The OG Co-Founders
A Bit of HIstory
Mary Claire Francois
A Bit of HIstory
The Real Minneapolis was formed by 3 BIPOC female co-founders immediately following the murder of George Floyd in our neighborhood. The initial intention of lifting up our community with operational infrastructure and coalition-building quickly expanded to placemaking, and overall mental health support during the height of a global pandem
The Real Minneapolis was formed by 3 BIPOC female co-founders immediately following the murder of George Floyd in our neighborhood. The initial intention of lifting up our community with operational infrastructure and coalition-building quickly expanded to placemaking, and overall mental health support during the height of a global pandemic in a city devastated by civil unrest and systemic injustice.
Valerie Quintana
Mary Claire Francois
A Bit of HIstory
Valerie continues to serve as Executive Director and oversees part-time staff, dedicated volunteers and community ambassadors. As we await several grant and contract determinations for Summer 2023, we hope to hire a Program Manager and a Program Coordinator!
Marni Lewis-Harvey
Mary Claire Francois
Mary Claire Francois
Marni served as Creative Director until December of 2021 and moved on to new and fabulous adventures in everything brand, design and all-around wizardry! She is credited for creating our logo and branding. (Valerie has done her best to stay true-to-form, but only maintains a skeleton crew.)
Mary Claire Francois
Mary Claire Francois
Mary Claire Francois
Mary Claire served as Youth Director until August of 2021, then part-time support until July of 2022 when she moved on to adventures in nursing school and coaching basketball. MC launched the first GoFundMe to raise $1000 or so, but quickly garnered more than $20,000!