FRIENDS - TWIN CITIES - Key Persons
Batala McFarlane comes to Friends of the Children - Twin Cities after leading Insight News as its publisher. Insight is Minnesota's largest ethnic publication. She has more than 25 years of newsroom leadershp, media production, marketing and community organizing experience.
Batala was named publisher of Insight News in 1999, making her one of the youngest publishers of Black press in the country. Under her leadership, Insight News has won several awards from the Minnesota Newspaper Association and the National Newspaper Publishers Association including best column writing, best website and general excellence. She proudly co-hosts "Heart-to-Heart Conversations," a podcast which aims to improve heart health outcomes in Black and Brown communities.
Batala is driven by her passion for fostering relationships and creating networks that support building communities where everyone can enjoy the opportunity to thrive and survive. She was a founding board member of the Environmental Justice Advocates of Minnesota, has served on the KMOJ board of directors and Healthcare for All. She currently serves as a board member of the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center, she is a member of the Hennepin Healthcare Community Advisory Board and is a trustee of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD). She is also a chartering member of the Greater Twin Cities (MN) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated.
Batala enjoys reading, the outdoors, growing her yoga practice, supporting her son's kart racing and volunteering at her son's school.
My name is Ben Johnson and I was born in Atlanta Georgia. My parents were born and raised in Minneapolis and I have called it home for the last several years. I am a father of two young boys and my passion is to ensure that our young men have the encouragement to be the best that they can be both academically and social-emotionally. I came to Friends of Children so that I can work with young people to be excited and encouraged as they grow into young adults.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- General Mills As Vice President of Supply Chain
- General Mills in 2005 As an Electrical Engineer
Courtney Andersen currently works at General Mills as Vice President of Supply Chain. Courtney has 20+ years of operations, plant management, engineering, and people leadership experience in the food, beverage, and consumer goods industries. In her current role, Courtney is responsible for developing and executing end-to end Supply Chain strategies to drive business performance and to accelerate innovation, margin enhancement and growth.
Courtney joined General Mills in 2005 as an electrical engineer and has advanced through numerous roles of increasing responsibility and global scope, most recently relocating her family to Geneva, Switzerland, where she was recognized as the first female leader of General Mills Supply Chain for Europe and Australia.
Courtney is also a champion of diversity, equity, and inclusion, with a deep passion for developing the future workforce with integrity, clear communication, and transparency. She has held leadership roles in several of General Mills diversity networks: Women's Leadership Network, Women in Supply Chain, and is the current Executive Sponsor for the Black Champions Network.
Prior to General Mills, Courtney worked for three years at Brown-Forman Corporation as a Senior Electrical Engineer based in Louisville, KY. She holds a bachelor's of science degree in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Courtney currently resides in Minneapolis with her daughter, Harper. She is an active member of the Jack and Jill of America Inc., City of Lakes Chapter, her local church and is the co-founder and chair of a STEM scholarship (Margretta Nash Scholarship Fund) dedicated to motivating, empowering, and educating minority girls to succeed in school and life. In her free time Courtney enjoys spending time with her family and friends, reading, and staying active.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Member of the Board
- Vice President, Supply Chain
Janeth joined Friends of the Children - Twin Cities after the opportunity arose to re-join the non-profit world. She moved to Minneapolis after college (SMSU - go Stangs!) and has spent her career providing administrative support in roles ranging from start-up non-profits to a national corporation. Her passion lies in serving her community and forming lasting relationships through genuine connections and friendly conversations. She is delighted to be a part of the Friends team and to help make meaningful impacts in the lives of local children and their families. In her free time, she enjoys walking the Chain of Lakes, baking, tending to her houseplants, and socializing with family and friends. You can usually find her with a book in her bag and an iced coffee in hand.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Board Chair / VP, Organizing and Policy, John and Denise Graves Ventures / Minneapolis, MN
For twenty years, Muriel Dorbor has dedicated her career to working with children and families. Her professional experience includes working with at risk youth in the juvenile justice system and more recently providing leadership to an emergency shelter for women with children experiencing homelessness. Muriel has developed a deep and genuine passion to walk alongside people through life struggles.
As she begins her journey with Friends of the Children, she is excited to further this amazing organization's mission, vision, and values. Muriel finds joy in providing youth and families with the support they need to acquire their success. She values being of service and developing teams through collaborative leadership.
Negah Connelly was born and raised in the Washington DC area. She is a dedicated philanthropist with a passion for giving back to her community. With a love for travel, Negah enjoys exploring new cultures and experiences. She currently resides in Minnesota with her husband and three children.
Sarah Beare, Wichapi Luta (Red Star), is Hunkpapa Lakota and an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in Fort Yates, North Dakota. Sarah grew up in Pierre, South Dakota and currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Sarah received her Bachelor of Social Work from Oglala Lakota College. Before moving to Minneapolis Sarah lived in Rapid City, South Dakota and worked at Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board as a Program Manager of a SAMHSA funded behavioral health grant. Under this grant Sarah established a program that focused on blending western behavioral health approaches with holistic approaches by incorporating the Lakota culture into services provided.
Sarah has a passion for serving tribal populations and finding solutions for the health and socioeconomic inequities they face. In 2022, Sarah was selected as a Fellow in the National Network of Public Health Institutes' inaugural Indigenous Public Health Leaders Program, a leadership training institute for emerging public health leaders serving American Indian communities. Upon completion of the 6-month institute Sarah was then selected as an Advisory Council Member for the Indigenous Public Health Leaders Program and served from January-August 2023.
