As co-founder and director of Grasstops, Inc., Anne Bomstad Miller has overseen the inception and development of Grasstops while guiding the vision of the organization.  Through Grasstops, Anne has had the opportunity to serve many organizations with their public policy efforts. Her recent projects include lobbying to fund the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act and advancing the efforts of the Minnesota Youth Advancement Act; advocating for effective student support services in schools with the Minnesota School Social Workers Association; and assisting Restorative Justice organizations compare the costs of their programs to the traditional justice system in order to make the case to legislators for renewed funding. Anne has also provided numerous advocacy trainings to nonprofit organizations including the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota.

Previously, Anne assisted the MN Chapter of NASW by serving as P.A.C.E. (Political Action for Candidate Election) Coordinator. Through P.A.C.E. she encouraged member involvement in political campaigns and assisted in endorsing candidates. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member in the school of Social Work at St. Olaf College. Anne has a Master's degree in Social Work from the University of Minnesota, with a concentration in community organizing and advocacy and is a licensed graduate level social worker.

Alex Nelson comes to Grasstops, Inc. with eight years of direct service and advocacy experience. Working as a street-based outreach worker, he provided services to homeless and at-risk youth in the Twin Cities before becoming the Interim Executive Director at District 202, a by and for youth center for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender youth and their allied friends. He has provided consulting and training to service providers around the country on best practices in working with marginalized youth populations. 

Alex is excited to be involved in community organizing supporting policy change efforts and looks forward to engaging the community and lawmakers in creating change at a systematic level. 

Cherish Hamilton is originally from Augusta, Illinois. She pursued her Bachelor's in Social Work with a minor in Psychology at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois. She worked as the Sexual Assault Medical/Legal Advocate at Victim Services, an agency providing direct services to victims of domestic and sexual violence for a little over two years. She has known since undergraduate school that her interest lies in macro social work. Through her work as an advocate, however, she learned a lot about the specific injustices of the criminal justice system and developed a passion for working to end violence. She decided to pursue a Master's in Social Work with a Community Practice concentration and the specialization of Community Organization and Advocacy at the University of Minnesota because she feels passionate about making macro change. Through training on nonviolent communication by Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, she learned about restorative justice and realized this area was something she wanted to pursue further. After discussing this with Anne Bomstad-Miller and with Anne's encouragement, she decided to pursue assisting the Minnesota Restorative Services Coalition while interning at Grasstops, Inc. They accepted the help and Cher is excited to work with the coalition on educating legislators about restorative justice and increasing funding for the services. She is excited and ready for the challenge of tackling the political system. Her future career interests include restorative justice, public office, community organizing, and anti-violence/oppression work.

Since graduating from Oberlin College, Juliana Keen has worked as a community organizer, nonprofit program director, and research assistant- all with a specific focus on interfaith issues and antiracist organizing.  She is the recipient of The New York Times Good Citizen Award and the Rising Star Award from the National Interfaith Alliance. Juliana is currently completing her Masters of Social Work and Masters of Public Policy at the University of Minnesota.  She enjoys camping, cooking, writing and reading fiction. 

Susie is currently working on her Master's Degree in Social Work at Augsburg College in Minneapolis in the Program Development, Policy and Administration concentration. Her undergraduate B.A. degree is from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio in Social Work. She started her involvedment in political action through labor unions, and has remained active in environmental and political campaigns and is a member of the Junior League of St. Paul. She has worked as a social worker for Thomas Allen, Inc. for the last 3 years.