ÂÜÀòÂÒÂ×

Maria Regan Gonzalez has a wealth of experience in the public health and healthcare sectors. From 2012 to 2015, they worked as a Health Specialist for the Public Health Division for the City of Bloomington, MN. In 2015, they joined Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota as a Principal Sustainability Design Consultant, Population Health. Maria then served as a Board Member and Food Charter Champion for the Minnesota Food Charter from 2013 to 2019. In 2017, Maria became a City Council Member, Ward 3 and Mayor for the City of Richfield. In 2019, they were a Bush Fellow for the Bush Foundation. In 2021, they joined the Executive Council of the Young Women's Initiative for the Office of Governor Tim Walz & Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan, and became a Board Member for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation. Maria is currently a Vice President of Strategy and Food Systems for Haystack Data Solutions and a Board Member for First Children's Finance. Maria is also the Systems Director of Equity Initiatives for Fairview Health Services, where they work to improve public health and address health disparities.

Maria Regan Gonzalez obtained a Bachelor's degree in Global Studies: International Trade and Public Policy and Spanish Studies from the University of Minnesota in 2009. Maria then went on to receive a Postgraduate Certificate in Rural Sociology: rural indigenous agriculture and development from Universidad Autónoma Chapingo in 2010. In 2013, they returned to the University of Minnesota to obtain their Master's Degree in Executive MPH in Public Health Practice, which they completed in 2020. In 2021, they obtained a Certified Human Centered Design Practitioner certification from the LUMA Institute.