Commissioner Jeffrey Lunde
Commissioner Lunde comes to the county after being Mayor of Brooklyn Park for 10 years. As Mayor he led efforts to connect to an increasingly diverse community, add over $1B of development and transportation investments within the city, and lower crimes to the lowest levels in 30 years. He was active nationally speaking on the value of After School Initiatives, including measuring results of these investments. He was one of the original mayors in Cities United, a national effort to reduce violence in the lives of young men of diverse backgrounds. Along with Cities United, he was part of the initial launch of the My Brothers Keepers Initiative by President Obama, which is a national effort to positively affect the lives of youth and eliminate barriers to success. In 2013, Mayor Lunde was honored with the Minnesota After School Champion award from the Minnesota Statewide Afterschool Alliance, and in 2018 honored for his work supporting veterans by the Minnesota VFW. As Mayor, he was the founder of the Blue Line Now Coalition, a group of cities who are leading efforts to support the construction of the METRO Blue Line Extension Light Rail (BLRT).
Jeff is married to wife, Jodi, and has two sons, Joshua and Jedrik, who attend school in the Anoka Hennepin School District. He holds a Master’s Degree from Minnesota State University – Mankato, and a bachelor's degree in History, Political Science and Russian from North Dakota State University.
Vicky Soukaseum
Focus areas: affordable housing and renter/landlord relations
Committed to the delivery of efficient and effective county services, eliminating disparities in our systems, and addressing the need for affordable housing through a holistic approach; Vicky is a strong and passionate advocate. With over a decade of experience in the housing and redevelopment industry including non-profit, private, city and county, Vicky served most recently as a Policy Aide at the Ramsey County Board office. There, she engaged with community to build trust and transparency by equitable engagement and pursued creative solutions in policy making between local agencies, government, and stakeholders.
Vicky holds a bachelor’s degree from Hamline University in Business Administration, and an associate degree in Business Management from Minneapolis Community and Technical College. She is dedicated mother to two children who attend ISLA (International Spanish Learning Academy). Vicky enjoys cooking for family, friends, and her neighbors on her time off, as well as traveling and exploring the outdoors.
Anna Schmiel
Focus areas: METRO Blue Line Extension Light Rail (BLRT), small business & workforce development, and the County's Climate Action Plan
Anna is passionate about creating a more equitable county by giving residents the tools to create their own opportunities and lead economic development efforts in their communities. Before coming to the county, Anna worked as the Community Engagement Coordinator at NEON (Northside Economic Opportunity Network), a small business incubator in North Minneapolis. While at NEON, she worked to connect businesses with resources, with her most recent focus being helping them access funding, get online, and navigate reopenings and closures in light of the pandemic.
Anna graduated from Carleton College in 2017 with a bachelor's degree in International Relations and Political Science. During her time at Carleton, she worked as a student research assistant in Myanmar studying post-dictatorship economic development. Anna enjoys baking, writing, and gardening in her spare time.