Community-Driven Change

Built with Community

Power the Promise is guided by families, youth, educators, and community leaders who know firsthand what it takes for children and families to succeed.

Through Family Councils, Action Networks, and cross-sector partnerships, community voices are shaping the strategies and solutions that will define the next decade of opportunity in Saint Paul. This systems change strategy doesn't happen to this community — it happens with it.

Saint Paul families gathered together at a community block party
01

Family Council

02

Action Network

03

Strategy Cabinet

Community

Connected by community

The Council Structure

Three bodies. One promise.

01

Family Council

Made up of parents and caregivers from across the Promise Neighborhood, this council shapes ideas, reviews proposed approaches, and elevates what's actually working for families. The Family Council puts lived experience at the center of every solution. They are the foundation of the work.

A Family Council member sharing community-driven priorities on a flip chart

Council members

  • Ahmani Curtis
  • Dalana Satterfield-Thomas
  • Alicia May
  • Amina Ahmed
  • Lakisha Johnson-Spann
  • Shanea Turner-Smith
  • Nikia Clark
  • Ki'Azia Clark
  • Debbie Pepples
  • Emmanuel Franklin
  • Dominiques Perkins
  • Darius White
  • Judy Nelson
  • Ashley Johnson
  • Ashley Clark
  • Taiwan Tellis
  • Athena Curtis
02

Action Network

Our Early Childhood and Youth Enrichment Action Networks bring together educators, nonprofit leaders, and service providers from across the city. These networks identify gaps, co-create solutions, and build the implementation pathways that turn strategy into real change for kids and families. They report up to the Strategy Cabinet and are accountable to the families they serve.

Action Network partners presenting strategy pathways at a community working session

Early Childhood

  • University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration
  • Saint Paul City School
  • HealthPartners
  • Aviellah Curriculum and Consulting
  • Wilder Child Development Center
  • St. Peter Claver
  • Think Small
  • St. Paul Libraries
  • Minnesota Public Radio
  • Blue Cross MN Foundation
  • Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE)
  • Maxfield Elementary

Youth Enrichment

  • YMCA Beacons
  • Freedom School
  • 825 Arts (Victoria Theater)
  • Kitty Andersen Youth Science Center (Science Museum of MN)
  • MN STEM Partnership
  • Hallie Q. Brown Community Center
  • Listen Up Youth Radio
  • ThreeSixty Journalism (UST)
  • Breakthrough Twin Cities
  • Irreducible Grace Foundation / Black Youth Healing Arts Center
  • Saint Paul Public Schools
  • Sprockets
03

Strategy Cabinet

The Strategy Cabinet brings together civic leaders, funders, and systems-change partners to advise and activate the broader work. They connect resources to strategy, open doors, and help ensure Power the Promise can scale.

Community leaders gathered in a Strategy Cabinet planning session

Cabinet members

  • Kizzy Downie

    CEO — Model Cities

  • Dr. Deidra "Dee Dee" Peaslee

    President — Saint Paul College

  • Mikeya Griffin

    Executive Director — Rondo Community Land Trust

  • Erin Imon Gavin

    Director of Strategic Initiatives — McKnight Foundation

  • Jackie Turner

    Executive Chief of Administration and Operations — Saint Paul Public Schools

  • Tiffany Kong

    Director, Community Impact — Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation

  • Adair Mosley

    CEO — GroundBreak Coalition

  • Rena Moran

    Ramsey County Commissioner — Ramsey County

  • Jackie Statum Allen

    Director — The Bush Foundation

  • Kevin Bennett

    Program Director — GHR Foundation

  • Anne Dresen

    Director, Advancement — Saint Paul College

  • Frank Forsberg

    Consultant — Little Moments Count

  • Molly McGraw Healy

    Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships — St. Thomas University

  • Joe Munnich

    Executive Director — Generation Next

  • Marcus Pope

    President — YouthPrise

  • Benny Roberts

    Executive Director — Hallie Q. Brown

  • Shannon Smith Jones

    SVP of Community Impact — Greater Twin Cities United Way

  • Dr. Stacie Stanley

    Superintendent — Saint Paul Public Schools

The work

Three focus areas. One continuum of opportunity.

Power the Promise is built around three interconnected focus areas targeting a critical transition point in a child's journey from birth to adulthood.

A caregiver and young children playing together in a colorful early learning space

01

Childcare for Every Family

Every child deserves a safe, nurturing start. In the Promise Neighborhood, caregivers have been holding children and families together long before any formal program existed. They deserve recognition and resources. This initiative maps the full landscape of nontraditional care in the neighborhood. It also builds a Caregiver Hub to connect and support Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) providers. Together, we help align their work with data and policy, so the care families trust gets the investment it deserves.

By 2035…

100% of families in the Promise Neighborhood will have access to childcare that works for them.

A young child in an orange shirt attentively engaged in an early learning setting

02

Early Screening, Early Support

When a child's developmental needs are identified early, they are set up with the right resources before they even get to school. But too many families in Saint Paul face a fragmented, confusing system with unclear expectations. In 2024, only 23% of three-year-olds in Saint Paul were screened. We have an opportunity and a responsibility to build systems that reach every child. This initiative clears the path. Through community-wide outreach, family-centered screening experiences, and a coordinated referral pipeline, we're making it easier for families to get the early support their children need, ensuring that when support is needed, it shows up.

By 2035…

5,200 children in the Promise Neighborhood will have received developmental screenings and follow-up services by age 4.

A joyful young graduate in cap and gown celebrating with peers at commencement

03

College, Career & Leadership Pathways

Young people in the Promise Neighborhood are ready to lead. They have vision, drive, and something to say about the future of this city. They need consistent, accessible opportunities that match their ambitions — out-of-school programs that center belonging, mentors who show up, and paid pathways that connect their interests to real futures. This initiative coordinates and expands out-of-school programming across the neighborhood, builds relational infrastructure that keeps youth engaged and supported, and creates youth-led spaces where young people don't just participate — they lead, they earn, and they shape what comes next.

By 2035…

5,800 youth and young adults will have participated in out-of-school programs that prepare them for college, careers, and community leadership.