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Our Team

Meet our team of passionate changemakers and find out how they champion our movement in Minnesota.

Molly Burns-Hansen

Programs Coordinator

Molly Burns-Hansen is a Programs Coordinator at Move Minnesota. Through initiatives along the METRO C Line and METRO Green Line, Molly works with local residents and other key stakeholders to advance and promote sustainable transportation in the Twin Cities. Molly holds a B.A. in Social Science from Metropolitan State University, where they focused on Disability Justice. In their free time, Molly enjoys watching workplace comedies, looking for cool animals on the chain of lakes, and hanging out with their husband Nate, and their two cats, Sean Patrick and Sebastian.

MJ Carpio

Campaign Manager

MJ Carpio is a Campaign Manager at Move Minnesota focusing on VMT (vehicle miles traveled) reduction and transit expansion through grassroots and political organizing. MJ is a lifelong public transportation user—from jeepneys and tricycles, to the NYC Subway, and Metro Transit—and sees the expansion and reimagining of multimodal transportation systems as integral to combating climate change and improving everyday lives. MJ enjoys biking, exploring state parks, and sharing food with people.

Elizabeth Garvey

Office Manager

Elizabeth Garvey manages general office operations and provides administrative support for the advocacy, programming, and community engagement underway at Move Minnesota. Elizabeth brings a background in both corporate and nonprofit administration to her role as Office Manager, and has worked in multiple industries, including higher education, construction, commodities, and the arts. She holds a B.A. in Journalism-Mass Communication from the University of Minnesota. Elizabeth is a visual artist and when she is not in the office she can often be found in the studio. She loves that her home, work, and studio are all conveniently located along the Green Line.

Jennifer Harmening Thiede

Director of Communications and Organizing

Jennifer Harmening Thiede, Director of Communications and Organizing, is passionate about creating a just and sustainable future. Jennifer leads our strategic communications, marketing, and narrative change work at Move Minnesota. She also works collaboratively to plan and advance organizing strategies that build people power and further Move Minnesota’s advocacy goals. Jennifer brings a decade of nonprofit experience in multi-channel communications, editing, writing, advocacy campaigns, media outreach, website management, design, social media, and event planning. Previously, Jennifer worked in marketing, publicity, and sales for Milkweed Editions, and served as an editor and writer for Do It Green! Minnesota. Jennifer holds a B.A. in English from the University of St. Thomas. She loves her bike commute and her walkable neighborhood, and always looks forward to reading a good book on the bus.

Linnea House

Director of Finance and Administration

Linnea House brings fifteen years of experience within the nonprofit community, ranging from direct service to arts to advocacy organizations, to her role as Director of Finance and Administration. In addition to managing the day-to-day finances of the organization, Linnea oversees grants management and provides organizational support to board and staff members. As a former executive director, she has a wealth of experience and expertise in nonprofit management, advocacy and grassroots organizing campaigns, and development. Linnea holds a B.A. in English and Women’s Studies from Saint Olaf College, and a master’s degree in Nonprofit Management from Hamline University. As the parent of two active children, she loves living near park trails with easy access to walking, running, and bicycling in Minneapolis.

Julie Johnson

Senior Community Organizer

Julie, a Senior Community Organizer at Move Minnesota, is excited to work with a team so focused on the essential intersectionality of the environmental movement. As a lifelong biker and runner, she is passionate about improving the accessibility and efficiency of multi-modal transportation in the Twin Cities. Before coming to Move Minnesota, Julie organized in Arizona, South Carolina, and Iowa around protecting the National Wildlife Refuge and promoting clean energy legislation. She also worked with MN350’s Communications team during the 2020 election season. She is a Green Corps graduate and holds a B.A. in Psychology and Environmental Studies from St. Olaf College. When she isn’t organizing, she enjoys running, biking, and spending time with friends and family.

Heejin Kim

Fundraising Coordinator

Heejin Kim is a fundraising coordinator at Move Minnesota who has loved biking and bussing around the Twin Cities for over twenty-five years and counting. With a background in education, art, and organizing, Heejin has a lot of experience in development and event planning. She knows that dynamic and affordable transit options are an essential component in the bigger picture of ‘what justice can look like’ for our communities. For fun Heejin prioritizes chill times with her family and raucous game nights with her friends. She’s currently writing her first picture book on climate change.

