Audrey Suker retires from CEO position after 24 years.
MINNEAPOLIS – April 10, 2023 – The Board of Directors for ServeMinnesota, the state’s Commission on National and Community Service, is honored to announce the selection of Julia Quanrud for the position of Chief Executive Officer. Quanrud is currently the Chief of Staff at Ampact, a national service organization that focuses on education, environmental stewardship, and healthy futures for communities. She brings experience in nonprofit leadership at the state and national level, as well as serving two years with AmeriCorps.
“We conducted an extensive search process and considered a broad range of candidates,” said Phil Rutherford, chair of ServeMinnesota’s Board of Directors. “Julia stood out among this incredibly talented field.”
Quanrud will replace retiring CEO Audrey Suker, who served as ServeMinnesota CEO for 24 years. “Audrey has led the organization with tenacity and an unwavering commitment to making the world a better place through innovation and the people power of AmeriCorps,” Rutherford said. Suker was the architect responsible for scaling several Minnesota programs into national AmeriCorps programs. Some of those programs include Reading Corps, Math Corps, Early Learning Corps, and Recovery Corps.
Building on the strong infrastructure created by her predecessor, Quanrud will channel her passion for public service into affecting positive change within the community. “I believe that the power of service lies in bringing a community together to work in partnership toward a better future,” she said. “By approaching national service as a strategic investment, a collaborative effort, and an opportunity to make exponential impact, ServeMinnesota has shown that effective leadership can make a transformational impact on issues facing our state. I’m excited to continue and build upon that work.” She will join the ServeMinnesota team on April 3.
Quanrud serves on the board of FamilyWise and is a former advisory board member for the Minneapolis Foundation Fourth Generation Fund. She earned a Master of Public Affairs degree from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, where she was awarded the Lloyd B. Short Award for Best Master’s Paper for her research on the impact of community crisis on human service nonprofit organizations. She also has her undergraduate degree from Macalester College where she received the Presidential Leadership Award, George Stanley Arthur Prize for Civic Engagement, Harambee! Award for Multicultural Contributions on Campus.
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About ServeMinnesota
ServeMinnesota creates positive social change by deploying the people power of AmeriCorps to translate research into on-the-ground implementation. Each year, thousands of individuals commit to transformative service opportunities focused on improving the lives of Minnesotans through education, affordable housing, employment, the environment, addiction recovery and response to the COVID-19 crisis. Two of its innovative strategic initiatives, Minnesota Reading Corps and Minnesota Math Corps, demonstrate speed to implementation in their work to close the achievement gap and help struggling students become successful learners. By leveraging federal dollars, building strong community partnerships, and continually improving programs, ServeMinnesota ensures national service is positioned to make meaningful contributions to our state. For more information, visit gradschools.vaftizo.com.
About AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps, a federal agency, brings people together to tackle the country’s most pressing challenges, through national service and volunteering. AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serve with organizations dedicated to the improvement of communities. AmeriCorps helps make service to others a cornerstone of our national culture. Learn more at AmeriCorps.gov.
