Leadership
​St. Paul

Leadership St. Paul (LSP) is the premier cohort learning program in the Twin Cities for emerging and current civic & business leaders that prepares, challenges, and engages leaders to strengthen the St. Paul/East Metro region.

Why LSP?

Since 1980, more than 2,200 graduates have been given the unique opportunity to connect with other leaders by meeting people with a shared commitment to community in addition to building a diverse, long-term network and promoting the organization they represent.

Cultivate skills and knowledge by:

• Building skills in leadership, communication and citizenship
• Gaining knowledge about challenges and issues facing the
  St. Paul/​East metro area
• Exploring the interrelationships of government, business and
  the broader community

Contribute to the vitality of the St. Paul/East metro area by:

• Helping people who live in the communities they care about
• Ensuring the continued health and well-being of the St. Paul/
  ​East metro area
• Giving back to St. Paul/East metro area

Program Overview

Leadership St. Paul supports a vital, positive community, with engaged and well-informed leaders. Each year, LSP selects up to 50 emerging and existing leaders from private, public, and nonprofit sectors of the community to participate in the ten-month program. 

LSP curriculum is designed to raise awareness of the needs and challenges that affect the St. Paul/East metro region and enhance individual leadership skills with a focus on community stewardship.  The program offers participants exceptional “insider” access by bringing in top-level business, civic, and government leaders to facilitate productive conversations around critical issues that influence our region.

Curriculum Elements

Monthly Program Days: Day-long sessions, focusing on significant challenges facing the region such as community effectiveness, education, health care, regional economic development, and criminal justice. Each program day strives to enlighten, inspire and transform participants by exposing them to a vast array of perspectives, resources and mentors. Program Days are always the second Thursday of the month.
​ 
Nonprofit Engagement Program: each participant will form a team with 4 to 8 classmates and partner on learning about and volunteering for a local (pre-selected by LSP staff) nonprofit. Participants will gain experiential knowledge in community stewardship and systems change. Recent nonprofit partners include: Art From The Inside, CornerHouse, Junior Achievement, Majority in the Middle, Rice & Larpenteur Alliance, Union Gospel Mission, Women’s Advocates, Nine Lives Thift, St. Paul Art Collective, Rethos, and Mapping Prejudice.
 
If you're a nonprofit and are interested in being a selected nonprofit for 2026, please contact Kathleen.

Important Information for Interested Applicants

Anyone in the Twin Cities metro area can apply to Leadership St. Paul; usually applicants live and/or work in the St. Paul/East Metro Area. The application process consists of an online application and an in-person or virtual interview if interviews are needed.
 
The initial application deadline for the Class of 2026 is October 15, 2025. Preference will be given to the first 50 applications; but applications will be accepted until the class is full. If the class is not full after the initial application deadline, LSP staff and the committee will review applications on the 15th of the month in November, December, and January. Please contact Kathleen with any questions about the application process.​

Complete your 2026 Leadership St. Paul Application

Applicants who submit their application before the initial deadline of October 15, 2025, will be notified if interviews are needed by November 1. If no interviews are needed, they will be notified of acceptance into the program by November 15. Applications will then be open and accepted on a rolling basis on the 15th of each month until the class is full. We will post here if the class is full. Applicants submitting after the October 15 deadline (if the class is not full) will be notified by the end of the month in which they applied.  
​
The program will start on February 12, 2026 and will be held every second Thursday of the month through November of 2026.
 
If you have any questions, please contact us. 

LSP Class of 2025

• LSP Curriculum Committee Chair:
  ​Caitlin McMahon, JPMorgan Chase
• Adrienne Aarts, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity
• Luai Bajjali, Huntington National Bank
• Kevin Berg, Boyum Barenscheer
• Alyssa Binsfeld, American Cancer Society
• Kate Bishop, The Link
• Marlon Blake, University of St. Thomas
• Mitchell Branscombe, BWBR Architects
• Tescia Bratcher, ESNDC
• Stephanie Brown, Ever-Green Energy
• Melanie Buetow, Magnolia Mouths Media
• Alina Combs, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
• Jonathan Cooper, Sunrise Banks
• Kevin Coss, Xcel Energy
• Kevin Davy, Securian Financial
• Dylan DeClerck, Minnesota Wind Chill
• Heather Dizmang, Ulta
• Blake Downing, Hamernick's Flooring Solutions
• Melissa Ferlaak, St. Paul Downtown Alliance
• Dylan Ferreira
• Darren Fetzer 
• Daniel Fox, Ayres Associates
• Lindsey Hofer, Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans
• Alina Hornfeldt, Mastel's Health Foods
• Dominique Jones, Morgan Stanley
• Heather Kieckhoefer, Marathon Petroleum
• Sue Kubis, Bridgewater Bank
• Blake Lambert, Land O Lakes

• Andy Levesque, Gillette Children's
• Alex Majka, Turnberry Solutions
• Brooke McGee, Baker Tilly
• Emily Medcraft, Fairview Health Services
• Kaitlyn Meyers, Habitat for Humanity of Minnesota
• Tyler Parsons, Youth Frontiers
• Rachel Petersen, Old National Bank
• R.Lynn Piñgol, MaKee Company
• Kelsey Quinn, HealthPartners
• Beatriz Ruiz, Park Travelers Inc.
• Rachelle Schmitt, Visit Saint Paul
• Ingrid Schnettler, Ecolab
• Michael Schokmiller, Sunrise Banks, National Association
• Bonnie Schumacher, SPNN/St. Paul Neighborhood Network
• Nikole Shovein, Neighborhood House
• Josie Sienkaniec, TKDA
• Marcio Thompson, Huntington Bank
• Cali Torell, Goff Public
• Mark Tossey, Ever-Green Energy
• Jennifer Tuder, ConnectUP! Institute
• Kathleen Tuma, Friends of the Skyway
• Casey Ulrich, Saint Paul Public Schools
• D'Ann Urbaniak Lesch, St. Catherine University
• Danushka Wanduragala, HealthPartners
• Anna Watson, Saint Paul Port Authority
• Becky Wegscheid, The Saint Paul Area Association of Realtors
• Khashia Yang, Fairview Health Services
• Jason Yang, Ramsey County