Theresa Nelson

Program Director

Theresa Nelson, Program Director, specializes in Employer Partnerships and Transportation Demand Management (TDM) programming at Move Minnesota. Theresa has over fifteen years of experience with community engagement, coalition building, and pedestrian and bicycle program implementation. She served as a program manager for the Midtown Greenway Coalition for twelve years where she led numerous community engagement programs, projects, and events. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and African Studies from the University of Minnesota and began her career in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis as a community organizer and youth program manager. Most recently, she assisted Community Design Group, a local urban planning consulting firm, with community engagement focused on bicycle, pedestrian, and transit projects. Theresa is dedicated to planning and programming that leads to healthy, active, and livable communities. She enjoys daily walks, biking, yoga, and gardening in the summer.

Abdinasir Nourkadi

Communications and Outreach Coordinator

Abdinasir Nourkadi, Communications and Outreach Coordinator, works with Move Minnesota’s narrative-building efforts and content creation. Nas is particularly dedicated to public service; he has spent a few years on efforts to provide and care for people experiencing homeless and poverty. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Nas’s first post-grad work has found him with Move Minnesota continuing his passion for the community around him. Outside of work, he finds himself binging horror movies with his friends or expressing himself through his camera lens.

Theresa Thompson Nix

Program Manager

Theresa Thompson Nix, Program Manager, specializes in community engagement programming at Move Minnesota. Her current focus includes building relationships with transit riders, residents, and community partners to create change along the METRO C Line corridor in the Twin Cities. Theresa brings several years of advocacy, planning, community organizing, and campaign management experience to her role. She is active in community conversations about equity, organizational change, and pedestrian safety.

Born and raised in Crystal, MN, Theresa is a member of Black Girls Run Twin Cities and loves going on walks with the crew.

Sam Rockwell

Executive Director

Sam Rockwell, Executive Director of Move Minnesota, is a long-time advocate for our climate and for social justice. His background in transportation and land use spans organizing and policy and includes work with the University of Minnesota Foundation Real Estate Advisors, the Center for Prevention at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, the New York City Council, Columbia University’s Earth Institute, the World Wildlife Fund, Transportation Alternatives, and the Environmental Tax Policy Institute. He has also worked as a musician, handyman, and delivery tricycle driver. Sam holds a JD, magna cum laude, from Vermont Law School and is former president of the Minneapolis Planning Commission. He lives in the Twin Cities metro with his wife Molly and their three very energetic kids.

Elissa Schufman

Director of Strategic Partnerships

Elissa Y. Schufman, Director of Strategic Partnerships, is focused building relationships and gathering resources that can make our vision of a more just transportation system into reality. She enjoys building authentic connections, creating community among advocates, and organizing with donors to create even bigger opportunities for change.

Elissa has over a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector in a broad array of areas, including project management, communications, donor organizing, and foundation relations. She brings her commitment to transportation justice to her volunteer service as the chair of the Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee and on the board of Our Streets Minneapolis.

Elissa is a multimodal commuter who enjoys exploring Minneapolis and Saint Paul on bike, bus, train, and foot. She loves to expand her imagination through reading. When not bicycling or reading, she ferments whatever foods are in season (sometimes with mixed results).

Max Singer

Transportation Demand Management Coordinator

Max Singer is a Transportation Demand Management Coordinator at Move Minnesota. Through his work with local employers and other key stakeholders, Max promotes transit, telework, carshare, biking, and walking in the City of Saint Paul. He practices what he promotes and is proud to be described by his friends as “a person about town.”

Our Board

Meet our Board of Directors: the community leaders, strategic thinkers, movers and shakers guiding our mission. Here’s how to join.

Patrick Martin

Board Chair

Patrick has spent his career in nonprofit development helping to boost the front line impact of health and social services charities. He also serves on the Bloomington City Council representing the East side’s District 4. Outside of work, Patrick is a board game geek who always appreciates recommendations on new places to hike with his black lab, Rowdy. He is excited to join Move Minnesota in realizing a vision for strong, multi-modal transportation networks enabling people to get where they need to go.

Laura Greteman

Vice Chair & Board Treasurer

Laura Greteman works as an Inventory Analyst at Quality Bicycle Products. In addition to her primary position as an Analyst, Laura serves as a Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Intern Coordinator and contributes to QBP’s Women’s Initiative to increase gender diversity within the bike industry. Laura is a daily multi-modal commuter and is excited to help Move Minnesota advocate for mobility options throughout the state. She is especially passionate about working to make biking a safe and comfortable transportation option for all.

