversity inclusion and Equity efforts are as valid and necessary as any of the above considerations like Public Safety transportation in development and Redevelopment discussions and decisions.

understanding that we're listening to a very large group group of people who have needs uh that are valid on every side I think the challenge for the commission and me is that we are diligent about being open respectful and considerate of the needs of the many voices of our many Tonka residents.

I'm the council liaison to the Evac...we get packets that we read and what they do is they advise us on the economic considerations of our of our development.