Credit: Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation
The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation has announced the recipients of its 2025 Facing Race Awards, recognizing five Minnesota-based leaders whose work challenges harmful narratives on race while building inclusive solutions across the state. From St. Paul and Minneapolis to Duluth and Winona, the honorees have made notable strides in fostering equity, inclusion and justice.
The 2025 award recipients are Alexs Pate, Nate Smith, Kathy Sublett, Sai Thao, and Patricia Torres Ray. Chosen by a community committee that included past awardees, the honorees were selected from 156 nominations submitted by colleagues, collaborators and neighbors. Tsega Tamane, associate vice president of community impact for the Foundation, said, “Many of the leaders we honor do not do this work for recognition. It’s hard work, quiet work. Celebrating them is part of sustaining this movement, pausing to reflect and practice joy deliberately.”
Honoring MN leaders
Founded in 2007, the Facing Race Awards aim to celebrate leaders working to dismantle systemic barriers. While the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation has strong roots in the East Metro, Tamane emphasized the importance of honoring leaders statewide: “Though our communities are very unique, the work of fighting racism and imagining a more just Minnesota connects us across different parts of the state.”
This year’s recipients reflect that diversity. Pate is based in the Twin Cities, while other honorees lead initiatives from southeastern Minnesota, Duluth and beyond, illustrating the statewide reach of anti-racism efforts.
Alexs Pate: redefining the classroom
Alexs Pate, president and CEO of Innocent Technologies and creator of the Innocent Classroom, has spent more than a decade training educators to reject racial stereotypes and foster learning environments where students of color can thrive.
“The concept of the Innocent Classroom is essentially that we are all weighed down by negative stereotypes,” Pate said in an interview. “I wanted to create an environment where young people can let go of tension and stress and open themselves up to be curious, energetic learners.”
Pate’s initiative has reached over 10,000 educators across the U.S., shaping classrooms where students feel seen for their brilliance rather than measured against societal expectations. While funding and political challenges have affected program reach, Pate said the award serves as a reminder to persist. “It motivates me to not give up, to move forward,” he said.
Other 2025 recipients
Nate Smith (Mino Animikiikaa), an Anishinaabeg Ojibwe leader, is the founder of the Good Thunder Collective, reconnecting community members with Indigenous wellness practices and reshaping equity in Duluth Public Schools.
Kathy Sublett founded Let’s Erase the Stigma (LETS), a nonprofit in southeastern Minnesota that restores self-worth to underserved communities and pioneered local expungement workshops.
Sai Thao, a Hmong American media artist and education advocate, co-chairs In Progress, a nonprofit supporting emerging voices in digital media while advancing education equity for families of children with special needs.
Patricia Torres Ray served 16 years in the Minnesota Senate as the first Latina elected to the chamber. She continues to advocate for women, immigrants, and marginalized communities through her consulting firm, PTR Associates.
“The work can be heavy, fatiguing, even exhausting. Giving ourselves permission to rest and celebrate is an act of resistance.”
Celebrating community impact
Tamane noted that the awards are more than symbolic recognition: They are part of cultivating resilience and joy in anti-racism work. “The work can be heavy, fatiguing, even exhausting,” she said. “Giving ourselves permission to rest and celebrate is an act of resistance.”
The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, Minnesota’s largest community foundation, partners with thousands of donors and nonprofits statewide to invest in equitable, community-led solutions. The Facing Race Awards highlight leaders whose work addresses racial inequities while fostering collaboration and community growth.
The 2025 Facing Race Awards celebration will be livestreamed on October 16. Attendees can register at www.FacingRace.org, with recipient videos available starting October 17. For more information about the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, visit spmcf.org.
Jasmine McBride welcomes reader responses at jmcbride@spokesman-recorder.com.