Meet four of Minnesota’s anti-racism advocates

Each year, the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation hosts the Facing Race Awards, an event that honors community advocates working tirelessly to create lasting change.

These awards underscore the Foundation’s dedication to championing equity by honoring the leaders who are paving the path ahead.

Meet this year’s award recipients:

Ma Elena Gutierrez

Ma Elena is a trusted community leader in Central Minnesota, advocating to lessen equity gaps facing low-income Latinx individuals. As the Executive Director of Fe y Justicia, she expands access to information, fosters community leadership and challenges systemic racism.

In 2023, Ma Elena was instrumental in passing the Earned Sick and Safe Time law, which ensures all workers receive sick time. Her community organizing also led to a $3 million lawsuit against Evergreen Acres Dairy for wage theft and abusive practices toward their agricultural workers.

On a local level, Ma Elena organizes community health and immigration clinics, where residents are connected with medical care and immigration relief options. Her tireless efforts have built bridges, created policy change and touched hearts.

Tish Jones

Tish, a Saint Paul native, is a community organizer and activist dedicated to improving the health and wellness of Black people in her community. She believes in multi-generational problem solving, anchored by transparency and process, justice and equity.

She is the executive director and founder of TruArtSpeaks, an organization that cultivates literacy, leadership and social justice by studying spoken word and Hip-Hop culture. Tish has a gift for connecting, whether that’s Black artists to economic justice, youth to opportunity, people to health and wellness, or artists to equity.

Jametta Raspberry

Chef Jametta Raspberry is the Executive Director of Roots for the Home Team (Roots). Roots is dedicated to mentoring and empowering young Black, Indigenous, Asian, LatiniE, and LGBTQ+ communities in food production and sustainable business management.

Jametta is driven to create pathways to well-paying food careers and generate wealth for a new generation of leaders. Her courageous efforts are reimagining a just and equitable workforce across the hospitality and food industry with the potential to impact tens of thousands.

Larry Tucker

Larry is the co-founder and executive director of Kente Circle, an African American-owned clinic in Minneapolis that offers culturally responsive therapy to children and families. They provide comprehensive mental health services to over 600 families annually.

Recognizing the need for a workforce equipped to address the mental health needs of underrepresented communities and communities of color, Larry founded the Kente Circle Training Center (KCTI). This center provides much-needed education to mental health providers, social workers and community partners on how to best support the racialized trauma needs of diverse communities. For 25 years, KCTI has educated mental health providers, social workers and community partners on supporting the racialized trauma needs of diverse populations.

Learn more about this year’s award recipients and watch their stories at FacingRace.org.