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Melvin Carter

Senior Advisor

Melvin is a nationally recognized systems innovator and two-term Mayor of Saint Paul known for advancing equity-centered, community-driven change. As chief executive of an $800 million municipal enterprise, he has led transformative public-private partnerships, guided the city through overlapping crises, and launched nationally recognized models such as Community-First Public Safety and CollegeBound Saint Paul. Melvin brings operational rigor and a deeply human leadership philosophy focused on generational impact and inclusive economic growth.

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Drinal Foster

Chief Impact Officer

Drinal oversees performance measurement, operational excellence, and long-term impact tracking for GroundBreak Coalition, ensuring its transformational goals are matched by disciplined execution. A 30-year Wells Fargo veteran and Senior Vice President, she has led enterprise-wide operational and customer engagement initiatives with a strong focus on equity and inclusion. An award-winning executive and civic leader, Drinal brings deep systems expertise to align strategy, accountability, and innovation in building a more inclusive financial system.

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Mike LaFave

Chief of Staff

Mike serves as Chief of Staff for the GroundBreak Coalition, overseeing governance, operations, and coordinated implementation as the organization expands its impact. With more than 25 years of senior leadership in community development—including roles at Family Housing Fund, Project for Pride in Living, and Neighborhood Development Center—he has dedicated his career to expanding access to housing, capital, and entrepreneurship. Mike brings strategic discipline and partnership-driven leadership to advance equitable wealth building across Minneapolis–St. Paul.

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Gwen King-Lunde

Executive Administrator & Operations Coordinator

Gwen serves as Executive Administrator and Operations Coordinator for the GroundBreak Coalition, strengthening cross-functional coordination and ensuring the organization’s operations run seamlessly in service of its mission. With a background in nonprofit administration, executive support, and program management, she brings expertise in stakeholder engagement, budget oversight, and high-level communications.

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Eric White

Chief Investment Officer

Eric leads the Capital Mobilization aspects of the GroundBreak Coalition, ensuring that our financial institution and community lending partners in entrepreneurship, homeownership, and neighborhood development are working seamlessly in support of the wealth builders we serve. With nearly 20 years experience in impact and investing, mobilizing hundreds of millions of dollars for economic justice at Cogent Consulting, the Bush Foundation, and The Financial Services Consulting Group, mobilizing capital equitably is his life’s work.

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Adair Mosley

CEO

Adair leads the GroundBreak Coalition with a deep commitment to equity-driven transformation and creating new pathways for generational prosperity across Minnesota. With more than a decade of experience leading social impact organizations—including serving as CEO of African American Leadership Forum and President & CEO at Pillsbury United Communities—his career has been dedicated to rallying talent, launching innovative initiatives, and building a more equitable financial system for all.

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What is ABH (Advancing Black Homeownership)?

This first-of-its-kind program combines flexible underwriting criteria with financial assistance to help Black or African-American buyers overcome historically inequitable housing practices and buy their first home. The ABH Community Fund is a collaboration between the Minnesota Homeownership Center, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, Build Wealth Minnesota, NeighborWorks Home Partners, PRG, Inc., Project for Pride in Living (PPL) and GroundBreak Coalition.

Where the Work Is Taking Us

Over the past few weeks, we’ve had the chance to connect with entrepreneurs, community leaders, and partners across the Twin Cities.

This month we attended the 7th World Conference on Remedies to Racial & Ethnic Economic Inequality at for a conversation on The Case for Economic Democracy, joined by Melvin Carter and R.T. Rybak.

The conversation was led by Adair Mosley and explored what it takes to move from knowing where economic disparities exist to changing the systems that continue to produce them.

“Minnesota has always had the ingredients to get this right. What we’ve lacked is the recipe. It won’t happen without intentionally bringing those ingredients together, in the right order and sequence, to reach the outcome we’re trying to achieve. ”

-Melvin Carter III, Former St. Paul Mayor

Our work has shown up in a few different ways this summer. We’ve spent time with local business owners, tried a new way of talking about the racial wealth gap, and shared more about the work we’re doing.

Strengthen The Strong Luncheon
In July, we sponsored the Strengthen The Strong luncheon, which drew 127 registrations and brought 27 founders and business owners into the room. Learn more →
Can We Close The Racial Wealth Gap?
The Theater of Public Policy invited us over for a conversation about the racial wealth gap that mixed policy, audience conversation and improv. We laughed a lot and we left thinking a little differently about how we bring people into conversations about changing our financial system. Learn more →
$5.3 billion long-term investment plan
The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal (MSPBJ) profiled GroundBreak and our work to move more capital to homeowners, entrepreneurs, and community-led development across the Twin Cities.
Read more →

In Gratitude, 

The GroundBreak Coalition Team

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