Community Committee & System Partners

EMS Supervisor - Allina Health EMS

Brent Baker is an EMS supervisor for Allina Health EMS. He has over twenty years of urban, suburban and rural 911 responses. He holds an associate’s degree in Paramedicine from Century College and Bachelors in Organizational Administration from Metropolitan State University. He lives in suburban Ramsey County.

Director, Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) - City of Saint Paul

Brooke Blakey (she/her/hers) is the director of the Office of Neighborhood Safety for the City of Saint Paul.  Brooke has served in various positions from law enforcement overseeing operations, investigations, administration and community outreach and engagement, along with ushering forward the development of the Metro Transit Police Department’s Homeless Action Team (HAT).

Brooke has also served in the Ramsey County Public Defender's Office and the Minnesota State Fair Police Department, holding an array of positions, including the Department’s Public Information Officer. Brooke has an Undergraduate degree in Child Psychology and Criminology from the University of Minnesota, a Post Bachelor's degree in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and a Master of Science in Forensic Science with an emphasis on Criminal Investigation from National University. She is also a graduate of the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command #484 and has advanced certifications from the FBI’s Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (FBI-LEEDA), and Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (MNBCA). Brooke is a mother of two and a proud St. Paulite, who in her free time she enjoys traveling and spending tine with her family.

ER Crisis Social Worker - Regions Hospital

Kristin Canan, MSW, LICSW, is an ER Crisis Social Worker for Regions Hospital. With a master's degree in social work and an interpersonal trauma studies certification from University of Denver, Kristin specializes in healing trauma and many of the ways people attempt to numb and cope with trauma including suicidality, addictions, dissociation and eating disorders. Kristin has served in multiple leadership and program development roles at all levels of care. As a former victim advocate with multiple interpersonal violence agencies, street outreach worker and a victim crisis responder responding to scenes alongside seven different law enforcement and fire/EMS agencies, Kristin also has an intimate understanding of the trauma and crisis present in the community, both within community members and first responders, and the impact that trauma has on our experiences and responses. Kristin has spent her career actively pursuing healing trauma within individuals, communities and systems, and she fully believes that if trauma can be addressed and responded to from individual, community and systemic levels, we can heal our society and systems from the inside out. 

Ramsey County Resident

Rebecca Church has lived in the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood of Saint Paul for the past 30 years, raising two children, both now graduates of Saint Paul Public Schools and the University of Minnesota. She has a Ph.D. in Medieval History with an interest in cultural interaction and hybridity in the Western Mediterranean, currently teaching medieval and world history at Metropolitan State University, with a focus on social hierarchies like race, class, gender and religion. Rebecca is enthusiastic about rethinking Ramsey County’s response to community members who are in need of safety and security assistance, so that we can respond in ways that help those in distress and avoid putting community members in greater danger.

Emergency Communications Manager - Ramsey County Emergency Communications Center

Laura Espy is an Emergency Communications Manager at Ramsey County Emergency Communications Center. She has worked in emergency communications for 17 years, starting with the St Paul Police Department in 2004. In 2007, Saint Paul, Ramsey County and Maplewood merged their respective emergency communications centers into one Ramsey County Emergency Communication Center. She has worked in the titles of Telecommunicator, Law Dispatcher, Fire Dispatcher and Supervisor before becoming a Manager in 2018. Laura has a bachelor’s degree from University of Phoenix in Business Public Administration.

Proof Alliance

Melissa Favila is an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of South Dakota. She is a lifelong advocate for communities that experience health inequities. She has spent 27 years working in healthcare with a passion for working with ethnically and culturally diverse communities. She is currently working at Proof Alliance with a specific focus on reducing the rates of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in Native American/American Indian communities. She also serves as the point of contact for Our Children Are Sacred, a project that is creating an app and Public Service Messaging that is specifically customized for Native American communities. This work prioritizes culturally appropriate prevention messaging and provides tools to promote healing from historical trauma, as well as provides culturally specific resources. Her most important job is that of Mother and Grandmother of her four children and three grandchildren. She resides in Saint Paul and enjoys spending time gardening and learning about traditional Native American foods and medicines.

Council Member - City of Vadnais Heights

Erik comes to the Co-Design Circle with insight into the suburban city perspective. He is active in his community as a Vadnais Heights City Council Member, board member of the Vadnais Heights Community Foundation and board member of his homeowner’s association.  Professionally, Erik is a PhD scientist and entrepreneur.

President - NAMI Ramsey County

Mindy Greiling served in the House of Representatives in Minnesota for 20 years, has served on the national and state National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) boards and is currently president of NAMI Ramsey County. She recently authored the book “Fix What You Can: Schizophrenia and A Lawmaker’s Fight for Her Son.”

Deputy County Manager of Health and Wellness - Ramsey County

Kathy Hedin was promoted to Deputy County Manager of Health and Wellness in November 2020. Prior to that she served as director of Saint Paul - Ramsey County Public Health since 2018. Hedin joined Ramsey County in 2001 as an Environmental Health Technician and has been promoted into a number of roles within the department since. These include Health Educator - where she worked on issues such as reducing community violence and chronic disease prevention through community engagement - and Manager of Healthy Communities where she worked on issues such as healthy youth development, mental health, aging, health equity, and sexual violence help and prevention.

