STATEMENT OF SUPPORT

December 21, 2021

Rochester Public School Board of Education

615 7th Street SW
Rochester, MN 55902

Re: Support for Rochester Public Schools diversity, equity, and inclusion work

Rochester Public Schools Board of Education Members,

Diversity Council is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the realization of civic, health, and educational equity, writing
today on behalf of a coalition of organizations with collective concern for the education and wellbeing of our
community’s youth.

We wish to express our support for the ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion work taking place within Rochester Public
Schools. We recognize and admire your visible and persistent commitment to addressing diversity issues and disparities
at both the individual school and district level. We are grateful for your leadership as Board of Education members and
for your support of Dr. Pekel, district administrators, and staff guiding this work.

Here is why we believe diversity, equity, and inclusion work is essential to student and community success:

1. Our public education systems must be designed to recognize and affirm the human dignity of every student.
2. Our educators and administrators must have the knowledge and tools to create culturally responsive
environments for students to learn and thrive.
3. Understanding how our systems and structures work is imperative if we are to identify and address disparities
and achievement gaps.

We recognize the social and political stressors that accompany these decisions at this point in time and are resolute in
our support of your decision to continue to work toward more equitable schools.

Thank you for your service and your time. We appreciate the effort expended by each of you in your role on the Board of
Education of Rochester Public Schools.

Sincerely,

Community Undersigned (Appearing alphabetically by organization name)

Ability Building Community

Wayne Stenberg, Executive Director

Barbershop Talk
Andre Crockett, Host
Bud Whitehorn, Co-Host

C.E.R.T. – Community Engagement Response Team

Bud Whitehorn, Founder
Andre Crockett, Co-Founder

City of Rochester MN
Brooke Carlson, Council President
Molly Dennis, Councilmember Ward 6

The Collective
Tara Freimund, Executive Director

Cradle to Career
Claudia Tabini, Interim Co-Executive Director
Kelsey Duffy, Interim Co-Executive Director

Diversity Council
Jamia Erickson, Board President
Amrita Prakaashana, Board Vice President
Erin Blake, Board Treasurer
Al Lun, Board Secretary
Julie Hobbs, Ph.D., Board Member
Mamisoa Knutson, Board Member
Sumedha Penheiter, Ph.D., Board Member
Erin Rahman, Board Member
Dr. Nicole Sandhu, Board Member
Clara Sifuentes, Board Member
George Thompson, Board Member
Dee Sabol, Executive Director
Kylie Bartz, EquityLogic™ and Communications Program Specialist
Catherine Davis, EquityLogic™ Program Director
Camila Hallemeier, Development Manager
Kathy Harowski, Ph.D., Organizational Equity Strategist
Savita Katarya, Sr. Organizational Equity Strategist
Stefanie Meunier, Bookkeeper
Rebecca Minkus, Youth, Family & Community Education Program Specialist
Heidi Wilkins, Youth, Family & Community Education Director
Victoria Ness, Citizen Stakeholder
Dr. Gurpreet Sandhu, Citizen Stakeholder
Amy Hocraffer, Citizen Stakeholder

Family Service Rochester

Scott Maloney, Executive Director

ISAIAH
Jack Dudley, Southern MN Organizer

The Minnesota Group

Char Kunkel, Ph.D.
Jyoti Grewal, Ph.D.
Ron Ferguson, Ph.D.

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America

Donna Miller, Rochester Local Group Co-Lead
Alisha Eiken, Rochester Local Group Co-Lead

PossAbilities of Southern Minnesota

Susan Mackert, Executive Director

Rochester Branch of NAACP

Walé Elegbede, President
William C. Jordan, Jr., Vice President
Rachel Snyder, Treasurer
Barbara Jordan, Secretary
Cleophas Pearson, Assistant Secretary
Kindra Ramaker, Assistant Secretary & Chair Membership Committee
Ray Schmitz, Co-Chair Environmental and Climate Justice Committee
Justin Cook, Co-Chair Education Committee and Criminal Justice Committee
Phil Wheeler, Co-Chair Education Committee
Jennifer Belisle, Chair Economic Development Committee

Rochester Community Initiative

Yasmin Ali, Chief Operating Officer
Mary Villarama, Assistant Operating Officer
Annie Chen, Co-Director of Logistics
Rita Dai, Co-Director of Logistics
Ella Mitchell, Co-Director of Public Relations
Layna Erredge, Co-Director of Public Relations
Jenny Yan, Co-Director of Development
Natasha Sortland, Co-Director of Development
William Laudon, Director of Education

Rochester Community and Technical College

Dr. Jeffrey Boyd, President