Minneapolis Foundation Welcomes Four New Trustees

The Minneapolis Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of four new members to its Board of Trustees. Jazz Hampton, Christina Le, Patricia Torres Ray and Alex Ware will attend their first board meeting as Trustees this week.

The Board of Trustees is composed of three dozen residents of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area who are leaders in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. All the new members have been appointed to four-year terms on the board.

At this week’s Board meeting, several Trustees will also assume new leadership roles: John Taft, a Vice Chair of Baird, will begin a term as Chair of the Minneapolis Foundation. Julie Baker, a community volunteer, and Mary Grove, Managing Partner of Bread & Butter Ventures, will serve as Co-Vice Chairs.

From left to right: Jazz Hampton, Christina Le, Patricia Torres Ray, Alex Ware

Jazz Hampton is CEO and General Counsel at TurnSignl. TurnSignl is a Minnesota-based tech company that provides real-time legal guidance from an attorney to drivers, all while their camera records the interaction. Hampton has been featured on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, MSNBC, CBS, NBC Top Story, and was recently named one of Minneapolis-St. Paul’s 40 Under 40 for his work at TurnSignl and in the community, where he sits on the Board of Directors at Spare Key, and Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He is also a member of the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain’s Philanthropic Advisory Council. Before joining TurnSignl, Hampton was the Director of Diversity and Inclusion and a practicing attorney at Foley & Mansfield, a national law firm with 150+ attorneys, as well as an adjunct professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, an Emerging Leader within Twin Cities Diversity in Practice, and the Co-Chair of DRI’s Young Lawyer Diversity Committee.

Christina Le is an entrepreneur who has owned and operated a variety of businesses and real estate developments for over 20 years. She came from very humble beginnings as an immigrant to the United States. Le is a partner of Pacific Square USA, a company that builds Asian/international inspired lifestyle centers while giving small business owners opportunities to collaborate and grow. PS USA purchased a portion of the Burnsville Shopping Center and plans to develop a market, food hall, and restaurants there by 2024. Le also partnered with local restauranteurs to develop Eat Street Crossing Foodhall in Minneapolis. Since 2010, she has owned Lake Wine & Cheese, which has expanded to its second location at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. She served on the Whittier Minneapolis board for 11 years and currently serves on the Lyn-Lake Special Service Districts advisory board as a volunteer. At TT Market, she continues her family’s legacy by providing specialty Chinese teas and herbs that can be used as preventative/alternative medicines. Le received double B.A. degrees in biology and chemistry from the University of St. Catherine.

Patricia Torres Ray is a former member of the Minnesota Senate who for 16 years represented District 63, which includes parts of southeastern Minneapolis and eastern Richfield, before she decided not to seek re-election last year. She now runs a firm that she founded to assist clients in managing political and public policy strategies centered around the needs and assets of Indigenous communities, people of color, and low-income communities. Torres Ray was the first Latina elected to the Minnesota Senate, running for office in 2006 after working in social services with the State of Minnesota, the University of Minnesota and Hennepin County for almost 20 years. In 2010, she was the first woman of color to run for Lieutenant Governor. In the Senate, she held multiple leadership roles, including Majority Whip, Chair of the Parks and Trails Legacy Committee, Chair of the New Immigration Policy Commission, Chair of the Education Policy Committee and Chair of State and Local Government Committee. She is a recognized local and national leader and has received multiple awards recognizing her contributions to eliminating disparities and opening opportunities for women, low-income people and minorities. Torres Ray is a graduate of the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, a former adjunct faculty member at the University of Minnesota, and an ongoing consultant for the school. She has been a resident of Minneapolis for 35 years and has two boys, ages 25 and 27.

Alex Ware has more than 35 years of experience in banking, management consulting, corporate strategy, finance, and leadership/governance. Ware currently serves on the boards of MicroStar, a global beverage logistics company, and Barfresh Food Group, an emerging beverage business, as well as an advisor to Foodsby, a startup meal ordering platform. His prior roles include President of Foodsby, EVP & CFO of Buffalo Wild Wings, EVP strategic development for Pohlad Companies, and EVP & CFO of PepsiAmericas, a global anchor bottler. In the nonprofit space, Ware has served on the board of OneVillage Partners, a rural village development organization that empowers and supports village members in West Africa to execute their own initiatives. In addition, he supported market expansion efforts as a board member of College Possible, a college prep and persistence organization for first-generation students. Ware and his wife, Amy, have three adult daughters.