Hedin is a 2020-2021 Minnesota Young American Leader and a 2018-2020 Kresge National Emerging Leader in Public Health. She has a bachelor’s degree in community health - health science from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and earned a master’s degree in human services - social and community work, from Capella University, as well as a certificate from the Harvard Kennedy School. Hedin lives in Saint Paul with her husband and two children.

Executive Director - Steve Rummler HOPE Network

Alicia House is the Executive Director of the Steve Rummler HOPE Network (SRHN). SRHN has been on the forefront of advocacy, education, overdose prevention and awareness in the state of Minnesota since 2011. Alicia has past experience working with opioid use disorder clients in residential, outpatient and sober living settings. She has a Bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Through collaborative efforts with over 500 MN community organizations, Alicia continues to work toward saving lives and reducing stigma through education and services.

Manager of Health and Education - MN Council of Churches Refugee Services

Katia Iverson Kadogo is a human services professional with over ten years experience in the field of refugee resettlement and services to immigrants in the Twin Cities. She currently holds the position of Manager of Health and Education with the MN Council of Churches Refugee Services where she manages and previously worked as the Interpreter Manager and Client Services Coordinator with The Center for Victims of Torture. With six years as case manager providing cultural orientation and initial services to newly-arrived families in their homes, Katia recognizes that immigrants face significant challenges as they begin again in Minnesota and aims to be part of solutions that both welcome and honor them. Katia is also a Saint Paul renter, a wife and Mama to a bicultural, bilingual toddler. She is honored to be included in this cohort of community leaders developing processes that aim to serve everyone in our community well. 

Deputy Chief of the Operations Division - Saint Paul Police Department

Julie Maidment is the Deputy Chief of the Operations division for the Saint Paul Police Department, which includes leading the three patrol districts, the K9 Unit, Ordnance Disposal Unit and SWAT team. She also serves on the executive board for the Neighborhood House.  Julie has a bachelor’s degree from Mankato State University and a master’s degree from the University of St. Thomas in Education and Leadership. Julie leads and participates in the following community involved groups: St. Paul Police Traffic Stop Workgroup, Ramsey County Bail Reform Workgroup, Ramsey County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and the Ramsey County Emergency Communications Appropriate Response Co-Design Circle. Julie has been instrumental in developing the department’s policies and practices in collaboration with the community.  

Crisis & Resource Advocate - Women’s Advocates

Suneta Moua currently serves as a Crisis & Resource Advocate at Women’s Advocates. Suneta has over five years working with vulnerable, diverse populations and has educational background in Critical Race, Gender and Sexuality Theory. In her free time, she likes to read and care for her Persian cat, as well as going to the beach during the warmer months and thrift shopping.

Director of Public Safety - City of New Brighton

Tony Paetznick is the Director of Public Safety for the City of New Brighton, overseeing law enforcement, firefighting, and emergency management activities in partnership with the community. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association and the Mounds View Schools Education Foundation. A graduate of the University of St. Thomas, Tony has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and Spanish, and a master’s in Public Safety & Law Enforcement Leadership.  A lifetime resident of New Brighton, he has served in a variety of public safety roles for over three decades in the city. Tony is passionate about public safety employee health and wellness, and advocates for proactive police-community engagement, especially with neighborhoods and faith communities.

Ramsey County Resident

Nichole Ruiz (she/her and they/them) is a community member and lifelong resident of the Eastside of Saint Paul. They have spent the past few years working with houseless neighbors in and around Saint Paul, primarily through the framework of mutual aid. Through this work, she has seen firsthand how policy decisions and bureaucratic systems impact community members, particularly the unhoused.

Nichole firmly believes that many of these systems are insufficient to handle the needs of most people, and that it's time to re-imagine public safety, crisis response, and the accessibility of crucial resources, so that our most vulnerable neighbors will no longer be allowed to fall through the cracks.

Deputy Chief of Operations - Saint Paul Fire Department

Deputy Chief of Operations, Saint Paul Fire Department. Team Lead for SPFDs new Community Advocacy Response (CARES) Team, an alternative co-response team that will pair a social advocate with an EMT for engagement with the St Paul’s most vulnerable and underserved residents.  Chief Sampson has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, with an emphasis in Law, Crime and Deviance from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, and has been in the professional fire service as well as a Nationally Registered Paramedic since 2005.

Director - Ramsey County, Mental Health Division

Sophia Thompson is the director of Ramsey County’s Mental Health division where she works to ensure all individuals and families have equitable access to culturally specific services and supports. Under her leadership, she is transforming the county’s mental health services through cultural responsiveness, racial equity, and an understanding of historical and generational trauma. Sophia has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Minnesota and has served in various positions in child protection and adult mental health at Ramsey County for the past 13 years.

Healthy Communities Division Manager - Ramsey County Public Health

Kee Vang works at Saint Paul Ramsey County Public Health as the Healthy Communities Division Manager. Kee leads a diverse team of over 30 staff and is a servant leader. Kee brings many skills to his daily work and strives to build strong collaborations to achieve program outcomes. In addition to his work, Kee is married and has four children. Away from work, he enjoys exercising, running and spending time with his family.