Now that we've made it to April, we hope you've all had a chance to meet this year's new board members.  But if you haven't, take a look at who they are and be sure to connect with them to say hello!

Commarrah Bashar

Commarrah is an actor, writer, producer, and works as the Administrative Assistant in Community Impact at Minnesota Philanthropy Partners.

FUN FACT: Dune was her favorite sci-fi growing up. You can't beat riding giant sandworms.

Sandra Boone

Sandra is a Communications Specialist for the Global Programs and Strategy Alliance and International Student and Scholar Services at the University of Minnesota and served as YNPN-TC's Managing Blog Editor before joining the board of directors. 

FUN FACT: Sandra can't bend her left pinky all the way down because she broke it playing dodgeball... as an adult.

LaCora Bradford Kesti

LaCora currently works for Public Allies, a program affiliated with Pillsbury United Communities.  She is a Food Justice Leader and Community member in the Philips and Elliot Park neighborhoods.

FUN FACT: LaCora has held a human heart!

Kevin Bruins

Kevin Bruins is a College Partnerships Manager at College Possible and is working on completing a Masters of Science in Sociology: Human Services Planning and Administration from Minnesota State University-Mankato.

FUN FACT: Kevin's middle school Lego Robotics team won the national tournament!

Ruth Hamberg

Ruth is the engagement specialist for Minnesota Compass, based in Saint Paul at Wilder Research. She uses communications, event planning, and stakeholder engagement to inspire action through data.

FUN FACT: Ruth has been bucked off a horse more than once... but she always gets back on!

Cara Luebke

Cara Luebke is the Employer Engagement Associate at AchieveMpls. Cara is immensely interested in child welfare and advocacy.

FUN FACT: Cara sometimes dreams in Portuguese, fake German, and minimal French. 

Sara Parcero-Leites

Sara is a Research Associate at HACER (Hispanic Advocacy and Community Empowerment through Research). Sara primarily works with the Latino population in Minnesota through different research and evaluation projects.

FUN FACT: Sara's first language isn't English or Spanish - it's Galician, the official language of the region in Spain where she is from.

Kristin Skaar

Kristin Skaar is the Development and Communications Director at Habitat for Humanity of Minnesota and currently serves as YNPN-TC's Membership and Communications Chair.

FUN FACT: Kristin memorized "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost for an assignment in 8th grade, and can still recite it on command.

Read more about them here, and be sure to say hello to our amazing new(ish) boardies next time you see them at an event!