This month on the Welcome Home blog, we’re turning the reigns over to three of our newest staffers so you can learn a little more about them. This week, meet Colin Thompson, the Center’s Director of Strategic Programs.
Hello! My name is Colin Thompson, and I’m the Director of
Strategic Programs here at the Minnesota Homeownership Center. I work closely with
Tasha Merritt, our Training and Member Support Manager. My duties include overseeing
our Program Advisory Council as well as relationships with our Homeownership
Advisors Network as a whole, evaluating and managing current programming as
well as exploring new avenues for program development, and working with Tasha
to lead and develop trainings for our Network.
Before joining the Center in October of 2018, I worked for
many years at College Possible managing college access programs for low- and
moderate-income high school students. I see a lot of similarities between the
fields of college access and homeownership access; both involve helping folks
navigate a complex process so that they can have equal access to crucial
wealth-building components of the American Dream. I love that I am able to help
make such an impact on families across Minnesota, specifically toward closing
the unacceptably large racial wealth gap in our state.
Outside of work, I love to spend time at my home in South
Minneapolis, gardening and hanging out with my two elderly cats. Other hobbies
include reading, playing trumpet in a radical marching band and bike riding (across
the entire state of Iowa a couple weeks ago!). But all of that is subject to
change, as my wife and I are expecting our first child in October. Wish us
luck!