![]() | Pothole Confidential: My Life as Mayor of Minneapolis Subjects: Rybak R.T.; Mayors -- Minneapolis -- Minnesota -- Biography; Minneapolis (Minn.) -- History; Minneapolis (Minn.) -- Politics and government; Minneapolis (Minn.) -- Biography; A pajama party at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport inadvertently helped launch R.T. Rybak's political career (imagine a rumba line one hundred protesters long chanting, "We deserve to sleep, hey!"), but his earliest lessons in leadership occurred during his childhood. Growing up in a middle-class neighborhood, attending private school with students who had much more than he did, spending evenings at his family's store in an area where people lived with much less, he witnessed firsthand the opportunity and injustice of the city he called home.
R.T. Rybak has lived his entire life in Minneapolis. Before his twelve years as mayor he was a journalist, publisher, Internet strategist, and marketing consultant. He now leads Generation Next, a public-private coalition that helps improve academic outcomes for children of color. He is a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee and senior advisor to Living Cities, and he has taught the course Mayor 101 at the University of Minnesota. |
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