Ramsey County's new goal to Cultivate Economic Prosperity and Combat Concentrated Areas of Financial Poverty presents a community call to action that requires community-wide solutions.  It is a recognition that no one entity can build a community by itself, but that the collective capacity of individuals and groups will drive future prosperity if they are strategically aligned and committed to action.

 

Generating future economic prosperity requires the support of regional efforts, especially when the County is similarly situated with the rest of the MSP Region.  However, it also requires the implementation of more localized strategies when situations arise in which it the County is uniquely situated when compared to its peers.  Furthermore, as the area within the Region with the highest proportion of concentrated areas of poverty, all future economic prosperity work will be stunted unless that work increases access to opportunity for all people in all places within our community.

 

The economic prosperity goal and efforts emanating from it are ambitious and come at a pivotal moment in the Region's development.  It establishes an overlay through which current and future programs, policies and collaborative actions can be evaluated.  The goal also makes a community commitment to the long-term; it cannot be fully achieved in one, five or even ten years.  But progress can be made incrementally, and it is that sustained and committed effort that will ultimately ensure lasting and positive outcomes for our generation and the ones to follow.

Ryan O’Connor is the Planning and Policy Director for Ramsey County.  He coordinates countywide strategic and analytic efforts and supervises the Policy and Planning Division within the Ramsey County Manager’s Office.  His passion lies in aligning an organization's strategic priorities with its day-to-day implementation activities, recognizing that strategic success ultimately requires securing the committed support and leadership from all corners of an organization as well as a broad array of outside interests and stakeholders.

O’Connor received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Dakota with majors in political science and communication studies.  He also has a Masters in Public Affairs degree from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs with concentrations in policy analysis and environmental policy.