Welcoming Community Continued Learning Opportunities

Follow-up & Moving Forward  

Thank you for attending the 2021 Northeast Minnesota Virtual Equity Summit and indicating your potential interest in being part of an Equity Learning Cohort (ELC). We are excited to be in the process of identifying three communities in northeast Minnesota that will serve as pilot ELCs. 

The Welcoming Community Advisory Committee and University of Minnesota Extension-Center for Community Vitality have been working together in formulating the process and selection of the ELCs for northeast Minnesota. We expect to have communities identified by February 2022, with plans for the ELCs to begin in late Spring 2022. However, participation in our Inclusion Readiness Assessments and action planning sessions in early 2022 will be vital in the development of what the ELCs will entail. 

The Equity Learning Cohorts will be designed to fit the needs of each unique community. Participants from ELCs can take part in Inclusion Readiness Assessments which will provide opportunities for learning and interaction on a variety of topics related to equity across sectors (schools, health care, local government, businesses, law enforcement, faith organizations, and nonprofit organizations).  

Continued Learning 

As a follow-up to the NE MN Equity Summit and in preparation for the upcoming Equity Learning Cohorts, we look forward to continue learning with you. Northspan will send out periodic emails with information and resources for continued connection and learning around equity topics. Below you will find some resources to explore! 

Please feel free to reach out to us with your thoughts on any of the materials shared or with ideas for future sharing. Contact Northspan’s Welcoming Community Program Coordinator Amber Lewis at alewis@northspan.org with any questions. 

Invite a Friend  

If you know others in your community that would be interested in participating with Welcoming Community programming, please invite them to reach out so they can learn more: 

Resources to Explore  

“We are a diversifying state, we are a diversifying region.” —Carson Gorecki, Labor Market Analyst for Northeast Minnesota with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) 

Northspan’s Welcoming Community programming is funded in part by the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation, Blandin Foundation, Department of Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation, and the Northland Foundation.