Staff
People in transition or crisis feel isolated and need a welcoming space where they can feel connected and accepted. Our committed and compassionate staff members are essential to making our mission possible each and every day.
Leadership
Molly
Executive Director
Systemic and cyclical poverty require persistent rivalry. Molly has worked in social service program management focused on low-income housing and the unsheltered for over 20 years. She received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Minnesota and earned a Master of Nonprofit Management (MNM) from Hamline University School of Business. Molly believes in and is committed to being at the table, altering power imbalances and working against injustice.
Mary Margaret
Director of Operations
Our societal challenges range vastly and Mary Margaret has spent the majority of her career working to make a difference for children, families, communities and now for our most vulnerable adults that Listening House serves each day. Mary Margaret has worked in non-profit management for 15 years and grew two successful businesses. She utilizes all of her personal and professional experiences to further Listening House's mission of "Radical Hospitality" for guests, staff, volunteers, and community partners.
Elyse
Program and Services Manager
Elyse comes to Listening House with a background in education, union organizing, and activism - and a passion for process improvement. In addition to a BA in Cultural Diversity & Social Systems, with a minor in Sociology, Elyse believes her life experiences have shown the importance of caring for people; even when it seems they have nothing to reciprocate. As the Program and Services Manager it is Elyse's goal to work collaboratively with Listening House's dedicated staff, volunteers, and community members for the benefit of all guests. Elyse values being a relationship builder; utilizing interpersonal communication and maintaining respect for everyone's unique intersectionalities to be a helpful and encouraging presence.
Andrea
Volunteer Manager
After 20 years Andrea has returned to her Listening House roots! Coming back to us after working for the City of St. Paul’s Homeless Assistance Response Team, she now gets to work side-by-side with her youngest daughter Ella.
Her time with the city opened her eyes to the many gaps and pitfalls our unsheltered community experience, all while navigating mental health complications, chemical addiction, alienation and isolation. Her goal is to use this experience as a building block for opening her own unique shelter designed to break down the walls between all our communities - so she can continue to do her part to provide hope and dignity to our unsheltered neighbors.
andrea@listeninghouse.org
Staff
Aaron
Program Advocate
He’s got 40 years of ballroom dancing experience and a knack for gardening. However, it’s the knowledge from years as a sous chef in Chicago and the Twin Cities that Aaron will bring to our kitchen that we’ll most likely use on a regular basis.
Alfred
Program Advocate & Custodian
Alfred has lived experience that he brings to his job every day as a Program Specialist and Custodian at the Listening House since 2021. When our Freedom House location opened, Alfred would spend his days cleaning and caring for the building.
He joined the staff in June of 2021. He brings his experiences of cultural traditions, personal challenges, and his joy of helping people to his job every day. He reminds us all that sometimes, it's okay to let people be — give them space to breathe.
Arantxa
Program Advocate
Inver Grove Heights resident Arantxa comes to Listening House after working at a daycare center and volunteering at a children’s hospital. Her instinct to help others, she thinks, comes from being the oldest child in her family. “Being the oldest of four children,” she explains, “I think I’ve developed a strong tendency to help others.”
Brian
Social Media & Communications
With several years of experience in marketing and communication for non-profits in the Twin Cities, Brian hopes to build on the impressive work that’s already been done at Listening House to help tell the story of the great work that’s being done.
He has degrees in communications and public affairs, certificates in project management and conflict management, and lots of time working in various areas of digital marketing.
Ella
Program Advocate
She might be Listening House’s first legacy employee. Ella first spent time at Listening House when she was six-years-old, when her mother, who worked at Listening House for several years, would bring her into work with her.
Ella has spent time throughout her life volunteering at homeless shelters. Her work career includes time at the Wayside Women’s treatment Center and, last winter, at the Ramsey County Warming Stations.
The time she’s spent working with the unhoused has given her some insights into that community. “There’s a stigma attached to homeless people,” she explains, “but as I got to know them, I grew to see them as just neighbors and friends. I grew a love for trying to be someone a homeless person could feel comfortable with, and not judged.”
Johnny
Program Specialist & Facilities Manager
Johnny Griffin joined Listening House in the summer of 2018. During his time at Listening House, he has advanced from program advocate to manager.
Tooled with many years of experience supporting unsheltered guests in housing, treatment, and employment services, Johnny is a strong resourced advocate.
Kate
Program Advocate
We’re excited to welcome Kate back to Listening House! She’s returning after some time away - she worked with us at Freedom House from 2021-2022. Her full-time position as a homelessness case manager in Hennepin County helps bring an incredible level of in-depth, practical experience to us at Listening House.
With degrees in English and public health and professional experience in childcare, bookstores, food service, hotel event sales, academia, and now social work, her knowledge, experience, and willingness to help out make her a welcome presence.
Her commitment to Listening House is founded in the belief that services for the unhoused should prioritize not just housing but also safety, comfort, and survival; and that, as stated by spiritual teacher Ram Dass “We are all just walking each other home.
Rae
Program Advocate
An avid gamer with hopes of pursuing a career in animation, NBA (and Timberwolves) fan brings some technical savvy to Listening House. His calm and thoughtful personality is appreciated by guests, staff and volunteers alike.
Sue
Program Advocate
Sue has built a career in Customer/Guest Services, and those skills and experience shine through every day at Listening House. She has watched throughout the lives of her four grown children and the hard times they’ve had getting apartments or a house, resulting in their living with her for a short time — all of which has led to her becoming passionate about affordable housing and the homeless. “Not everyone has a mom or relative to live with, but they all deserve to have a roof over their head, somewhere affordable and warm.”
Her busy schedule also includes working at a Family Homeless Shelter. She loves helping and visiting with the guests at Listening House everyday, and feels blessed to have their friendship.