Great River Passage Conservancy

With the community, we are creating three river centers that will transform Saint Paul’s relationship to our 17 miles of Mississippi River. By advancing projects that allow people to experience the Mississippi River in new ways, the Great River Passage Conservancy fosters environmental stewardship, community health, and economic development as we pursue our mission: to raise resources that support the community’s vision for connecting Saint Paul’s two greatest assets, its people and the Mississippi River. Across our three key projects—the Mississippi River Learning Center, River Balcony, and East Side River District—the Conservancy engages people of all backgrounds, ages, and physical capabilities to experience the land, water, history, and culture of the Mississippi.

We envision a Saint Paul that is The River Capital, where we bring the river back to the center of our public life and live not just by—but with—the river. Our work will: • Build greater awareness of and access to the river for a larger, more diverse community • Create shared experiences that bring people together to enjoy the river landscape • Promote a culture of care and respect for the environment • Improve community health and well-being by creating places that are beautiful, safe, welcoming, and accessible to all • Spark economic development and contribute to the commercial and economic vitality of the river

Goal One: COMMUNITY HEALTH AND WELLBEING: Improve community health and well-being by creating places that are beautiful, safe, welcoming, and accessible to all.

Goal Two: SHARED CULTURE & HISTORY: Build greater awareness of and access to the river for a larger, more diverse community and create shared experiences that bring people together to enjoy the river landscape.

Goal Three: ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP: Promote a culture of care and respect for the environment. Our projects will be successful only if they repair and revitalize our damaged natural spaces.

Our organization has invested staff leadership to participate in the High Line Network, which is a group of infrastructure reuse projects—and the people who are helping them come to life. This network provides a peer to peer learning network for board and staff leadership and includes monthly learning opportunities plus in person meetings throughout the year. Additionally, our organization has invested in equity planning and coaching for staff and board. After completing a detailed equity plan in 2022, staff leadership continues to receive monthly coaching from Culture Brokers to set goals and measure success. Finally, as part of the onboarding process for the new Executive Director, a certified coach worked weekly with Katie for the first three months of her tenure.

Two major leadership changes have occurred in the past 18 months. First, St. Paul Parks, our major government partner, has a new director. Secondly, the founding executive director of the conservancy left her position in early 2023. One of the ways the conservancy adapted was to hire a well regarded search firm to find its next leader. In order to ensure a continued robust partnership with the City of St. Paul, the new parks director was very involved in the process, including interviewing all of the candidates.