Sarah enjoys spending time with her two children, Grace and Tristan, and dog, Penelope.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Board Member / Executive Director, GreenLight Fund Twin Cities / Minneapolis, MN
- Founding Executive Director of GreenLight Fund Twin Cities
Simone Hardeman-Jones is the founding Executive Director of GreenLight Fund Twin Cities. Using a community centric and resident-led approach to philanthropy, Simone builds momentum and facilitates game-changing collaborations so community residents in the Twin Cities, especially those historically impacted by systemic racial and economic inequities can thrive.
Simone has a deep understanding of the role that systems of inequity play in the lives of those most underestimated in our communities and has committed her career to dismantling them. Her innovation and ability to build partnerships is demonstrated through her leadership of GreenLight Fund Twin Cities. In response to the voices of Minneapolis community residents, in 2022, GreenLight Fund Twin Cities announced a $1.4 million public-private partnership to implement an innovative evidenced-based program - Let Everyone Advance with Dignity, a public-health approach to community safety focused on the Lake Street Corridor of Minneapolis.
Simone began her career in public policy, serving in a variety of policy roles including in the Obama Administration as a key advisor to two U.S. Secretaries of Education and policy advisor to United States Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and the late Senator Kay R. Hagan (D-NC). Frequently tapped as an education policy expert particularly on issues related to diversifying the education workforce, Simone's work has been shared nationally through partnerships with organizations like the Education Trust and the National Council on Teaching Quality. She has served on numerous national committees and advisory groups on the subject. Simone has also served on multiple political campaigns including as Director of African American Outreach for Senator Klobuchar's 2006 Senate race.
Born and raised in Minneapolis, Simone currently resides in the Twin Cities with her husband and five year old son. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and the City of Lakes Chapter of Jack and Jill of America. Simone sits on the boards of Children's MN, the Minnesota Alliance With Youth, and EdAllies. Simone holds both a bachelor's and a master's degree from The American University in Washington, D.C.
My name is Tae and I was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I'm a recent graduate from Metropolitan State University with a bachelor's degree in marketing. I enjoy spending time and hanging out with my family. Some of my favorite activities include going for walks, going to the park, and bowling. When I'm not hanging out with my family I like to exercise, play video games, hang out with friends, and travel. Some of my favorite places to travel are Dallas, Las Vegas, and Miami.
I'm excited to be working with Friend of the Children to build meaningful relationships, mentor children, and be a part of something bigger than just myself. I want to offer my guidance, help, support, and wisdom to young people in the hopes it has a lasting impact.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Chief Executive Officer of Friends of the Children
- Treasurer / CEO Friends of the Children - National / Portland, or
Terri Sorensen is the Chief Executive Officer of Friends of the Children, a national nonprofit that is breaking the cycle of generational poverty. Friends of the Children pairs children facing the greatest obstacles with a salaried, professional mentor (called a Friend) who stays with each child from as early as age 4 through high school graduation - 12+ years, no matter what.
As the national CEO, Sorensen is responsible for carrying out the vision, mission and strategic direction for the national network. She works closely with the National Board of Directors, a diverse and well-respected group of public, private and nonprofit leaders from around the country.
Over her 20-year tenure with the organization, Sorensen has led record-breaking fundraising efforts, bringing in over $250 million to the organization. Since becoming CEO in 2012, Sorensen has led an ambitious national expansion campaign, growing the organization from five to 33 locations in just ten years, and quadrupling the number of children served. She has also diversified funding streams, growing the network-wide operating budget from just $7.5 million in 2012 to $62 million in 2022.
In her role as national CEO, Sorensen sets the priorities for the network, ensures the organization is financially sustainable, and oversees Friends of the Children's program implementation, research and evaluation, branding, fundraising and expansion efforts. She leads a national team of over 40 staff members and provides leadership for more than 576 staff across the country. Prior to being appointed national CEO in 2012, Sorensen served as the executive director of Friends of the Children - Portland, the founding chapter, for 12 years.
Under Sorensen's leadership, Friends of the Children has become a national leader in evidence-based practice for its rigorous research and evaluation efforts. This includes participation in a Longitudinal Randomized-Controlled Trial, a Social Return on Investment study by the Harvard Business School Association of Oregon and a Social Innovation Fund Pay for Success feasibility study. Sorensen also oversees annual third-party evaluation of the network's program data.
In 2019, Sorensen wrote an article for Stanford Social Innovation Review on the organization's successful scaling efforts. Her work has led to national recognition for the organization in The New York Times, Forbes, Fortune, CBS News, NPR, Governing Magazine, The Chronicle of Social Change and dozens of other national media outlets.
Sorensen was selected as one of the first leaders for the Business Journal's Leadership Trust. She was also selected for Results for America's Moneyball for Government Nonprofit All-Star Team and the Leap of Reason Ambassadors Community. She has served on numerous boards of directors and received an Orchid Award for the 25 Most Influential Women in Business by the Portland Business Journal. In 2019, the organization was awarded the Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar.
Sorensen holds a B.S. in accountancy from the School of Business and Public Administration at the University of Missouri-Columbia and is a Certified Public Accountant. Previously, she was controller for the American Red Cross Oregon Trail Chapter, held key managerial positions with Sprint Corporation and worked in public accounting for Ernst & Young in Kansas City, MO.