Originally posted: April 4, 2022
Most recent update: January 17, 2023
Department of Public Transformation (DoPT) currently has its home base at The YES! House in the community of Granite Falls, MN. We care deeply about the community of Granite Falls and want to hold ourselves accountable to being good neighbors. Below is a list of actions for community connectivity that our organization will be implementing in 2022 to work toward strengthening our relationships with the Granite Falls area community. We are keeping the action items’ progress updated as much as possible as we go.
If you have any questions about any items listed below or are interested in being involved, please contact DoPT staff or board representatives that are the points of contact for each.
The Story of The YES! House
We will update how we tell the story of the acquisition and renovation of The YES! House building related to the use of the word “vacant,” supporting local ownership in local assets, and addressing narratives of colonialism and rural deficit.
Points of contact: Sarina Otaibi & Nancy Valentine (Staff); Anna Claussen (Board)
Current Status: Members of DoPT’s Equity & Engagement Committee, a joint board and staff committee, released updated language on June 30, 2022 to more accurately share the background of DoPT’s project—The YES! House in Granite Falls. This is a work in progress, and we invite you to follow along on the journey. theyeshouse.org/background
Local Staff & Increased Community Presence
We are launching a call for a staff position that will be responsible for Events and Community Engagement associated with The YES! House. This position will be held by someone who lives in the Granite Falls area and will help to coordinate The YES! House Futures Committee. They will be responsible for planning and coordinating community events that celebrate local and regional artists (pending CDC guidelines) at The YES! House.
Points of contact: Ashley Hanson (Staff); Heather McDougall & Bethany Lacktorin (Board)
Current Status: We are thrilled to welcome Luwaina Al-Otaibi to our team as the new Community Engagement and Events Coordinator this year! Luwaina officially started on June 20, 2022 and has begun holding regular open hours at The YES! House on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:00-4:00 PM. DoPT has also hosted a number of public events over the summer at The YES! House and in neighboring establishments and communities.
In September & October 2022, Luwaina worked to form the Creative Collaboration Team (aka CCT) which is an event planning team consisting of local residents. This group will lead the community engagement efforts at The YES! House (in the building and potentially at various other locations around the area) and they already have so many wonderful ideas!
On October 20, 2022, Luwaina and the CCT held a free community event to kick off The YES! House Presents event series. We sent out a community-wide mailing to invite local residents. The event included cake, camaraderie, live music, community mural painting, games, idea sharing activities, and brief toasts from the event organizers. We had a great turn out of 70 people throughout the evening!
As of December 2022, the CCT has grown to include 9 local community members who meet regularly to plan a whole bunch of exciting happenings in the coming year!
Local Board Representation
We have three new board members up for nomination and vote in April. One of these nominations is a resident of Granite Falls. One of these nominations is a resident of rural Southwest Minnesota. Additionally, DoPT will be adding a board member open application process to our website.
Points of contact: Ashley Hanson (Staff); Jessica Huang (Board)
Current Status: We onboarded three new board members in May 2022: Beth Pullan (Granite Falls, MN); Anne O’Keefe Jackson (Morton, MN); and Ashley Pourier (Pine Ridge, SD). Check out full bios here! (Update: Ashley Pourier stepped down effective October 2022 in order to focus her energy and time toward projects in her local community in Pine Ridge, SD. We are grateful for her service and support, and sent her off with love!) We have also added a public Board of Directors Candidate Introduction form to the Staff & Board and Contact pages of our website in June 2022.
Equity & Engagement Committee
We launched our Equity & Engagement Committee in December of 2021. This group helps us hold ourselves accountable to our mission and keep equity at the core of all we do throughout our programs and operations. This committee will oversee and evaluate these actions for Community Connectivity at large.
Points of contact: Hannah Holman & Nancy Valentine (Staff); Leah Cooper & Rachel Engh (Board)
Current Status: Our Equity and Engagement Committee meets monthly and has been the primary driver in ensuring that our 2022 Community Connectivity actions are continuing to move forward. The Committee is a joint board and staff committee, and currently includes all DoPT staff members and four board members. The committee discusses regular updates on the action items listed in this plan, among other initiatives.
Additionally, DoPT has been working to strengthen our internal policies and procedures. In an effort to more efficiently and equitably listen to and address community feedback and grievances, the DoPT Executive Committee approved our Community Grievance Policy & Procedures on May 27, 2022. A link to the policy and the Formal Community Grievance Report Form was made publicly available on May 31, 2022, and can be found towards the bottom of the contact page on the DoPT website.
The YES! House Futures Committee
The goal of The YES! House Futures (YHF) Committee is to establish a vision statement for the future operations and ownership of The YES! House through a community-led process. This process will align with community transparency and public participation, a systematic barrier we are addressing with our Activate Rural Program.
Points of contact: Sarina Otaibi (Staff); Beth Pullan & Bethany Lacktorin (Board)
Current Status: DoPT staff and board started the design and planning process for The YES! House Futures Committee in early June 2022; we communicated plans for the Committee to the Granite Falls City Council in August 2022; and we released information and applications on September 1, 2022. The application deadline was extended from October 5, 2022 to October 10, 2022. All 7 selected committee members were officially confirmed in early December 2022, and we look forward to making a public announcement in early 2023. The committee held its first meeting on January 12, 2023. The committee will meet 3 additional times, as outlined in the Committee Timeline in the Call for Committee Applications, before completing their service in June 2023. More information at theyeshouse.org/yeshousefutures
Strengthening Relationships
We will work with specific community groups to organize listening sessions and/or community roundtables to better inform DoPT’s role and the role of The YES! House in the Granite Falls area.
Points of contact: Ashley Hanson & Holly Doll (Staff); Equity & Engagement Committee | Current Chair: Leah Cooper (Board)
Current Status: DoPT staff began the planning for these listening sessions in August 2022, alongside of The YES! House Futures work. These sessions have been occurring in partnership with various community groups, organizations, and businesses, and will continue throughout 2023.
To contact the DoPT Board of Directors, please email board@publictransformation.org.