Empowering underrepresented groups within the community is a unique and oftentimes challenging prospect. It takes a resilient and highly motivated person to tackle the question of how City activities can better support an equitable space for everyone.

Earlier this year, the City of Edina concluded its search to fill a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Manager position within the Administration Department. After a competitive hiring process that lasted more than two months, the City selected Bonni Abdurahman as its incoming DEI Manager.

Abdurahman will build off the work done by former Race & Equity Coordinator Heidi Lee. A DEI Manager ensures that equity and inclusion principles are emphasized as part of Edina’s overall culture and standard operating procedures. The City’s DEI Manager will also serve as the staff liaison to the Human Rights & Relations Commission.

Abdurahman joins the City’s team with an impressive background in managing and implementing DEI within several organizations. Originally from Ethiopia, Abdurahman moved to the United States in fifth grade and grew up in Blaine, Minnesota. There, she got her first experience in DEI work as she founded the Diversity for Change Organization while in high school, raising money for causes that furthered diversity and inclusion in the area. Abdurahman attended Concordia College in St. Paul where she earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology.

Abdurahman began working at the Anoka-Hennepin School District as an Equity Specialist and Student Achievement Advisor. In that role, she worked to include DEI in district hiring efforts and worked with stakeholders both internally and externally to foster diversity in community participation. From 2019 to 2021, she served as a DEI Specialist and Intercultural Communications Liaison in the Mounds View School District in Shoreview, Minnesota, helping to further DEI principles between the district and community.

Abdurahman most recently worked at the Minnesota Department of Human Services as an Equity Specialist, where she led the development and strategic planning of equity and inclusion policy.

In her previous roles, Abdurahman was able to implement systems such as surveys and open forums to find areas in which organizations can improve. “I have been able to use measurable feedback to uncover lack of DEI practices, in order to set up training and help employees where it’s needed,” Abdurahman said.

One of Abdurahman’s primary goals coming into the City is to build relationships between herself and other departments. “When I begin work, I want to go around to each department and get to understand how they operate before I set any kind of agenda,” said Abdurahman. “When you show that you’re not there to create changes to their everyday work just for the sake of making changes, it can make your peers more open to your role as a DEI Manager.”

Above all, Abdurahman wants to empower both City employees and residents from underrepresented groups. “I want City employees and Edina residents to know they have an ally who will listen and problem solve. … When systems are in place to accommodate everyone, people will be able to thrive.

“If you have more allies today than you did yesterday, something is working,” Abdurahman said.

City leadership is excited about the skills Abdurahman will bring to the organization. “Bonni has the right combination of expertise, relationship-building skills and understanding of projects and systems to lead the City’s equity work. I am excited for the opportunity to have her on our team,” said Assistant City Manager Ari Lenz, who will supervise the position.

Abdurahman is scheduled to begin work on May 21.