Colnese Hendon (She/Her) is a fundraising/development professional with 30 years of experience in the Twin Cities’ nonprofit sector. She currently works for Youthprise as a Senior Writer. Colnese is passionate about social justice, child welfare, homelessness, and racial equity. She was born in Duluth, MN, to an unmarried teenage mother, who relinquished her for adoption at the time of her birth. She was later adopted by an African American family and grew up in South Minneapolis. In spite of her biracial heritage, she identifies solely as African American due to the cultural influences of her parents, church, community, and life experiences as a woman of color. Colnese applied for the Community Equity Program program to deepen her understanding of the legislative process and to learn how to draft legislation and successfully advocate to impact systems and effect positive change. Colnese has one daughter, two sons, and nine grandchildren.
