Our speaker on January 31, 2023 was Tashie George, Senior Economic Development Analyst at Hennepin County (one of the largest county systems in Minnesota), an appointed member on the State of Minnesota Emerging Entrepreneur Board. and the Owner & CEO at IFRI (Pronounced “I-Free”). Before serving Hennepin County as the Sr. Economic Development Analyst, Tashie George has been dedicating her efforts to developing solutions and services for the Africans in the Diaspora and their loved ones back home on the continent.
Later in 2020, she expanded the business to add more lines of business, produced her first Alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverage product and a non-profit organization, IFRI-TRYV. Through IFRI-TRYV, we have supported disadvantaged communities with a monthly food drive in Liberia, last year we supported 52 young female business entrepreneurs, also in Liberia, and are scheduled to support 100 more females in February 2022 with skills, training, and access to capital and resources. Tashie has also been successful as a Corporate Event Manager and Digital Marketing Consultant. Tashie has contributed to and/or produced many successful events over the past several years. Her Digital and Content Management approach has helped these businesses and organizations reach over a half million people in total. Because of her hard work and efforts, Tashie was the winner of the 2019 DDEA Humanitarian Award in Baltimore, Maryland. She is committed to the motto of the IFRI brand which is “Changing the Mindset for Prosperity”. Tashie would be happy to mentor anyone looking to learn more about a career in Economic Development/Vitality and Entrepreneurship.
More about Tashie:
She was born in Monrovia, Liberia, and currently resides in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. She enjoys spending time with her family, cooking and all things food, traveling, yoga, and meeting new people.
Aaron Casper made an announcement at the January 31st meeting regarding upcoming World Cafes. A World Cafe is a process and chance to provide input through listening to other's ideas, sharing your own and engaging in group dialogue to formulate ideas that will be used to inform the development of our 2023-2028 School District Strategic Plan. When everyone contributes, the community benefits and this is a way for individuals to get involved in helping design the next 5 year plan.
The dates, times and locations for our community World Cafes are set. Please find them below:
February 7, 2023 Eden Lake Elementary at 5:30 pm.
February 8, 2023 Forest Hills Elementary at 7:30 pm.
February 13, 2023 Virtual via Zoom at 5:00 pm.
February 23, 2023 Central Middle School Community Room at 5:00 pm.