Building Community Through Communication

We are building a diverse Brain Trust of creative leaders and influencers in the Twin Cities, from Millennials to members of the Silent generation, from artists to entrepreneurs, from nonprofits to the public sector, and from a multitude of ethnic backgrounds and nationalities. We are fostering cross-cultural friendships and gathering ideas to benefit our region.

Jan. 10, 2019 podcast features One Minnesota Equity Blueprint Policy Priorities

Louis Porter II and Dane Smith from Growth and Justice joined Brett Buckner of ONEmn.org to discuss the culmination of a yearlong grassroots effort by the two organizations to develop policy initiatives to deliver to Gov. Walz and other elected officials.

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The Friendship Gap

The Twin Cities has a split personality. On one hand it regularly tops the charts as the best place to live, the healthiest place in America and so on. But we are also number one in the nation when it comes to the academic achievement gap, the income gap, the employment gap, the health gap and other big gaps between white people and people of color. How can this be?

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Synapse Think Tanks

The Synapse Jazz Think Tanks are four-person discussion groups designed to promote understanding of the perspectives of diverse people. The empowering structure of this format enables a problem-solving strategy where all perspectives are taken into account.

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The Synapse Vision

The Synapse Vision: People are separated into various silos according to geography, education, race, socio-economic levels, and even by career specialization. I once witnessed two physicists meeting for the first time. After mentioning the names of their universities, they asked each other about their areas of research. Once said, “Cold temperature.” The other said, “Sub-atomic.”

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