The Banyan Community

Joani Essenburg is the Executive Director of the Banyan Community and is one of its founders. Joani moved into the Phillips neighborhood with her husband, Tim, in 1990. The experience of living in the neighborhood and the relationships Joani and Tim formed with community residents helped lead to the formation of a neighborhood block club and the Banyan Community, which incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1998. For her work with the Banyan, Joani has received an Abby Award from Abbott Northwestern Hospital and the Phillips Neighborhood Champion Award. Joani has a certificate in Non-Profit Management from the University of St. Thomas and a B.A. in Elementary Education from Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee.  Joani worked as an elementary school teacher before moving to Minneapolis.

Michelle Vander Veen is a Youth Specialist at the Banyan Community. She has an extensive background in youth development, having served as Youth Program Specialist at Waite House in the Phillips neighborhood, as well as teaching in the Hopkins School District and overseeing athletic and camping programs for several youth-focused organizations. Michelle, her husband, and children, live in the East Phillips neighborhood just down the street from the Banyan House. She was involved with the Banyan as a Kids Club volunteer and high school tutor for two years before she joined the staff. She has a B.S. in Recreation from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Katie Knopff is the Youth Development Director at the Banyan Community and is responsible for overseeing youth development staff, budgets, and programs. Just prior to coming to the Banyan, she served as Volunteer Coordinator for Kaleidoscope Place, a youth development program in the Phillips neighborhood, where she was responsible for recruiting, training and supervising up to 300 volunteers each year. She has also been active in the Weed and Seed program in Phillips, assisting with community events, recruiting residents and convening the Law Enforcement Tech team. Katie has a Bachelor of Individualized Studies (B.I.S.) in Asian American Studies, Race Relations and Psychology from the University of Minnesota.

Rachel Loayza is the Elementary Specialist and Family Advocate at the Banyan Community and is responsible for designing and implementing the after school program and conducting home visits to support Banyan families. She has held full-time teaching positions at schools in Princeton, Minnesota and Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Rachel served in the Office of Multi-cultural Services at Hennepin County and has worked on the summer staff at the Banyan Community. Her passion to live in the community she works in is met at the Banyan, as she lives nearby the Banyan Community Center. She is bilingual in Spanish and English and has a B.S. and Licensure in Elementary Education from Winona State University, Winona, Wisconsin.

Chris McNair, Youth Specialist, joins Banyan as collaboration with Christ Children’s Ministries, an organization that he founded in 1993. Chris has 22 years of experience working with at-risk urban youth, including developing and publishing a curriculum entitled “Young Lions: A Christian rites of passage for African American boys.” At the Banyan, he will implement the Young Lions program, which focuses on goal-setting, building positive relationships, succeeding in school, and exploring education and career choices. He has a Master’s Degree in Divinity from Asbury Seminary and a doctorate from Luther Seminary.

High School Staff, Lorena Andrade, Josselyne Bunay, Catherine Essenburg, Michael Essenburg and Mai Te Xiong. During the school year, five high school students with long-term connections to the Banyan are hired to assist with program activities in the After School Program. They help with set-up, working directly with youth, and clean-up. Additional youth staff are hired for Summer Cool Off Days. The youth staff are role models of responsibility and success for the younger children at the Banyan - they are youth who came up through Banyan programs and have now been give more responsibility.