Tri –College NEW Leadership™ was established in YEAR? at the Tri-College University , which consists of Minnesota State University Moorhead, North Dakota State and Concordia College.
Tri-College NEW Leadership offers college women in ND, SD and Northern Minnesota the opportunity to meet women leaders from their state, network with like-minded peers, and learn about the status of women and political leadership in the region.
The Tri-College NEW Leadership program is proud to note that three recent program alumnae have gone on to elected positions in state and local government:
Kris Wallman (NEW Leadership class of 2008) was elected in 2014 to the North Dakota House of Representatives. She previously served as an elected member of the Fargo Board of Education and as president of the Autism Society of North Dakota. She co-founded the Red River Valley Asperger/Autism Network, where she served on the board of directors, organized community events, and lectured at autism conferences and training events. In the 2013, Wallman collaborated with a bi-partisan group of lawmakers from across the state to pass a bill that includes over $2 million in provisions to help individuals and families struggling with autism in North Dakota. She holds an MA in sociology of education from San Francisco State University and a BA from the University of California at Berkeley.
In January April Graves (NEW Leadership class of 2013) was sworn in as the first woman of color to ever serve on the Brooklyn Center (Minnesota) City Council. Prior to her election she served as an AmeriCorps Promise Fellow and on the Brooklyn Center School District 286 Parent Advisory Council. Graves has learned from her experience working with young people in community groups such as the Northside Youth Collaborative and Ending Youth Violence Roundtable in North Minneapolis. She is passionate about social justice and wants to make sure all voices in the community are heard. She plans to work on improving collaboration between youth and adults and continued engagement of youth and community in Brooklyn Center community schools and District Parent Advisory Council.
Kylie Oversen (NEW Leadership 2012) has served in the North Dakota House of Representatives since 2012. When elected, she was one of the youngest female legislators in the nation. In March of this year, Oversen was elected as the chair of the state Democratic-NPL Party. She is the youngest political party chair in the nation. Since serving in the legislature, Oversen has received several recognitions, including mention in The Washington Post's "The Fix" as one of the "40 Under 40 Rising Political Stars" in 2014. The North Dakota Women's Network also named Kylie the "Woman of the Year" for 2014. Oversen was born and raised in Killdeer, North Dakota. She received two bachelor’s degrees from the University of North Dakota, where she served as the student body president.