Our staff and board represent the communities we serve. We are always striving for equity, inclusion, and diversity in every way, at all levels at EMERGE.
Vice Chair, Fundraising & Brand Development and Board Secretary
Tesha Alston Dampier
Senior Quality Engineer, 3M Company
Co Vice Chair, Finance Committee
Sheila Dowling
Treasury Management Team Leader, Western Bank
Elaine Eiland
Team Lead Manager, Fraud Detection, Target Corporation
Co Vice Chair, Finance Committee
Paul Fitzpatrick
Vice President, Global Commercial Banking, Bank of America
Jay Gast
President, Perrill
Board Chair
Xander Hector
Managing Director, Houlihan Lokey
Jason Lundrigan
Owner/Appraiser, JPL Appraisal Services
Connie McCuskey
Senior Vice President & Marketing Director, US Bank
Immediate Past Chair
Mercedes McFarland Jackson
Shareholder, Fredrikson & Byron PA
Vice Chair, Social Enterprise Committee
Steven Thompson
Principal – NorthStar Healthcare Advisory
President & CEO
Mike Wynne
Mike Wynne is the President and CEO of EMERGE Community Development. He has led the organization since its launch in 2006. Before that, he served in a succession of positions with Pillsbury United Communities, EMERGE’s heritage organization. He was first hired as a direct service staff person in 1988, and then served as center director, program director, and vice president before launching EMERGE in its current form.
As President and CEO, Mike has led the development of a portfolio of highly acclaimed public/private partnerships, community development initiatives and entrepreneurial initiatives. Mike earned his BA in Sociology and Urban Studies from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He has completed graduate certifications in non-profit management and finance at the University of St. Thomas, The James Shannon Institute for Renewing Community Leadership, The Executive Leadership Institute at the University of Michigan School of Social Work & Business; and the Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Program in Social Entrepreneurship.
Mike is a life-long Minneapolis resident and grew up in North Minneapolis and the Cedar Riverside neighborhood. He has been a featured presenter at national and regional conferences and seminars including the Alternative Staffing Alliance, Minnesota Council on Nonprofits, United Neighborhood Centers of America and Corporation for Supportive Housing.
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