Meet the 19 Minnesotans who won the prestigious Bush Foundation scholarship

Nineteen Minnesotans each received $100,000 from the Bush Foundation’s prestigious scholarship this year to fund education or training.

The St. Paul-based foundation announced the winners of its annual competitive program Tuesday, to which nearly 600 people applied. Residents 24 years or older of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and the 23 Native Nations in the three states were eligible.

The Minnesota winners are:

• Rod Adams of Minneapolis, executive director of the New Justice Project, which focuses on leadership development, education, employment and housing for Black Minnesotans
• Mari Avaloz of Saint-Paul, which aims to improve families’ access to culturally specific cancer support
• Autumn Cavender of Granite Falls, a member of the Upper Sioux community who works to revitalize traditional indigenous birthing practices
• Adreane Clark of St. Paul, who co-founded a publishing company for sign language speakers and created an online dictionary for written American Sign Language
• Trahern crews of St. Paul, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Minnesota which works to create generational wealth for Black communities
• Lachelle Cunningham from Minneapolis, founder of Chelle’s Kitchen and first executive chef of Breaking Bread Cafe
• Roberto de la Riva from Minneapolis, co-founder of Inquilinxs Unidxs Por Justicia (United Renters For Justice) which will work on community housing cooperatives
• Michelle Oie of Duluth, a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe who works to revitalize Ojibwe language and culture.
• Monica Hurtado of Minneapolis, public policy director at Voices for Racial Justice who has worked to increase health care support for the Latino community
• Jouapag Lee of Roseville, founding member of the Hmong Healers Collective which aims to create a cultural space for Hmong American millennials
• Jamil Stamschror-Lott of Minneapolis, who launched a private practice, Creative Kuponya, with his wife to support and increase the number of black male therapists
• Manka Nkimbeng of Columbia Heights, assistant professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, working to address health inequities in African immigrant communities
• Alysha Price from Minneapolis, an author who multiplies the tools allowing single parents to co-parent effectively in Price Dynamic, a social enterprise
• Kasim Abdur Razzaq of St. Paul, a mental health professional working to inspire and support more Black mental health professionals
• Leslie Ellen Redmond of Minneapolis, the youngest president of the Minneapolis NAACP, who is working to build a stronger network of alumni and leaders
• Majestic Anthony of Prior Lake, executive director of the Native American Community Clinic which works to increase health equity in Native communities
• Irma Marquez Trapero of St. James, co-founder of LatinoLEAD, a leadership network
• Moira Villiard of Duluth, a direct descendant of the Fond du Lac Ojibwe who is a principal director of the Chief Buffalo Memorial Project and co-organizer of a community art installation, “Waiting for Beds.”
• Mai Lee Xiong of Cottage Grove, an educator leading Hmong language revitalization efforts and co-creator of the Hmong Studies and Hmong Dual Language programs at Phalen Elementary School.

The North Dakota winners are: Frederick Edwards Jr. of Fargo, who led the Umoja (unit) writing workshops in the school district and led a culturally relevant program; and Arlene Krulish of St. Michael, a member of the Spirit Lake Nation, who is improving access to health care on the reservation.

The South Dakota winners are: Lily Mendoza of Rapid City, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe who created the Red Ribbon Skirt Society to change national policies on missing and murdered indigenous women; David O’Hara of Sioux Falls, a professor and environmentalist who is expanding his work to foster a new generation of leaders; and Amber Zora of Rapid City, an artist and Iraq War veteran who has exhibited her work, organized anti-war exhibitions and taught art classes.