Education

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• Bachelors of Public Administration, Public Service Leadership, summa cum laude (3.857)

• University of St. Thomas, Certificate for Non-Profit Business Management

• Harvard School of Public Health, Advanced Certificate in Violence Prevention

 

Multidisiplinary Professional Experience

2017 - Present

Human Services Consultant                                                                      

Minnesota Department of Human Services

Child Safety and Permanency Division

Social Security Title IV-E - Fostering Connections - Educational Stability – ESSA Consultant

• Educational stability requirements for Social Security Act requirements of Title IV-E county/tribal implementation of under Fostering Connections and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

• Facilitate the development and implementation of Title IV-E Training Plans for four Minnesota tribes engaged in Title IV E Plans, addressing federal financial participation of training and administration costs for counties/tribes to ensure activities are eligible activities. 

• Administer the Title IV-E foster care candidacy program

• Provide technical assistance to the tribes in the American Indian Child Welfare Initiative (AICWI).

• Assist in developing expansion of Legal representation for parents, children, and agencies according to federal child welfare requirements

 

Rules and Legislation Coordinator                                                          

2013 – 2017

Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Driver and Vehicle Services Division (DVS)

• Timely completed three Good Cause rule amendment projects

• Timely completed one full rulemaking project with hearing Minnesota Motorcycle Road Guard

• Facilitate inclusion of content specialist data into Divisions rulemaking protocols 

• Interpret administrative protocols sufficient to meet

• Maintenance of Division rulemaking docket, rulemaking records, and obsolete rule notice

• Develop correspondence for the Office of Administrative Hearings, the Governor’s Office, and others.

• Coordinate with internal and external stakeholders during rulemaking projects; day-to-day public inquiries

• Coordinate bill reviews by content experts, supporting management legislative testimony and decisions

• Conduct research to inform the development of policy proposals consistent with the agency mission.

• Three-year member of the Annual Rule Makers Seminar Planning Committee for the required annual training offered to state agency rule-makers.

• Contributor to the edit process for the Minnesota Rulemaking Manual.

 

Program Administrator                                                                                                        

2002- 2013

Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)

Administrator and content expert for the Minnesota Fathers’ Adoption Registry (MFAR)

• Direct service delivery to putative fathers, providing program intake, resource and referral services

• Collaborate with state court administrators, county foster care, adoption, and welfare staff

• Collaborate with child protection officials relating to child protection and placement cases

• Develop operational procedures, guidelines, and administrative protocols

• Provided program compliance monitoring

• Planning team member of Children’s Justice Initiative, Fatherhood Services group

• Create and deliver training and technical assistance materials for program constituents, stakeholders, and community-based service providers

• Led internal and external agency interest and workgroups

• Designed public awareness campaigns, community, and targeted outreach for professional audiences

• Developed signage, brochures, including the development of a PSA’s

• Monitor state and federal legislation, policy, and practices in the field for vital records, putative fathers, and adoption Lead worker for assigned clerical assistants.

 

Community Health Coordinator                                                                                          

1998– 2002

University of Minnesota, School of Public Health, Epidemiology Division

Girls Health Enrichment Multi-Site Study-GEMS & Minnesota Dare Plus (75% Time)

• Coordinate youth-focused enrichment activities

• Create and lead three action teams of school-based, community, and parent participants

• Design and deliver direct interventions and services promoting changes that reduce student alcohol, violence, tobacco, or drug problems among middle school youth

• Assisted in development of protocols, implementation methods, study materials, and procedures

• Records management and data collection

• Facilitated implementation of community prevention initiatives, developed by the adult action team

• Completed evaluation documentation weekly, using web-based reporting procedures, within this multi-strategy prevention program and research study.

 

Project Director                                                                                                                    

1996 – 1998

The Minneapolis Foundation, Alternatives to Violence Coalition (AVCO)
A nationally affiliated initiatives that coordinated youth violence prevention, supported by metro-wide corporate, philanthropic, community and faith-based organizations collaboration through a public health model. 

