Danielle Grant named 2020 Women in Business Honoree by Mpls / St. Paul Business Journal

Congratulations to our president and CEO Danielle Grant, who has been named a Minneapolis / Saint Paul Business Journal Women in Business honoree for 2020! This year's awards recognize 52 women for their professional achievements and contributions to the Twin Cities community. Recipients include executives at large companies, entrepreneurs at startups, and leaders at nonprofits and government agencies.

Danielle joined the AchieveMpls team in 2016 and has nearly 30 years of experience in community engagement, collaboration-building, strategic planning and organizational management. Under her leadership, we have expanded our renowned Career & College Centers from Minneapolis into Saint Paul Public Schools, launched a new Career Readiness Initiative that has increased career exposure and postsecondary enrollment by Minneapolis high school students, partnered with Best Buy on new career and college readiness curriculum for Best Buy Teen Tech Centers, and created a new college internship program for young leaders of color.

Prior to AchieveMpls, Danielle held several positions with Minneapolis Public Schools, including Executive Director of Educational & Cultural Services and Indian Education, and Director of Indian Education. She has also served as Director of Policy and Communications for the Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board, where she built and managed community collaborations designed to improve health, increase stability and ensure school success for Minneapolis children and youth.

Danielle also serves as board chair of American Indian OIC and is a board member of the Minnesota Education Equity Partnership and the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce. She is an active member of the Minnesota Women’s Economic Roundtable, the Generation Next Leadership Council, the YMCA Twin Cities Mission Impact Council, Phillips Indian Educators, Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors, the National School Foundation Association Industry Leadership Council, and the Community Advisory Board at the Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank. She served as an alumni mentor at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs in 2016-17, and in 2018 participated in the Young American Leadership Program at Harvard Business School.

“Danielle is a visionary leader who inspires others through her actions,” says Hilary Marden-Resnik, chair of the AchieveMpls board of directors. “She is passionate about eliminating our region’s many opportunity gaps and has a strong voice in matters related to educational equity across our region. She has done a tremendous job of expanding the work of AchieveMpls so that ever-increasing numbers of students in the Twin Cities can explore and realize their career and college dreams. Thanks to her exemplary leadership, Danielle and her team are making a meaningful difference in the lives of over 15,000 young people each year."

Danielle, who is Turtle Mountain Ojibwe, was named Minnesota’s Outstanding American Indian Administrator by the Minnesota Indian Education Association in 2012. She also received the Benilde-St. Margaret’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2018. She holds a bachelor of arts from Marquette University and a master of public affairs from the University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

Link to the Minneapolis / Saint Paul Business Journal award announcement.