JODI BROADWELL, 39 . DULUTH

Whatdoyoudo?

I run a small nonprofit, Lincoln Park Children and Families Collaborative. Our mission is to strengthen the Lincoln Park community by connecting families who care about young children.

Education

• High school diploma: Denfeld.

• Associate of Arts degree: Lake Superior College.

• Bachelors of Fine Arts in studio art, Master of Arts in art history and certificate in nonprofit management: University of Wisconsin-Superior.

Communityinvolvement

• Community Action Duluth board of directors for six years, two years as chair.

• Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial, Inc., board of directors for four years, two years as co-chair Currently an emeritus board director.

• Co-organizeroftheAlabama35,adelegationof DuluthianswhotraveledtoMontgomery,Ala.,toattend theopeningoftheLegacyMuseumandtheunveilingof theNationalMemorialforPeaceandJustice.

• Duluth-Superior Pride Committee for five years.

• League of Women Voters-Duluth board of directors for three years, and a member for six years

• Election judge for Duluth for five years, chairperson at my assigned precinct several times.

• City commissioner, in my fourth year of service on the Duluth Public Arts Commission.

• Caretaker of a Big Red Bookshelf for over five years.

• NAACP, Duluth branch member

• Board of directors for Ecolibrium3.

Tellusaboutyourlovedones

I have one child, Kaosu. He is 16 and will be a senior this year at Harbor City International School. He is duallyenrolledthroughthePSEOprogramandattends Lake Superior College full time. Kaosu and I have one pet,Pawsha.Sheisasweetcatthatweadoptedtogether nine years ago.

Whatdoyoudoinyourfreetime?

I enjoy reading and watching documentaries about art and history, experiencing art at museums and galleries, as well as making art, traveling as much as possible, workinginmygardens,continuingtolearnhowtocook, practicingyoga,bowling,walkingwithinnature,sharing amealwithfriendsandfamily,catchingacomedyshow oraplay,andmentoringyouthinmyneighborhood.

Tellusaboutaninfluentialpersoninyourlife Shor and I met in 2012. Shor identifies as transgender and shared with us some of their experiences being transgender, the importance of using preferred pronouns, and why access to hormone therapy is an issue to support and advocate for.

A few years later my son came out as transgender. Because I had met Shor and learned so much about pronouns, hormone access, and other issues around being transgender, I was able to support and advocate for my son in a way that I would not have been able to otherwise. Shor continues to be an inspiration and source of support for me on this journey together.

What’sthebestdecisionyou’veevermade?

ServingtwoyearsintheMinnesotaReadingCorpsasan early literacy teacher in a Duluth Head Start classroom. ItwasthroughthisnationalservicethatIwasintroduced to issues around generational poverty, systemic and institutional racism, and how they intersect with the links between low literacy levels and incarceration rates.EverythingIexperiencedasaMinnesotaReading Corps member has influenced employment, volunteer work and projects I worked on after my service and has helped lead me to where I am today.

Whatisyourbiggestaccomplishment?

Oneofmybiggestaccomplishmentsprofessionallywas a three-year effort (2015-18) to help create community garden plots and demonstration gardens at Harrison Park. This effort included:

• The Lincoln Park Children and Families Collaborative receiving the Communities Eliminating Tobacco Inequities Award to create healthy spaces in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.

• Successfully aligning this goal with the city of Duluth’s Harrison Park Mini Master Plan, which included a desire for community garden plots and demonstration gardens.

• Leveraging funding from three additional sources for workshops in the park and collaborating with more than 10 partners to get the work done

WhatkeepsyouintheTwinPorts?

•OurgreatLakeSuperior.

•Thepeoplewholive,workandmaketheirhomeshere.

•Therevitalizationworkthatistakingplacein neighborhoods;

•Myprofessionalandpersonalworkinmy communities.

•ThepotentialDuluthhastobecometrulyequitablefor allcitizens.

Describeyourhappyplace

Places that make me happy include being close to the St. Louis River, specifically the Western Waterfront Trail. I also enjoy hanging out on the shores of Lake Superior, hunting for rocks and beach glass, taking in the sights and sounds, feeling the cool breeze on my skin and the water splash onto my feet. I especially enjoy the peacefulness of relaxing next to a small lake when the fireflies are out or listening to loons call for each other as the moon rises.

What’syourfive-yearplan?