• Volunteer recruitment and retention

• Develop orientation and deliver training to over ninety volunteers across multiple community agencies

• Develop, administer project budget, and lead fundraising

• Grant and report writing

• Coordinate and co-sponsor Advanced Leadership in Violence Prevention 3-day workshop in concert with and delivered by the Harvard School of Public Health

• Supervise professional staff and managed three dynamic volunteer workgroups of professionals focused on: (1) Media Violence (2) Violence Prevention Research and Public Policy and (3) Service Coordination

• Recruited youth, and planned special events such as a televised segment of Court TV; a Youth Speak Out with Harvard Professor, Dr. Alvin Poussaint; co-production of a commercial, etc.

• Liaison to the project’s national funding affiliate.

 

Juvenile Diversion Specialist                                                                                                

1993 – 1995

Minneapolis Police Department, Investigation Bureau, Juvenile Division.

• Member of the inaugural five-person project design team

• Develop program design, start up and implementation for a city-wide juvenile diversion and prevention program for the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD)

• Managed program operations and service delivery for the 5th Precinct (southwest quadrant of Minneapolis)

• Co-developed operating and policy procedures for project; records management of confidential juvenile arrest records

• Caseload management of misdemeanant, 6-18 year old court diverted youth; including supervision and counseling of 70-120 enrolled youth

• Developed internship placements, negotiated terms and conditions and monitored community service placements for assigned youth

• Collaborated with sworn officers, social service agencies, parents, social workers, teachers, administrators, community-based agencies, court services, and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.   

 

School Board Vice-Chair, Robbinsdale Area Schools, District 281               2002 - Present

The district includes a 12,500 plus student body, and over 800 professional, technical and trades staff. The district serves part or all of the cities of Robbinsdale, New Hope, Crystal, Golden Valley, Plymouth, Brooklyn Center, and Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, with an annual budget over $ 177,000,000. Named to the highest honor for public school board service,  the 2018 All State School Board by the Minnesota School Boards Association (MSBA). Three-year attendee at National School Boards Association (NSBA) Advocacy Institute, Washington, DC, 2015, 2016, 2017. Named by the Minnesota School Boards Association to the prestigious 2018 All-State School Board. Other assignments include:

• Established concept for inaugural District Community Connect Committee 2009

• Policy, review approval and governance for District  

• Fiduciary duties associated with levy authority, facility maintenance/construction bonding, budgeting

• Labor relations, and constituent concerns.

• Advocacy and lobbyist experience at the congressional level and state level around education policy.

• District representative to the Minnesota School Board Association (MSBA) delegate assembly

• District representative to the 42-member Association of Minnesota School Districts (AMSD)

 

Board Director                                                                                                           

2005 – 2019

West Metro Education Program (WMEP) Joint Powers School Board (JPB)

Former officer for nine consecutive years, including Chairwoman for 4 years. WMEP provides adult professional development for teachers and educational professionals around issues for equity, inclusion, integration, and desegregation with an annual budget of over $ 32,000,000. The JPB is comprised of the 11 school districts including: Edina, Hopkins, Brooklyn Center, Wayzata, Eden Prairie, St. Anthony/New Brighton, Columbia Heights, Richfield, Robbinsdale, Minneapolis, and St. Louis Park.

• Responsible for budget setting, governance, and policy development and monitoring.

• Navigated the organization through a strategic planning process from 2011 – 2014, which resulted in the successful conveyance of the two physical plants and school programs, June 2015.

 

 

Program Coordinator                                                                                                           

1998 – Present
Survivors for Violence Prevention, Inc.

• Lead planner for national advocacy group for victim’s rights, survivor services, and violence prevention.

• Managed day-to-day affairs, including major projects with the Harvard Youth Violence Prevention Center.

• Assisted in survey design; outreach, and evaluation.

• Lead planner for national conferences co-sponsored by the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).

• Grant writing and program development.

