Rev. Gloria Roach-Thomas, Senior Pastor
Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church
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“Providing people with knowledge and understanding of financial matters in order for them to live meaningful, productive and healthy financial lives…to live beyond the ‘paycheck to paycheck’ syndrome…”
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Reverend Gloria Roach-Thomas, a South Carolina native, has lived in Minnesota for 38 years. Her career path began in teaching, banking and then moved into the non-profit world. She was “called to ministry later in life” and holds a Master of Divinity from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. In 2004-2005 Reverend Thomas led the Church in a $1.6 million dollar construction and renovation project which provided a facility well-equipped to meet the needs of the community. Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church is woven into the fabric of community-including its Fiscally Fit Center - which empowers participants, "bringing families together to work toward eliminating economic, social and other disparities, and to foster financial health and wellness.”
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Leadership
David McGee, Executive Director
Build Wealth Minnesota, Inc.
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“Our community will be positively impacted by united, comprehensive collaborative approaches that build sustainable wealth and equity for our people.”
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David McGee is the Chair of HOMECo and the founding Executive Director of Build Wealth Minnesota (BWMN) - a 501c3 non-profit organization designated a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) by the US Department of Treasury. For the past 35 years as a certified banking and financial services professional, David has worked in community administering culturally-sensitive courses in credit awareness, mortgage underwriting, loan origination and homeownership education.
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Nieeta Presley, Executive Director
Aurora St.Anthony Community Development
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“Housing Opportunities Made Equitable (HOME) are pathways to generational prosperity”
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Ms. Nieeta Presley was appointed the executive director of the Aurora St.Anthony Neighborhood Development Corporation after serving a year and a half as its community organizer in 2002. She is also the vice president of the MCASA Homes, LLC, the chair of NEDU, LLC board, and the vice chair of the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD). She was elected to serve on the St. Paul Mayor’s Central Corridor Task Force that created the Central Corridor Development Strategy (CCDS) for the Central Corridor and serves as a Commisioner on the board of the St. Paul Human Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity department. Ms. Presley co-initiated the MCASA Homes partnership with Model Cities. MCASA Homes project uses lease-to-purchase and contract-for-deed models to provide access for low- to moderate-income families to gain homeownership and has led several and participated in three other Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) projects; mixed-use developments; University-Dale Apartments, Frogtown Square; and one currently underway — Western U Plaza projects on University Avenue along the new Green Line. With our communities becoming more and more diverse, Ms. Presley believes that we will need diverse leadership working together on common ground, for the common good to solve diverse issues.
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Karen Carey-Bonner, Program Manager
Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church
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‘Providing the community with financial empowerment training for families to obtain wealth andstabilization of the family”
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Ms. Carey-Bonner is the Program Manager with the Camphor Fiscally Fit Center. A St.Paul native, she holds a B.S. degree in Human Resource Management, and held a Minnesota Real Estate Broker’s license for 10 years. She also holds a trainer’s certificate for both the “Four Cornerstones of Financial Literacy” and “Four Direction of Financial Security,” and a trainer’s certificate for “Pre-purchase Home Ownership Counselor Training” through the Minnesota Home Ownership Center. Ms. Carey-Bonner provides one-on-one counseling to individuals in the areas of budgeting and understanding a credit report. She educates about the effect the credit report has on individual purchasing power and an individual’s economic stability in today’s society.
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Dr. Beverly Oliver Hawkins, Chief Executive Officer
Model Cities of St.Paul, Inc.
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“Having a stable place to live is linked with the economic, educational, social and civic aspects of a family’s life, all of which are fundamental to their having quality of life; this holistic approach is fundamental to the HOMECo model.”
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Beverley Oliver Hawkins, Model Cities’ CEO, joined the organization in 1984. Under her leadership, she has guided
the agency from a satellite clinic of the St. Paul Division of Public Health to one private company, Model Cities’ Enterprises, and four non-profit entities: Model Cities of St. Paul, Inc., Model Cities Family Development Center, Inc., and the establishment of Model Cities Community Development Corporation and Model Cities Properties. She serves as the chief executive officer for Model Cities affiliates, including Model Cities of St. Paul, Inc., Model Cities Community Development Corporation, Model Cities Enterprises, Model Cities Properties, Inc., Model Cities Families First, LLC and Model Cities Sankofa, LLC.
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