SESSION 4: Black Developers — Experiences with Building Successful Projects
Thank you for joining us on December 4th for NEON’s Community Conversation 5.0 Series Session 4: Black Developers - Their Experiences with Building Successful Projects. This series featured Calvin Littlejohn, CEO of Tri-Construction, Inc; Gloria Freeman, Founder and CEO of Olu’s Home, Inc. and Olu’s Beginnings LLC; and moderator, Freddie Bell, CEO of KMOJ Radio! This discussion focused on the challenges for Black developers to build and create spaces, develop strategic opportunities and assess their impact, and bring projects to success.​​​
Calvin Littlejohn
Gloria Freeman
Freddie Bell
SESSION 3: The Local Food Economy Today — From Idea to Table​
Thank you for joining Warren McLean on August 28 for NEON’s Community Conversation 5.0 Series. Session 3: Minnesota’s Local Food Economy Today—Idea to Table will featuring Funwi Tita, Founder and CEO of Better Greens, LLC; Florian Schattenmann, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President for Innovation and Research & Development at Cargill; Mary Anne Kowalski, Owner of Kowalski’s Markets; and Kris Kowalski Christiansen, Kowalski’s Chief Executive Officer! The discussion focused on the opportunities and challenges within Minnesota’s local food landscape.​
Funwi Tita, Founder and CEO of Better Greens, LLC, started growing vegetables with his wife in 2008; 8 years later, they formed Better Greens, LLC to build on their passion for growing food from home, while providing reliable access to culturally relevant produce and contributing to efforts to reduce hunger. Originally from Cameroon, Tita came to the United States for college and embarked on a career in business administration.​
In 2023, Funwi helped start the Minnesota African Immigrant Farmers Association, uniting farmers to give them a collective voice, support, information and opportunity. Together, these farmers worked to help feed the community by selling crops wholesale to organizations like The Good Acre and the hunger-relief nonprofit Second Harvest Heartland.
Florian Schattenmann, Cargill’s Chief Technology Officer and Vice President for Innovation and Research & Development, oversees a global team that is driven by the vision of relentlessly creating value for Cargill and its customers via research, application and product development, and technical service support across agriculture, food, animal feed and bioindustrial markets. Prior to joining Cargill in November 2018, Florian spent eight years at The Dow Chemical Company. His most recent role was Vice President for Performance Materials & Coatings R&D, where he led innovation across a diverse set of specialty businesses. He earned his Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and his Diplom Chemiker degree from the Technische Universität München in Munich, Germany.
Mary Anne Kowalski, Owner of Kowalski’s Markets, is at the forefront of the grocery industry and is constantly working to improve it through her role in trade organizations and initiatives. Mary Anne uses her civic role to help build a strong civic infrastructure within Kowalski’s that impacts the world around her. She is the chair of the Kowalski's 4 Kids Foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises money to help families and children at risk. Her accomplishments in the grocery business have come from building right relationships with her customers, co-workers, vendor partners and stakeholders.
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Kris Kowalski Christiansen, Kowalski’s Chief Executive Officer, has been a key part of Kowalski's Markets since its inception in 1983. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of St. Thomas, followed by her master's in Business Administration from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. After more than two decades of training and education, she earned the position of Chief Operating Officer and has since moved into the role of Chief Executive Officer. Kris is responsible for Kowalski's store and company operations.
SESSION 2: Building Generational Wealth through Mergers & Acquisitions​
Thank you for joining Warren McLean on May 1st for NEON’s Community Conversation 5.0 Series. Session 2: Building Generational Wealth through Acquisitions. This discussion featured Jashan Eison, President & CEO of H&B Elevators; Prince Wallace, Independent Packing Service, Inc.; and Frank Brown, Owner of Minuteman Press! This discussion focused on potential benefits and challenges of business acquisitions in terms of advancing business ownership, revenues, and wealth overall, for Black and Brown entrepreneurs.​​
Jashan Eison, President and CEO of H&B Elevators, (Hauenstein & Burmeister) went to the University of Wisconsin – Stout where he earned a B.S. degree in Construction Management. He also holds an M.B.A. from Marylhusrt University. Before joining H&B Elevators in 2007, he worked in project engineering and management roles at M.A. Mortenson (Milwaukee, WI office), Whiting-Turner (Irvine, CA office) and RJ Ryan Construction (Mendota Heights, MN). Jashan has been recognized by the Minneapolis Business Journal as a Diversity in Business Award Honoree and 40 Under 40 Award Honoree, and in 2017, he was named MEDA Entrepreneur of the Year.