• Establish and maintain a national network of survivors

• Supervise graduate students and volunteers

 

Program Director – Co-Founder                                                                                           

1990 – 2002

Catalyst, A Program for Women

• Supervised professional social work staff, delivering case management

• Administered agency fiscal operations, grant writing and reporting

• Developed case management model for women offenders w/chemical abuse & child welfare issues

• Supervised the development of the program models for service delivery, including the technical design specifications for an Internet-based electronic information and referral case management system;

• Coordinated project development with the workgroup of Hennepin County School Support Truancy Unit, two local school districts, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, and Juvenile Probation.

• Managed, negotiation and selection process for technology vendors; administered agency operations; program planning and development, and fiscal operations.

 

Co-Founder                                                                                                               

2016 – Present

Minnesota African Heritage School Board Directors Group

• Leadership development for potential or existing candidates for public school board service.

• Strategic planning and issue educations for school board directors.

 

Founder

Minnesota School Board Directors of Color Leadership Project                               

2016 – Present

Development of leadership activities and curriculum for school board members of color.

Establishment of a mentoring model and professional development forum for directors.

Provision of skill-building and technical coaching for successful governance in public education.

 

Volunteer and Organizational Affiliations & Awards

2018 – Minnesota School Boards Association (MSBA) 2018 All-State School Board

2015 - Planning committee, 2014, 2015, 2016, Annual Rule Makers Seminar. Continuing Ed. Agency rule-makers.

2015 – 3-month Minn.  School Boards Association (MSBA) rep. to MN Dept. of Ed. Teacher Equity Advisory Comm.

2013 – Testimony at the MN Legislature for HF 247 Integration Revenue Program. Assoc. Metro. School Districts.

2013 – Rapid Health Impact Assessment of School Integration Strategies in Minnesota. Human Impact Partners and ISAIAH.  Stakeholder committee member

2011- 2012 MN Dept. of Ed. Integration Revenue Replacement Task Force:

2007 – 2009 Office of the State Registrar, Minn. Birth & Death Registration (MR&C) Planning Group
2007 – 2009 Office of the State Registrar Birth Data Quality Interest Group, Team Leader
2007 -  Stakeholder committee member. Fathers to the Forefront. Five-year Plan

2007 - Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) Father’s Program Improvement Planning Group;
2005 – 2006 Minnesota Supreme Court, Children’s Justice Initiative, Services for Fathers Sub-committee

 

National State and Local Presenter and Speaker

2019 Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. Continuing Medical Education Conference. The Impact of Violence and Trauma on Health and Healing Conference. “Adapting and Adopting Child Find Strategies to Serve Survivors in Education Settings”. Los Angeles, CA

2019 National School Board Association Co-Presenter, Council on Urban Education (CUBE) “Excellence is the Standard: An Equity Framework Supporting High Quality Education”. Miami, FL

2019 Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation (MRLF) Local Elected Officials Convening “Why Local Governance Matters”.

2015 Minnesota School Boards Association Co-Presenter: January 2015 Leadership Conference “Engaging Family and Community Members as Partners”

2014 National School Board Association (NSBA) Co-Presenter:  April 2014, New Orleans. “Building a World Series School District: We’re In It to Win It!”

2013 Minnesota Council of Non-Profits Annual Leadership Conference: October 24, 2013, Minneapolis. “Working with Policymakers, panel presentation.”

2012 MN School Boards Assoc. (MSBA) Co-Presenter: “E=MC²: Excellence=Making Community Connections”

2012 National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS). “The Vital Role of Putative Father Registries in Child Welfare, Public Health, and Fatherhood Services”. Minneapolis, MN. https://naphsis-web.sharepoint.com/mtg/Documents/BASSETT_Presentation_NAPHSIS_May_31_Updated.pdf

April 2011. Minnesota Putative Father’ Registry: Overview. Slide player.  URL: http://slideplayer.com/slide/2388305/

Administrative Proficiency: Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel. WebEx, SharePoint, Facebook, LinkedIn

 

Travel: Africa, Ghana; Netherlands, Amsterdam; China, Shanghai and Beijing; Europe, England, and France; the Caribbean, Jamaica and Bermuda; Mexico, and Canada; Thailand, Bangkok