Getting my kiddo off to college next fall, working on making art and completing my house and garden projects, traveling as much as possible, and exploring becoming a foster parent. At the Collaborative, we are working on starting a family daycare, creating a threeyearstrategicplan,andseekingsupportandsustainability for our current and upcoming programming.

Whatwordsofwisdomdoyouhave foryoungadults?

My words of wisdom to young adults who are seeking employment is to network, network, network. It’s not always what you know, but who you know.

Mywordsofwisdomforyoungadultsingeneralistobe mindful about everything you do and be sure to make time to take care of and get to know yourself, your families, your communities and your environment.

What do you do?

I’m an environmental educator and naturalist — the headnaturalistwiththeFriendsofSax-ZimBogand educationmanageratHawkRidgeBirdObservatory

Non-paidrolesincludesecretaryandEducationand Field Trip Committee co-chair for Duluth Audubon Society, and Young Birders Committee chair for the Minnesota Ornithologists Union.

Education

Bachelor of Art in environmental biology from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, Winona and Master of Education in environmental education from the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Community involvement

My community involvement stems from the work and volunteering I do through Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory and Duluth Audubon Society. The fall season at Hawk Ridge includes interactions with local school groups, adult groups and passersby. With Duluth Audubon, I lead field trips and programs. I’m active in the local and greater Minnesota birding and dragonflying communities.

Tell us about your loved ones

I am thankful for my parents and grandparents for their support and daily inspiration. My younger brother amazes me with his accomplishments. I am lucky and ever grateful to have found an amazing and inspiring partner in Kristina. I am doubly lucky to have found community in Duluth, and those friends are family to me.

What do you do in your free time?

Much of my free time is spent in the field with Kristina — hiking or snowshoeing, or chasing arounddragonfliesanddamselflies,birding,looking for orchids or moths or butterflies or fish or reptiles and amphibians ... you get the idea! The outdoors take up much of my time, but the little that is left is filled with music, reading or exploring Minnesota’s state parks with my sweetheart.

Tellusaboutaninfluentialpersoninyourlife

Onepersonthatdoestendtostickouttimeandtime again was a professor who taught me at St. Mary’s University, Dr. Phil Cochran. Dr. C, as we called him, passed away a couple of years ago, but there isn’t a day that goes by where something I do hasn’t been influenced by him. He inspired my brother and I to write our first publication and he allowed me to test my teaching chops by letting me teach a portion of an ichthyology lab, simply because he saw that I was able and interested in teaching. He truly is an inspiration in my life as being both an educator and a scientist.

What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?

One of the best decisions I’ve made was joining the Phi Mu Alpha Music Fraternity at St. Mary’s. It was great to be part of a group of folks as invested and interested in music as I was and continue to be. I met some astounding musicians and men in the fraternity and they made a major impact on my development as a person; pushing me outside of my comfort zone, little by little, and all the while being there to support me when those challenges seemed too great.

What is your biggest accomplishment?

It’s the role I play in this community as an environmental educator. When I am sharing a passion for all species, I can have an impact through small achievements that make a huge influence on people’s lives: encouraging folks to take a longer look (or listen) at what is around them, or under their feet, or up in the sky. I hope that I can make the outdoors a place for lifelong learning.

What keeps you in the Twin Ports?

We are in a special part of Minnesota ecologically and many of the birds and bugs found here are unique. We also are amazingly lucky in this area to have an incredible environmental education community that collectively is doing special things.

Describe your happy place

One of my favorite places is the Driftless Area. This un-glaciated region — making up much of southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, southwestern Wisconsin and northwestern Illinois — makes me incredibly happy; the ecology is diverse, as is the landscape My other happy place can be found at Mounds View Grassland, in Iowa County, Wis. I spent two summers there doing prairie restoration work and got to intimately know every inch of the 576 acres of this incredible prairie complex. I grew up “on the prairie,” as I like to say, and the wide-open spaces and compass plants on Mounds View Grassland sing to me constantly

What’s your five-year plan?

I don’t have a defined plan, honestly. I am in a pretty goodplaceinmylifeandIhopeIcanstayinDuluth and continue to educate and inspire about the natural world.

What words of wisdom do you have for young adults?

Don’t be afraid to take a chance on an opportunity outside of your comfort zone. This is one of the best pieces of advice I’ve received and it has resonated with me ever since.