Prince Wallace, Business Management, Acquisition, and Growth Expert, came to Minnesota almost 60 years ago after Benedictine monks offered him a scholarship to St. John’s University in Collegeville. He attended St. John’s University for 2 years and finished his schooling at the Minnesota School of Business. He graduated with a degree in Accounting and Business administration; since graduating, Prince has focused his work on creating a legacy for current and future generations, nurturing family assets so that the next generation will be “better than their predecessors.” Over the last four decades, Prince has assembled a collection of seemingly disparate businesses and helped them grow to generate combined revenue of $38 million a year. Prince was also a MEDA Entrepreneur of the Year. He was also a Junior Achievement Hall of Fame inductee.
Frank Brown, Owner of Minuteman Press, earned his BS in Business and Accounting from Central Washington University and an MBA from Seattle University while working full time. After earning his MBA he moved to Minnesota seeking opportunities to grow his career. For most of his career he worked in large printing companies who often didn't treat their workers fairly, and countered his values of racial, social, and economic justice. In 2015 Frank Brown bought Minuteman Press Uptown. Frank has built Minuteman Uptown to be the largest black owned printer in Minnesota. He moved Minutemen Press Uptown to North Minneapolis in 2022 through acquisitions, expanding capabilities, and buying a building on Washington Ave N. and Dowling.
SESSION 1: Inflation, Interest Rates, and Equity in the Post-COVID Economy
On Thursday, February 22nd, Warren McLean we were joined by Neel Kashkari, President & CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; Jeanne Crain, President & CEO of the Bremer Financial Corporation; and Kenneth Kelly, Chairman & CEO of First Independence Bank, for the first session in NEON’s Community Conversation 5.0 Series.
Moderated by Abou Amara, this discussion gathered new insights from our esteemed panel and examined:
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Current economic trends and outlooks for 2024
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How the future growth of Minnesota’s economy can create potential opportunities for BIPOC-owned small businesses
Thank you to our guests who attended!
Neel Kashkari [cash-CAR-ee] is president of the Minneapolis Fed, one of the Federal Reserve System’s 12 regional banks with a district including Minnesota, the Dakotas, Montana, Northern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He serves as a member on the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets the nation’s monetary policy. Neel began his career as an aerospace engineer developing technology for NASA space missions. He later held a variety of roles in public service and finance, most notably as assistant secretary of the Treasury during the 2008 financial crisis, where he oversaw the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Neel lives with his wife, two young children, and Newfoundland dog in Orono, Minnesota.
Jeanne Crain is President and Chief Executive Officer of Bremer Financial Corporation. As CEO since November 2016, Jeanne has combined her extensive industry knowledge with decades of leadership experience to advance the company’s strategy and performance, champion Bremer’s purpose and values, and deliver on its commitment to help communities thrive. Prior to joining Bremer in 2012, Jeanne enjoyed a 30-year career in commercial and retail banking, honing her collaborative leadership style, passion for relationship-based client service and ability to navigate a highly dynamic business environment. As an active volunteer and community leader, Jeanne serves on the board of the YMCA of the North, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and the Saint Paul Downtown Alliance. Jeanne has recently been recognized by American Banker as a Woman to Watch as a part of their 2020 Most Powerful Women in Finance recognition, and by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal as one of their 2019 Most Admired CEOs.
Kenneth Kelly is the Chairman and CEO of First Independence Bank, a minority depository institution based in Detroit, Michigan, which is now the 7th largest African American-controlled commercial bank in the country. Kenneth is responsible for leading the bank’s financial operations, assets, policies, and regulations, in addition to overseeing the company’s management infrastructure. He serves on the Board of Directors of the American Bankers Association and was selected to become a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman’s Advisory Committee on Community Banking which is charged with providing advice and recommendations to the FDIC on a broad range of community banking policy and regulatory matters. Kenneth has been included in the Birmingham Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40 and has been recognized for his leadership in Georgia by the Henry County Chamber, Council for Quality Growth and 100 Black Men of Atlanta.