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Established 2015

SE MN Together advances regional economic and social vitality by engaging and amplifying cross-sector community voices to propel change and take collective action that addresses workforce issues.

SE MN Together is a regional collaborative network of organizations and individuals developing and pursuing strategies to address our workforce shortage. SE MN Together also seeks to strengthen regional connections and build local capacity in communities across the region, which can be leveraged to address other social and economic issues affecting Southeast Minnesota.

SE MN Together was organized by a volunteer group as an experiment in cooperative action in addressing our region’s workforce shortage. We worked to engage, encourage, and activate the southeast region through conversation and collaboration with the goal of developing action plans. In February 2015, SMIF (the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation) awarded SE MN Together a Community Growth Initiative grant which launched our regional work. Learning to work together as a region remains a core objective of SE MN Together.

Core Team members include Sheila Kiscaden (Co-Chair), Natalie Siderius (Co-Chair, DEED), Amy Grover (SSC), Nancy Zaworski, Mike Thorsteinson, Joel Young (CEDA), Brian Carlson, Chris Meyer (Winona County), Jinny Rietmann (WDI), Nicole Vilendrer (Mayo Clinic), Lisa Dierks (RSDP), Bill Spitzer (Semcac), Elissa Alzate (WSU), Joe Jacobson (Rochester City Lines), Brenda Johnson (SEMLM), Erin Meier (GLBW), Fatima Said (Project FINE), Bob Cline, Sonja Sommerfeldt (United Way), Renae Fry (Steele County), Al Roder (City of Byron)