CEO Smith Baker

Chanda Smith Baker has spent her 25-plus year career at the intersection of philanthropy, business, government and community. An experienced CEO nationally renowned for her power and poise in leadership, Chanda has proven success leading complex organizations, recognizing and nurturing talent, and engaging and activating audiences toward racial equity and a broadened social impact. Smith Baker brings both her executive leadership experience in philanthropy and the credibility of a life and career spent advancing equity to Conversations with Chanda. Her interview style, rooted in her natural curiosity, love of reading and a deep knowledge of community issues, has struck a chord both locally and nationally.

Chanda is the Founder and CEO of Smith Baker, LLC, Co-Founder in Residence with The Black Collective Foundation, serves on The Board of Directors of several high impact organizations and a Co-Curator of Portraits of Us: A Book of Essays Centering Black Women Leading Philanthropy.

Mary Grove

Mary Grove is Managing Partner of Bread and Butter Ventures. She brings nearly two decades of leadership experience in technology, early stage investing, and startup ecosystem growth. She began her career working on the Google IPO, and went on to lead new business development partnerships, negotiating early stage product and technology deals worldwide. Mary then served as the founding director of Google for Startups, leading the company’s global efforts to support entrepreneurs in over 100 countries.

After her 15 year career at Google, Mary worked as an investment partner at Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund . She is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Silicon North Stars, a nonprofit that she and her husband Steve founded in 2013 to help young Minnesotans from underserved communities pursue careers in tech. Mary serves on the boards of Vital Voices, the Minneapolis Foundation, and the Techstars Foundation. She earned her BA and MA from Stanford University. Mary and her family moved from Silicon Valley to Minneapolis in 2018 and she loves cooking, hiking, and getting to know Minnesota through the eyes of her seven-year-old twins.

Simone Hardeman-Jones is the founding Executive Director of GreenLight Fund Twin Cities, where she fosters community-centric philanthropy and game-changing collaborations to support residents impacted by systemic inequities. With a deep commitment to dismantling systems of inequity, Simone's career spans senior roles in the Obama Administration and key policy advising for Senators Amy Klobuchar (MN) and the late Kay R. Hagan (NC). Simone, a Minneapolis native, holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The American University and serves on several local boards. She lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and son.

Nneka O. Sederstrom, PhD, MPH, MA, FCCP, FCCM, Chief Health Equity Officer, Hennepin Healthcare System

Dr. Nneka Sederstrom received her BA in Philosophy from George Washington University in 2001. She began her career at the Center for Ethics at Medstar Washington Hospital Center in Washington DC the same year. She completed her Masters in Philosophy and Public Policy from Howard University in 2003 and proceeded to begin her PhD studies in Medical Sociology and Race, Class, and Gender Inequalities at the same university. After beginning her PhD studies, she was made Director of the Center for Ethics and Director of the Spiritual Care Department. She proceeded to hold these positions until she left to join Children’s Minnesota in March 2016 where she served as the Director of the Clinical Ethics Department for almost 5 years. She has recently joined the executive leadership team at Hennepin Healthcare System as the new Chief Health Equity Officer where she will lead efforts in addressing health disparities, equity, and antiracism in the institution and community. Her PhD is in Sociology with concentrations in Medical Sociology and Race, Class, and Gender Inequality, MPH in Global Health Management, and MA in Philosophy. She is a member of several professional societies and holds a leadership position in CHEST Medicine and the Society of Critical Care Medicine. She is a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and a Fellow of the American College of Critical Care Medicine. She is widely published in Equity and Clinical Ethics and speaks regularly at national and international meetings.

Dr. Sederstrom is the mother of 2 amazing children and married to an amazing husband. She loves to read (especially long epic fantasy series), dance, knit, bake, and engage in all things crafty. Her favorite music is anything before 2005 and her favorite quote is “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” By Maya Angelou

Mary MacCarthy MBA, Founder/CEO of Strategy by Process, a high tech startup and capital raising consulting practice.