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 Phillips Neighborhood Champion Award, and the High Honors of Who's Who in Community Ministry Award from Bethel University. Joani has a certificate in Non-Profit Management from the University of St. Thomas and a Bachelors of Arts (B.A.) degree in Elementary Education from Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee.  Joani worked as an elementary school teacher before moving to Minneapolis.

Tonya Jackson is the Community Coordinator at the Banyan and is responsible for overseeing community events, community advisor board, and safe zones for Block Clubs to be clustered in. She heads up our newest initiative, The Lighthouse Network. Tonya is a licensed police officer who has served with the Brooklyn Center Police Department and as a Public Housing Officer in Saint Paul. She has also served as the Co-Chair of the Brooklyn Center Youth Collaborative. In her law-enforcement career she has developed special expertise in prevention and intervention strategies for youth in gangs. At the Banyan her skills are now being put to use to create developmental assets in the community by using prevention and the strength-based approach to community development. Tonya has an Applied Arts (A.A.) degree in Law Enforcement from Century College in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and is currently completing her Bachelors of Arts (B.A.) degree at Bethel University.

Katie Knopff is the Youth Development Director at the Banyan Community and is responsible for the implementation, design and evaluation of the middle school and high school programs, as well as providing development and supervision for the high school staff that are employed at the Banyan. Just prior to coming to the Banyan, she served as Volunteer Coordinator for Kaleidoscope Place, a youth development program in the Phillips neighborhood. She has also been active in the Weed and Seed program in Phillips. Her youth development talent is applied at Banyan by helping adolescent youth discover and apply the strengths and skills they have to successfully bring them into adulthood, including graduating from high school and gaining acceptance into college. Katie has a Bachelors of Individualized Studies (B.I.S.) Degree in Asian American Studies, Race Relations and Psychology from the University of Minnesota.

Allison Schmidley is the Elementary Specialist and Family Advocate at the Banyan Community and is responsible for design, implementation and evaluation of the elementary after-school program, as well as conducting home visits to support Banyan families. Allison brings a passion to increase educational outcomes in all urban families, but especially the Latino community. She has worked as a Spanish teacher in the public schools, as well as working in the YMCA camping program and as an American Reads tutor. Allison is bilingual in Spanish and English and has studied abroad in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala at Casa Xejalu and in Quito, Ecuador at Univeridad de San Friancisco de Quito, bringing international experience to the Banyan Community. Allison has a Bachelors of Applied Arts (B.A.A.) Degree in Spanish and Education from the University of Minnesota Duluth.

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 lives 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 Bachelors of Science (B.S.) degree in Recreation from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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.