Carlos Mariani Rosa, executive director
Carlos Mariani Rosa was named executive director of Minnesota Minority Education Partnership, Inc. (MMEP), in 1997. Prior to joining MMEP he served as director of Hispanic Ministry for the Minnesota Council of Churches and as interim director for the Minnesota Hispanic Education Program. A recognized leader in the nonprofit and public sectors, he has spent more than 25 years advocating on behalf of communities of color.
Over the years Carlos has been active in several community-based organizations and has served on the boards of the St. Paul Children’s Initiative the West Side Health Clinic Capital Campaign Committee. He currently serves on the boards of the Rainbow Research and Minnesota Council on Economic Education. Carlos is also a founding member of the Saint Paul Foundation’s “El Fondo” Endowment Committee.
Elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1990, Carlos is currently serving his ninth term representing Saint Paul district 65B. He was recently named chair of the E-12 Education Policy Committee and is a member of the National Conference of Hispanic State Legislators. His efforts in the House have focused on issues which greatly impact urban and minority communities including: education, public transit, housing and economic development.
Carlos graduated from Macalester College with a major in History and is a recipient of Macalester’s “Alumni Distinguished Citizen Award.” He was a Mondale Policy Fellow at the University of Minnesota Hubert H. Humphrey Institute and a U.S. delegation member of the American Council of Young Political Leaders exchange to Argentina and Uruguay.
In 1993, he received the “Legislator of the Year Award” from the Minnesota Alliance for Progressive Action, and was also recognized by the Jobs Now Coalition, receiving their “Courage of Conscience Award” for work on behalf of low-income immigrant communities. Carlos has also been recognized by Literacy Minnesota for outstanding advocacy as a legislator.
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Jennifer Godinez, associate director
Jennifer Godinez is associate director of Minnesota Minority Education Partnership, Inc. (MMEP) and executive director of Minnesota College Access Network (MCAN), an initiative of MMEP. Prior to joining MMEP she served as executive director of La Escuelita, a non-profit ALC/SES after school and summer program focused solely on academic enrichment and leadership development for Latino immigrant and non-immigrant youth currently enrolled in grades 6-12 in Minneapolis schools. She has in-depth experience in youth development, college access program development and education policy development.
In 2004, Jennifer was appointed to serve as a commissioner on the Minnesota Out-of-School Time Commission. She currently serves on the Advisory Council for the new dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota. Jennifer also co-chairs the College Access Working Group on the Minnesota P-16 Education Council. Past board member experience for various educational entities includes: El Colegio Charter School, the Latino Scholarship Fund of Minnesota and Achieve! Minneapolis. At the national level she served on Excelencia en Education’s “Promising Practices” Committee.
Jennifer graduated from Drake University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. She also earned a Master of Public Administration in Public Policy with concentrations in education policy and nonprofit management from the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, and was trained in anthropology and Spanish-language training at the School for International Training in Oaxaca, México.
In 2005, Jennifer was named one of “25 on the Rise,” by the Minnesota Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She has also been honored by La Prensa de Minnesota, a community newspaper, as “Leader of the Year,” for her advocacy and access to college work with immigrant youth. During her tenure as executive director, La Escuelita, the organization was recognized by Minnesota Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Prevention & Parenting (MOAPPP) and the National Association of Bilingual Educators as an exemplary after-school model serving Latino youth in Minneapolis.
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Mona Miller Harris, program director
As program director, Mona Miller Harris manages the yearly Academic Enrichment Guide and coordinates all forums and convenings. In addition, she manages the annual meeting of members and State of Students of Color conferences.
Guided by the belief that, “Access gaps create opportunity gaps which create achievement gaps, and no child was designed to be a poster child for failed educational systems,” Mona is unrelenting about the need to address the education of all of our children; particularly children who are underserved by our traditional system – children who don’t have the right characteristics, ethnicity or connections.
Mona works nationally for racial righteousness and serves on national and local boards with a focus on equity, housing, and education. She is a parent educator and a circle keeper of restorative justice circles. Mona has participated in the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University and recently served on the Minnesota Department of Education’s Math and Science Teacher Advisory Task Force.
Educational pathways for Mona included public and private undergraduate and graduate in Minnesota and Indiana.
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Caren Custer, office administrator
Caren Custer was hired as office administrator in November 2007. In this role she provides office operations, staff and board support and is responsible for the organization’s website and publication of Synergy, the quarterly newsletter. Prior to joining MMEP, she worked as administrative/executive assistant for the Minnesota Council on Foundations (MCF).
From fall 1998 to summer 2004, she worked for the Minneapolis Public Schools as an education assistant. Caren also spent one year with a commercial real estate publication where she gained experience with the publishing process and was responsible for assembling people and news features and assisted with editing; while in this position she also served as communications and marketing assistant.
Caren is currently a student at Augsburg College pursuing a degree in History.
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