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Fellow Alumni

Meet the 2022-2023 Fellows

Daniel_Barrientez

Daniel Barrientez

Beltrami County: Felon-Friendly Employment

Nora Hertel

Nora Hertel

Wright County: Community Journalism

Fardowsa Iman

Fardowsa Iman

Stearns County: Addiction Treatment

Alex Ostenson

Alex Ostenson

Douglas County: Food Access

Brenna Rollie

Brenna Rollie

Polk County: Wellness & Community-Building

Kris Shelstad

Kris Shelstad

Lac qui Parle County: Community-building

Noreen Thomas

Noreen Thomas

Clay County: Sustainable Farming

Erin-Schutte-Wadzinski

Erin Schutte Wadzinski

Nobles County: Immigration

Upon graduation from high school, I moved to Connecticut for college and lived on the East Coast for the next 10 years while I attended college, started my career, and graduated from law school. However, when I became interested in practicing immigration law, I made the deliberate decision to move back home to Worthington so that I could use my skills to assist an underserved community that I know and love. I am passionate about opening a law firm (Kivu Immigration Law) specifically in Worthington to help meet the demand for immigration legal assistance in my hometown.

My goal is to increase access to affordable and high-quality legal representation to immigrants and refugees from all financial backgrounds residing in Southwest Minnesota with my immigration law firm in Worthington, Kivu Immigration Law

Even though one-third of Worthington’s residents are foreign-born immigrants (the highest percentage anywhere in the state), there are no private law firms in Southwest Minnesota that practice immigration law. My law firm, Kivu Immigration Law, addresses the current shortage of immigration services in Southwest Minnesota so that rural residents do not need to travel several hours to Minneapolis or Omaha for legal assistance.

The desire to address and close a local resource gap inspired me to start Kivu Immigration Law to serve immigrants from all financial backgrounds by offering below-market, fixed-rate legal services on immigration-related matters.

Meet the 2020-2021 Fellows

Jon-Friesner

Jonathan Friesner

Crow Wing County: Indoor Agriculture

Hamdia Mohamed

Hamdia Mohamed

Stearns County: Sober Homes

Anne O'Keefe Jackson

Renville County: Tribal Arts

Alise Sjostrom

Alise Sjostrom

Stearns County: Sustainable Agriculture

Rachel Stone

Rachel Stone

Clay County: Youth Empowerment

Marc Van Herr

Marc Van Herr

Stearns County: Mental Health

Erin-Schutte-Wadzinski

Erin Schutte Wadzinski

Nobles county: Immigration

Meet the 2017-2018 Fellows

Annie Deckert

Economic Development

Rod Greder

Attention Deficit Disorder Support

Hudda Ibrahim

Bridging Cultures

Quinn Nystrom

Diabetes Awareness