Spotlight On...

 

New Facilitators - Fall 2009

 

 

Bob Mankaka's journey to Rochester began in South Africa. He works as a soccer coach with the Rochester Youth Soccer Association and with Rochester Public Schools.

 

 

 

David Karan is retired psychologist who specialized in working with at risk students. Since his retirement, he has continued to do volunteer work with at risk students.

 

 

 

Frederick Douglas, an RN at Mayo Clinic, is a leader in Rochester's African American community, serving on the board of the board of African American Leadership Council, among other things. He also volunteers with Rochester Public Schools.

 

Jennifer Grantham hails from Kansas City, Missouri. A former teacher, she returned to school for a nursing degree and now works part time at Mayo Clinic. She has two adopted African American children.

 

 

Originally from Texas, Jeremy Felder lived all over the South before moving to wintry Minnesota. He has been in Rochester 6 years.

 

 

 

 

Born and raised in Minnesota, Mary Jones joined the Mayo staff as a physician in 1990. Four years later, she had to resign her position because of multiple sclerosis. In spite of her medical condition, she has continued to serve the community through volunteer work in the areas of homelessness, politics, and education.

 

 

Ojulu Ochalla is from the Anuak tribe of western Ethiopia. He worked as a history teacher and then in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs--including several years at the Ethiopian embassy in Geneva--before applying for asylum in the United States.

 

Rashad Lartey is a recent graduate Rochester Community and Technical College where he played football with the Rochester Giants while obtaining his Associates degree.

 

 

 

Another Southerner, Shameyrae Miller came from Georgia and now lives in Austin. She commutes daily to Rochester for her job as a program director at Child Care Resource and Referral.

 

 

Tierre Webster is an associate pastor at Word of Life Church in Rochester. He is active in the leadership of Rochester's African American community.

 

 

 

Originally from Chicago, Willie Tipton's early life was marked by poverty and tragedy, as he lost a brother to murder and a sister to cancer. He overcame great obstacles to graduate from college, and today he works with Family Services Rochester, helping African American youth with truancy issues.