September 21, 2017
On September 9, MPA junior Ling DeBellis was appointed by Governor Mark Dayton and Lt. Governor Tina Smith to the Young Women’s Initiative Cabinet! The Young Women’s Initiative of MN aims to improve the lives of young women between the ages of 12 and 24 statewide.
The Young Women’s Initiative of Minnesota specifically prioritizes participation and inclusiveness. They seek to “make the invisibility of disparities visible” and does so through three committees: community-specific working groups, the Young Women’s Cabinet, and the Young Women’s Initiative Council.
“It is a privilege and an honor to be a member of the Young Women’s Initiative Cabinet. We need to raise our voices together so we can ensure that all young women in MN have opportunities to thrive,” Ling said.
As a cabinet member, Ling will work to increase opportunities for women’s prosperity while honoring their voices, perspectives, and real experiences. On both small and large scales, they will work to bring nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies together to improve equity and inclusion for young women in Minnesota.
Being selected to improve the lives of women as a passionate and motivated student is a great honor, and a prime example of how MPA students dream big and do right.
“Until today, no state in the nation has established a formal statewide initiative whose sole purpose is to pull all that innovation together into a cohesive, strategic, cross-sector model and plan of action addressing the opportunity gaps for young women. We have now done so with the Young Women’s Initiative of Minnesota,” said Lee Roper-Batker, president & CEO of the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota.
