Catalyst Community Partners are social entrepreneurs. We invest our money, ideas, passion, and private-sector know-how to build momentum and achieve success NOW.  We create long-term, measurable, sustainable social return for neighborhood communities and our partners.  We operate with integrity, respect, urgency, and intensity believing these core values produce extraordinary change.

Catalyst’s Board of Directors includes leaders in commercial real estate, banking, law, business, government and community development. 

Stuart Ackerberg is the CEO and owner of The Ackerberg Group, which is a privately held organization of real estate related activities such as development, investment and management, specializing in the re-use and renovation of dilapidated buildings in Minneapolis. Stuart’s passionate for supporting urban main streets such as West Broadway led him to become the Founder of Catalyst Community Partners.  He is also on the boards of Hope for the City and The Oliver Press.  He participates in several task forces focusing on youth, education and economic development in North Minneapolis, including the Northside Achievement Zone. He is an active member of the Urban Land Institute and Lambda Alpha International.

Dennis Doyle is the CEO, majority Owner and Co-Founder of Welsh Companies.  His strong desire to help those in need motivated him to become the Founder and CEO of Hope for the City, an organization designed to fight poverty, hunger and disease by utilizing corporate surplus.  Dennis is on the Board of Directors of the Cafesjian Family Foundation, the American Church Mortgage Co. REIT and of several local financial institutions.  He has also received several awards for his dedication to improving both business and the surrounding community.

Susan Wollan Fan is a former Senior Vice President with Best Buy and Accenture, the world’s largest consulting firm.  She has over 20 years experience in driving strategic and operational change in Fortune 500 companies.  While at Accenture, she created a model to connect consulting volunteers to non-profit and community initiatives.  Susan’s passion for social equity led her to become the Founder and Principal of Irving Ventures, a social venture firm.  She has dedicated several years in efforts to close the racial achievement gap in Minnesota schools and is active in local education and economic development initiatives. 

Archie Givens is the CEO and Director of Legacy Management & Development Corporation, the largest African American owned development company in Minnesota.  He is also the President of the Givens Foundation for African American Literature and is well respected nationally for his commitment to literature and life-long learning.  He serves on the Board of Directors of the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, the Coffee House Press, the University of Minnesota Alumni Association National Board, Western Bank and The Guthrie Theater.  Archie has dedicated the past 30 years to developing affordable housing and services for seniors and families. 

Sondra Samuels is the President of the PEACE Foundation, an organization dedicated to creating a grassroots movement capable of harnessing the power of individuals, corporations, congregations, and organizations - across race, class and geography - toward the common goal of significantly reducing violence in isolated, local communities where pronounced disparities exist, starting in North Minneapolis. She currently serves on the City of Minneapolis’s Youth Violence Prevention Steering Committee, as well as, the steering committee for the Hope Collaborative- a group working on education reform.  She is also a member of the board of KidsFirst Scholarship Fund.

Joni Bonnell is responsible for developing the marketing and communications initiatives for Catalyst as well being the owner’s representative on the various construction projects. She has over 15 years of experience in sales and marketing with a majority of time focused on driving strategic growth plans for start up organizations in the construction industry.  Firmly rooted in the belief that communication encourages growth, she is an avid writer and the host of 3 blogs.  A believer that mentoring and teaching from life experience is important, Joni was the impetus for the Pay It Forward Academy, an after school program that serves as a mentorship guidance program for high risk middle school girls. Joni is currently working on her Master of Arts in Human Services and Non-Profit Management at Capella University.  She has her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education and her Master of Arts degree in Public Administration.

Paul Ravich is a Senior Partner in the law firm of Ravich, Meyer, Kirkman, McGrath, Nauman, and Tansey.  He practices principally in the areas of real estate, business and finance law.  Paul has demonstrated his commitment to helping underserved neighborhoods in Minneapolis through his participation on the Board of Directors for Aeon Homes and Summit Academy OIC. 

Dr. John M. Williams is a Dentist and has practiced Dentistry in North Minneapolis for 30 years. He serves a diverse population and is committed to his community. Dr. Williams has worked with numerous youth and community organizations. Dr. Williams’ community service includes: Past guest columnist for a community newspaper, past Program Chair and Board Member for the Community Action Agency of Minneapolis, served in several officer positions of the Minneapolis Urban League and a Board Member of the Urban League for six years. Dr. Williams is a member of the Health Advisory Board for Insight Newspaper. He served as the Chair of his Church Board of Directors for nine years. Dr. Williams leads a Prison Ministry Team and for the past eighteen years has been active with the ministry. He is a board member of the Children Dental Services of Minneapolis. In 1992, Dr. Williams was selected by the Minneapolis City Council as a Volunteer of the Year.

