EHFNA Annual Meeting TOMORROW-Sat., Sept. 18th 10am Link & Ballot

Please tell us a bit about yourself.
Why do you want to run for the EHFNA board?
What special skills would you bring to the EHFNA board?

Maria Finsness

I am a lifelong Minnesota resident and a renter in Minneapolis for a decade. I am running for a second term for the East Harriet Farmstead Neighborhood association. For the past 2 years, I was voted a member of the executive committee where I am active in a re-envisioning process of the association's mission, visions, and impact in East Harriet and the city at large. I am also working with Jenny Taplin and others to create a network called East Harriet Connectors, which is a group of residents who want to foster community relationships and skill sharing with our closest neighbors. I believe in being an active participant in the community I reside in. I will work to reach residents like renters who tend to be more transient so that we have a more equitable engagement in our city to create change with all residents in mind.

Aaron Hartung

I want to be on the EHFNA board because we need to ensure East Harriet is a safe, beautiful, and affordable neighborhood for every resident and I am passionate about working with folks to reach that goal.

As a proud Latinx resident of East Harriet, I would bring several special skills to the EHFNA board. I have lived in the neighborhood since 2010 and that perspective gives me a sense of where we have been and where we are going. I currently work as a COVID-19 community health worker and a big part of that job is outreach and building meaningful relationships with neighbors, particularly our Spanish-speaking vecinos. I am also a renter who is sympathetic to the rising cost of living in our neighborhood and I support more affordable housing opportunities.

Richard Michel

My name in Richard Michel. My family and I have been East Harriet Residents for almost 25 years. I helped raise 2 kids in the neighborhood, who grew up playing sports and sledding in Farmstead park, and both attended Barton Open School. I have been on the neighborhood board for two years, the last year serving as the secretary.

I love the amenities that our neighborhood has to offer, from the parks and paths, to the businesses and restaurants. I appreciate the energy that previous boards and residents have put into creating such a great place to live, and I want to do my part to maintain and improve the environment for current and future residents.

I am an engineer so I bring an analytic approach to projects. I enjoy meeting and talking with my neighbors. I like collaborating with teams to define and execute projects.

Beth Popalisky

Hello. My name is Beth Popalisky. I have served on the board for one term. I am running again because I believe our neighborhood board is important for our community. I hope to see us engage more neighbors and bring your voices to the table. We have a good team with great ideas. Let's work together to build more community in East Harriet Farmstead.

Jenny Taplin

Hi, I’m Jenny Taplin and I’m running for re-election on the EHFNA Board.
I’ve learned a lot in the past two years and hope to continue moving plans into action and connecting with the community through our committees and neighborhood events. It’s been exciting to be part of drafting our new mission, vision and values statement, for the neighborhood, in the very drafting room Theodore Wirth drafted our beloved park system over 100 years ago. We are so lucky to have this piece of history in our backyard.
As a long-term neighbor, I feel I bring knowledge from the past (I’ve been through four remodels to the Lyndale Farmstead play area, the 1981 tornado and having a 7 Eleven across the street) and as a paralegal the understanding of the legal process and attention to detail.
I enjoy volunteering, keeping our neighbors informed and gathering the community together

Maggie Zawasky

I have lived in East Harriet for 7 years with my husband and three sons (9,7,7). I am from Minneapolis originally but spent about ten years in Boston for college and some fun post-college years. The quality of life here in Minneapolis - and my family - is what brought us back. We love living near the lakes and having access to so many things to do and see.

I am a serial joiner and served on my first neighborhood board as a middle school student representative. I enjoy learning what is going on in the neighborhoods around me and want to be involved in the decisions that affect us at the most local level. I have been the chair of EHFNA since this past November and think we have an excellent board of people who are engaged and passionate about our neighborhood. We've spent a lot of time this past year navigating changes and I'd love to continue on the board to see that through.

I am currently a realtor but in my past was an event planner. Both positions require me to pay attention to the details while not losing focus on the bigger picture. In the case of our neighborhood board, that means navigating the requirements from the city while keeping an eye on our role and purpose as a neighborhood organization: how to best serve our neighbors and our community.

Important EHFNA Board Candidate Information, Voting Form and Annual Meeting Aganda and Zoom Link Included!