Rashard Zanders, Board Vice President

Since his graduation from Knox College, Rashard has spent the majority of his career as a journalist and teacher. He has worked in Minneapolis and St. Paul Public Schools as a substitute teacher, a lead teacher for community-based programs including Sabathani Community Center's Life Skills program, and the Harriet Tubman Center's after-school and early childhood programs. From 2007-2011, Rashard was the co-director and lead teacher at Sabathani's Life Skills Adult Basic Education Program, helping community members, new U.S. citizens, immigrants and refugees, progress through ESL (English as a Second Language) and GED studies.

As a journalist, Rashard is a dedicated reporter who advocates for marginalized communities and peoples often excluded from the social, economic, educational mainstream. Rashard has worked as a staff writer for the Madison Weekly, The Madison Times, and The Capital Times. He has served as an intern at the Minneapolis weekly, The City Pages, and served as community editor at the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder from 2004-2006, after which time he returned to teaching adults. His articles have appeared in more than 40 publications nationwide. He has interviewed writers Walter Moseley and Minister Faust, jazz luminaries Marcus Roberts and Hugh Masekela, and dub poet Mutabaruka.