Mark Murray III is Director of Strategic Initiatives. With corporate strategy and multicultural leadership experience from Target Corporation, Mark is uniquely positioned to develop and drive strategic planning processes that will maximize Catalyst’s impact while crafting viable strategies to grow our reach with key partners. Prior to his work at Target, Mark spent six years in management consulting with Ernst & Young/Capgemini where he served clients such as Coca-Cola, Cingular Wireless, ConocoPhillips, Limited Brands, and BP. Mark also has four years of engineering experience. He received his MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill and degrees in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry from  North Carolina State University.

Steve Peacock is the Director of Community Relations at Augsburg College. Prior to joining Augsburg College in 2008, Steve worked 17 years with Twin Cities Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and was involved in the design and implementation of virtually all of Twin Cities LISC’s programs. He has extensive knowledge and experience in the areas of affordable housing development, finance, community-based economic development, and organizational capacity building. Steve served as the Director of Programs for Twin Cities LISC, overseeing LISC’s program and project investments in both Minneapolis and St. Paul. He partnered on innovative community development ventures with other local organizations including Minnesota Campus Compact and Payne-Lake Community Partners. Prior to joining LISC, Steve was a Housing Development Officer with the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA) where he managed the state’s Housing Trust Fund and several capacity building loan and grant programs for non-profit developers of affordable housing. He holds a Masters Degree in Urban Planning from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and a B.A. from the College of Wooster.

David Shea is owner and CEO of Shea, Inc., a 32-year-old design firm incorporating expertise in branding, marketing communications, architecture and interior design. Shea is passionate about the city of Minneapolis and has been involved in several grassroots campaigns that have grown into successful developments and major city accomplishments. He was instrumental in the transformation of the Milwaukee Road Depot into a vibrant center of activity, which became a catalyst for more positive growth along the Mississippi River banks. He was also heavily involved in planning and design of the Midtown Exchange development, bringing new life and vitality to the culturally diverse Minneapolis neighborhood. David believes that the team approach is the foundation for creating successful solutions and establishing long-standing relationships. He concentrates on strategic partnerships, bringing people and communities together to find and create the right uses for space, land and business. He's very focused on how connections can create opportunities and has never been solely focused on design, rather how to improve business and strengthen communities.

Joann Usher has joined Catalyst Community Partners as the Director of Development.  Joann brings 30 years of non-profit management and fund-raising experience to Catalyst, having worked with a graduate theological school, social service agency and most recently in the arts.  During the last 10 years, Joann has served as the first professional executive director for two arts organizations, the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus and Cantus.  Her focus on mission-driven fund-raising has enabled these organizations to expand their programming and achieve sustaining financial stability.  Joann’s professional and volunteer career has been dedicated to creating social change, a passion she continues by enabling Catalyst’s mission of revitalizing distressed urban neighborhoods.  Joann is Board Vice President of GALA Choruses, an international choral association and chairs its events committee.  She is currently directing the planning for the association’s week-long quadrennial festival that attracts more than 5000 singers.  When Joann is not at work, she and her partner, two dogs and two cats, enjoy living on a Twin Cities lake and spending time with their grandchildren.

Joelle Andreas is the Director of Operations and Communications at Catalyst Community Partners. She has years of nonprofit operations management experience from AFS-USA, an international student exchange organization, and Life’s Headwaters, a life coaching organization. Joelle has a degree in Public Relations and Communications with a focus in nonprofits. Her combination of experience and education makes her well suited to manage the daily operational needs of the organization. Joelle believes that everyone has something to learn and something to teach. She values lifelong learning, and strives to learn something new every day. At Catalyst Community Partners, Joelle is committed to seeing the Northside community thrive.

Jan Lysen is Senior Program Director at Catalyst Community Partners. She is a former Vice President at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, having led the provider relations division of the company for much of her over twenty year career. In that role, she helped to launch key products for Blue Cross customers such as national Blue Distinction centers for high risk procedures and Healthcare Facts, a tool providing cost and quality information for members. A recent graduate of the Master of Public Affairs program at the Humphrey Institute with a concentration in land use and transportation, she currently serves on the board of a St. Paul non-profit advocating for transportation choices, Transit for Livable Communities. She also has her MBA from St. Thomas. Jan is a long time Minneapolis resident committed to making our city a healthy place for all of its residents.

Catalyst has partnered with other area foundations, neighborhood groups, not-for-profit corporations and tenants, in the transformation of the West Broadway corridor and Cottage Park neighborhood: