The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation (the Foundation) today announced that Nadege Souvenir has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer (COO). She will be responsible for the refinement, design and integration of cross-team systems and processes while continuing to oversee the Operations & Learning team.

Nadege joined the Foundation in 2016 as associate vice president of Community Impact. She was promoted in 2018 to vice president of Operations & Learning with responsibility for overseeing the Human Resources, Information Technology and Grants Administration teams. In 2020 Nadege was promoted to senior vice president of Operations & Learning and led the departments of Grants Administration, Human Resources, IT, and Learning, in addition to creating the East Metro Pulse, a community perception survey. Currently, Nadege manages the Foundation’s narrative change work and co-hosts its podcast, I So Appreciate You!

Her leadership was instrumental when the Foundation revamped its operations to provide consistent community support and partnership throughout the pandemic. In her new role, Souvenir will make decisions on behalf of the organization when the Foundation’s president & CEO is not available.

“We are committed to advocating for equity and investing in community-led solutions. Our effectiveness as a community foundation is entirely reflective of how we operate internally,” said Eric J. Jolly, Ph.D., president & CEO. “At every juncture, Nadege steps in to solve hard problems, ask the right questions and convene teams to get to the best solutions. With Nadege as our COO, I will have the opportunity to spend more time in the community, working across the state to realize our aspiration of an equitable, just and vibrant Minnesota.”

“Over the last two years, all organizations have had to reinvent pieces of their businesses to be effective,” said Souvenir. “Because the Foundation exists to address the most pressing needs in the community, our work cannot be put on hold as we evolve to face challenges. As COO, I will ensure that our organization is responsive and able to step in when the community needs us the most.”

Before joining the Foundation, Nadege was a litigator at Dorsey Whitney LLP.