Alex Tsatsoulis

Board Secretary

Alex Tsatsoulis is the Development Director at the Lake Street Council, working to support Lake Street’s unique and diverse community. Alex has previously worked at Our Streets Minneapolis (formerly the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition), to support the organization’s transportation advocacy work and Open Streets events. Alex has a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from the University of Chicago. His favorite bus line is the 21.

Kim Berggren

Board Member

Kim Berggren serves as the Director of Community Development for the City of Brooklyn Park and the Executive Director for the Brooklyn Park Economic Development Authority. In her role, she works to implement Brooklyn Park’s vision of a thriving and inclusive community through the City’s planning, economic development, housing, building, and property maintenance strategies.

Kim has a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from the University of Minnesota. She is a certified Planner by the American Institute of Certified Planners and was certified in economic development and housing finance by the National Development Council. A Minnesota native, Kim also studied biology, business, and geography and started her career in community development working for the cities of Columbia Heights and New Hope.

Joan Hollick

Board Member

Since 2015, Joan has been the Deputy Project Director of the Southwest Light Rail Transit Project. In that role, she oversees the budget, project controls, agreements, and risk management functional areas. Joan became passionate about public transit while living in Chicago. After earning her undergraduate degree from Loyola University Chicago, she stayed in Chicago to earn a master’s in public policy and administration from Northwestern University. After grad school, she took a position with the Chicago Transit Authority where she learned how a legacy transit system operates and improves. Outside of work, Joan enjoys sailing on Lake Nokomis with her husband and two children.

Sasha Lewis-Norelle

Board Member

Sasha Lewis-Norelle is a young environmental activist and organizer, living in Minneapolis. He currently works at the environmental non-profit Clean Water Action Minnesota, as the Environmental Health and Justice Organizer. In 2021, he graduated from Macalester College with a degree in environmental studies and concentration in biology. He first got his start in environmental organizing through his school’s divestment campaign, pushing for the institution to stop investing in fossil fuels. Since then, he has been involved in a number of movements, such as the Sunrise Movement, the movement to Stop Line 3, and the continuous movement for environmental justice. He uses public transit as his main way of getting around, and has a strong passion for creating low carbon, equitable transit systems. Outside of organizing, he enjoys going for long walks, watching anime, and playing music.

Eric Moran

Board Member

Eric Moran has been an environmental advocate their entire life, starting with Boy Scouting. They have been an IT professional for over 20 years that has focused primarily in the public sector. They live in North Minneapolis with their spouse and daughter, and Eric’s daughter prefers commuting by bike everywhere year-round. Current favorite transit route is the 19/C Line. Eric has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Bethel University and works for Hennepin County managing Microsoft Cloud services.

Angela Peterson

Board Member

Angela Peterson lives in Stillwater with her husband and young daughter. Currently, Angela works at Connexus Energy as the Continuous Improvement Leader. In this role, she gets to work on a variety of projects across the organization to increase efficiency. She loves working cross functionally and for a cooperative business model, where improvements directly impact all members. In previous roles, Angela has worked in sustainability and communications. Angela received her Master of Communication Studies from Marquette University and her Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies from UW – La Crosse.

Outside of work, Angela spends a lot of time exploring outside with her family, checking out local restaurants, traveling, and cheering on the Minnesota Twins. Angela’s interest in Move Minnesota’s mission comes from a belief in equality for all, a passion for sustainability, and time spent living and traveling abroad.

Ben Rabe

Board Member

Ben Rabe is a Project Manager on the Codes and Policy team at New Buildings Institute. Prior to NBI, Ben was the Director of Building Performance at Fresh Energy in Saint Paul, Minnesota, supporting state and local policies that promote decarbonization in the built environment. Before entering the policy arena, he worked leading both commercial and residential utility energy efficiency programs. Ben holds an M.A. in International Energy Policy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a B.A. from Macalester College in International Studies and Political Science with a minor in Anthropology. In his free time, Ben enjoys cycling both on and off-road and spending time outdoors with his wife, son, and goldendoodle.

Darwin Yasis

Board Member

Darwin Yasis is a transportation engineer with over 22 years of experience in planning, design, and construction of major transportation projects.

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