Dr. Jean Haar, Chair

Dean, College of Education
Minnesota State University, Mankato

Jean is currently serving as the dean for the College of Education at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She has also been a professor and chairperson in the Department of Educational Leadership. She began her education career as an English teacher and later served as a high school principal. The college is committed to meeting the needs of all students and is focused on advancing diversity to match the changing student demographics. The vision of the college is to inspire lifelong learning and professional engagement through racial consciousness, social justice, and inclusion within a global context.

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John Harper, Vice Chair

Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
South Central College

John currently serves in the office of the president at South Central College as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and has been with South Central College since 2016. He has a Master of Science in Educational Leadership and Administration from Minnesota State University, Mankato. John actively works with academic deans, faculty, and staff to examine policy, procedure, and assessments with an equity lens. He has conducted over 200 plus training for business partners and campus departments since January of 2021.

​He also is very involved with our community by being a board member of the Greater Mankato Diversity, a member of the Young Professionals and outreach through the church he attends. He is currently attending Morgan State University, a historically black college and university (HBCU) for a Doctor of Education (EdD) in Community College Leadership. His anticipated graduation is fall 2024.

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Jenn Melby-Kelley

Owner
​The Coffee Hag

Jenn is a Mankato native, a graduate of Women's Studies and Sociology at Minnesota State University, Mankato, a second-generation entrepreneur, a Mankato City council member who represents Ward 4 for her second term, lead singer/songwriter for the band Sister Gin, one of the area's most visible LGBTQ leaders, and a well-known local advocate for arts, music, small business, entrepreneurship, and positive social change.

For the past 15 years, Jenn has worked tirelessly to grow her business, The Coffee Hag, into a successful coffee shop and cultural force that it is today. Against challenging economic tides, Jenn's leadership has grown the Coffee Hag from a struggling independent to a thriving, popular, fast-paced establishment that remains true to its roots, exemplifies social responsibility, and provides, in her words, "a place where people can find community and feel good about who they are the moment they walk through the door." Jenn's work at the Coffee Hag has earned her many awards and accolades, including a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Business Pathfinder Award. She lives in Mankato with her wife Anna, and their two yorkies, Patterson and Emmet.

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Dr. Mohamed Diab

Professor, Construction Management
Minnesota State University, Mankato

Dr. Diab is a professor in the Construction Management Program at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and a Construction Management Consultant. He holds a Baccalaureate of Science in Architectural Engineering from Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from North Dakota State University. He has lived and worked in Asia, Africa, and North America, where he connected with different ethnic and diverse group of people nationally and globally.

Dr. Diab is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). He was a 2017-2018 board member in the Project Management Institute - Minnesota chapter (PMI-MN), became president in 2018, and is currently a Director-at-large and board member.

He was the Construction Management Department chair from 2018-2021 at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and a member of the Global Education Advisory Council. He is currently an educator board of trustees member of the American Council for Construction Education (ACCE), and an ABET program evaluator.

He is passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion in the greater Mankato region, the construction industry, and academia. He focuses on academia and industry collaboration to provide creative, inclusive learning experiences and talent and skills development.

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Cecil Fountain

Diversity Program Manager
​VINE Faith in Action

Cecil is a native Sudanese immigrant who moved to the States in 2023. she graduated from Ahfad University for Women in Khartoum, Sudan, with a Bachelor's degree in Family Sciences, specializing in Community health. She began her career in the U.S. by attending South Central College in Mankato, Minnesota and became a certified Community Health Worker in 2005. This opened many doors for her as she went on to become program coordinator at the YWCA Mankato (Walking in Two Worlds) and served many immigrants and refugee women for almost five years. During that time, she became a member of multiple organizations KIWANIS Club, Diversity Council, and a board member for Open Door Health Center.

In 2011, Cecil moved overseas and lived in Qatar for 5 years then Turkey for 4 years. In 2020 Cecil moved back to the US and to Mankato to resume her job as Diversity Program Manager at VINE Faith in Action.

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Stacy Wells

Director of Communications
​Mankato Area Public Schools

Stacy is a person-centered educator, and equity thought leader. She has a variety of professional experiences, including DEI leadership positions in the public and private sectors; public school teacher and district-wide administrator; higher education faculty, and consultant. Her areas of specialty include leadership development and coaching embedded in cultural competence, organizational alignment with DEI strategies, community development to advance racial justice, curriculum writing, teacher preparation. She is co-author of WRITE on RACE to be RIGHT on RACE: Resource Journaling Guide and the companion community engagement effort.

Stacy is currently the Director of Communications for Mankato Area Public Schools. She earned her B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from Drake University and an M.A. in Curriculum and instruction from the University of St. Thomas.

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Guadalupe Quintero

Director of Community Partnerships Minnesota State University, Mankato

Guadalupe serves as a liaison between the University's Diversity and Inclusion Division and ethnic communities in Minnesota. In her previous position as Director of the Center for Latina/o Affairs, she developed programs to encourage and motivate Latina/os to pursue educational opportunities and increase their access to higher education. 

Guadalupe is an active member of the Global Education and Study Away Council (GEAC) at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and has traveled multiple times to Latin American countries to establish student and faculty exchange programs.

She has been a founder and co-founder of multiple bilingual and bicultural educational programs for Latina/o youth and women empowerment in Southern Minnesota, such as the Southern Minnesota Latino College Fair, El Pueblo Avanza Conference, the Southern MinnesotaMother and Daughter Conference, the Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Institute (CHILY), the Latino Academic Engineering Day (LEAD), the annual Woman to Woman Latina Conference, and the Multicultural Network.

Guadalupe's work has been recognized by the YWCA with the Women of Distinction award, the Minnesota State University, Mankato Outstanding Advisor of the Year and Latina Leader of the Year awards. She also received the BHA Award of Honor (Black Indian Hispanic and Asian) for her commitment and dedication to the Latina/o Community, the Minnesota Rural Futures award and the OTHLI Award of Honor given by the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs, which recognizes and honors Latina/o leaders whose efforts have contributed significantly to the wellbeing, prosperity, and empowerment of Mexican communities abroad.

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Jack Kolars

Nicollet County District 3 Commissioner
& Realtor at NuStar Realty

Jack Kolars serves as the County Commissioner and Realtor. He graduated in 1971 from Montgomery High School and attended Mankato State University majoring in Mass Communications and Broadcasting. He has lived in Nicollet County since 1986. He has served on the Nicollet County Board since January 1997 and was sworn in for his seventh term, January 3, 2023 - December 31, 2027. His districts include the North Mankato Precincts 1, 2, and 4. He has been involved with all facets of Nicollet County government, most notably around transportation. 

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Ray Brauer

Scout Executive/CEO
Twin Valley Council, Boy Scouts of America

Ray Brauer has served as the Executive Director of the Twin Valley Council, Boy Scouts of America for the past 7 years. Scouting is for all youth from kindergarten through high school and teaches the values found in the Scout Oath and Law, leadership skills, problem-solving skills, communication skills, servant leadership, and how to be a participating citizen, all in an outdoor education classroom.

Ray has worked professionally for Scouting for over 30 years serving in several locations in the Midwest including Detroit, Michigan and Kansas City, Missouri where he served as the director of operations. A lifelong Scout, he has also worked 14 years on camp staff in central Missouri. 

Ray has been married to his wife, Mardell for almost 28 years and they have 4 children, Reagan (23), Anastasia (21), Nicholas (17), and Rebecca (12). Mardell is a special needs paraprofessional at Washington Elementary and currently working on her masters in special needs education at MSU.

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Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours.”

—César Chávez