Emily Geray
Buffalo,MN
Summary
Strong Team Leader with over twenty years of demonstrated ability in delivering mission-critical results. Offering outstanding communication and cross-cultural team management skills. Entrepreneurial attitude for optimal profitability and impact. Ambitious and versatile leader adept at creating strategic alliances with organizational leaders and effectively aligning with and supporting key business initiatives.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
Work History
Chief Operating Officer
MENTOR Minnesota
09.2024 - Current
- Identified and pursued business development opportunities to grow organization and increase revenue.
- Oversight of day-to-day operations to keep organization running smoothly while meeting business goals.
- Commitment to continuous improvement and innovation by uplifting purposeful evaluation to align and scale impact of mentoring initiatives by leveraging positive outcomes
- Negotiated contracts and agreements to secure favorable terms and maximize outcomes.
- Managed procurement activities to secure resource acquisitions at best possible cost & effectiveness.
- Devised and presented business plans and forecasts to board of directors.
- Communicated business performance, forecasts and strategies to investors and shareholders.
- Cultivated relationship centered practices -uplifting a culture of innovation and collaboration including advocating for the mentoring field both locally & on a national scale.
Program Director
MENTOR Minnesota
01.2021 - 09.2024
- Implementation of programming based on strategic objectives and allocate resources necessary to achieve those plans from start to finish including identifying processes, deadlines, and support
- Advocacy work grounded in integrity and intentionality to ensure communities have access to opportunities for supportive programming, activated through convening and bolstering mentoring initiatives at local, state and national level
- Managerial responsibilities include providing oversight of programming to ensure quality, leading documentation reporting and the delivery of technical assistance while providing supervision of the Technical Assistance Providers Pool and Coaching & Learning Associate Director position
- Coordinated budgeting, scheduling and resource allocation to facilitate smooth flow of operations
- Lead development and programmatic visibility of MENTOR Minnesota, expanding connections to engage programs through service and support
- Services include providing educational and professional development opportunities through no-cost technical assistance, and access to vetted resources and training cohorts, including the successful launch of Relationship Centered Schools initiative, Untold Legacies training series and leading consecutive banner years of technical assistance support hours provided
- Developed and implemented program goals and objectives, establishing specific and measurable outcomes aligned with organization's overall mission.
Leadership Team
Indigenous Youth Work Collective
01.2022 - Current
- Co-founder and designer of Indigenous Youth Work Collective
- Core components of this work have been to create a professional Indigenous youth work network built on Indigenous theories and goals to activate that network and collective knowledge to transform systems, expand upon, and reimagine youth studies scholarship and youth work supporting youth development practices
- Convene and support continued gatherings to amplify professional development and enhanced opportunities to uplift intellectual, experiential, and relational spaces to experience culturally sustaining youth work and engage in collective generation of ways of knowing about Indigenous youth and culturally sustaining youth work.
- Within the buildout of this network, successfully provided an experiential professional development opportunity for 30 Indigenous Youth Workers to share their expertise while learn from Indigenous colleagues in Hawaii, providing lasting impact
- Provided administrative support in areas of calendar management, communications, travel arrangements, budget & reporting
Student Intervention, Special Education, and Licensed Educator
St. Michael/Albertville School District
01.2011 - 01.2021
- Led student support through a culturally responsive and human centered approach
- Uplifted a holistic approach within youth work to ensure safe & supportive space within education and fostered an inclusive school culture
- Developed and implemented engaging lesson plans to keep learner attention.
- Service guided by an understanding that complex challenges and true systems change work is best met by cross-sector support and a communal mindset
- Collaborated with adults and children to provide safe and educational experience
Education
Double Major: Human Services & Psychology
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN05.2017
Skills
- Personnel management
- Operations administration
- Fiscal oversight
- Planning and execution
- Project management
- Strategic thinking
- Employee relations
- Social perceptiveness
- Cross-functional teamwork
- Business process reengineering
Certifications & Acknowledgements
- Nominated participant of the Minnesota Young American Leaders Program, University of Minnesota, Harvard Business School, Itasca Project, 2025
- Member of the Race Equity for Accelerating Learning (REAL) Network, through the Minnesota Education Equity Partnership that advocates for providing accelerated learning opportunities for secondary students in Minnesota (Metro Area AND Greater MN) as part of a broader effort to increase equitable participation in dual enrollment programs, 2024
- Member of MENTOR's Committee on Racial Equity (CORE) that was developed as a natural progression and evolution of the DEI Steering Committee and its work, 2022-current
- Co-designer of the Indigenous Youth Work Collective, 2022
- Mental Health First Aid Trainer Certification, 2023, including enhanced training in both Higher Education & supporting Indigenous Communities
- Leadership and Educational Excellence Award, 2020
- Crisis Prevention Intervention Certified & Conflict Management
- Spotlight on Educational Support Excellence Award, 2013
- Youth Coach of the Year, 2013-14
Timeline
Chief Operating Officer
MENTOR Minnesota
09.2024 - Current
Leadership Team
Indigenous Youth Work Collective
01.2022 - Current
Program Director
MENTOR Minnesota
01.2021 - 09.2024
Student Intervention, Special Education, and Licensed Educator
St. Michael/Albertville School District
01.2011 - 01.2021
Double Major: Human Services & Psychology
University of Minnesota
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