Steve Dreyer
I’ve been a Board Member of Alley Communications since 2018. I was born and grew up in Wisconsin. I’ve lived here in Minneapolis for over 45 years. I’ve worked for a local landscape company for over 20 years and am now very part-time. I enjoy reading (nonfiction, current events, and newspapers, mainly), gardening, and paying attention to what’s around me.
I live in Ventura Village and am also active on their Board. I believe that people can make a difference in their communities and should try. Reading the alley and being involved in it is one way to do that. We welcome you to join us.
Luke Gannon
Hello! I am Luke Gannon and I organize with the Midtown Phillips Neighborhood Association (MPNA) and the East Phillips Improvement Coalition (EPIC) because I deeply believe that community is our greatest strength. Some of my favorite moments are when a room is full of people with different opinions, but you can still feel how much everyone cares—how we’re all working for the health and wellbeing of the neighborhood we share.
Outside of community organizing, I’ve spent time working in independent media. I worked at my college radio station, produced a podcast with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, and have written op-eds, mostly about environmental justice and local issues.
I’m excited to join the alley board and learn from the community how the alley can continue to be a resource for our neighborhoods. Let’s keep reading local!
Susan Gust
Susan’s passion is building effective, equitable, and principled collaborations where power is shared and different ways of knowing are valued in community-institutional collaborations. For over four decades, she and her husband co-owned a construction related community development small business, working alongside organizations in the Phillips Community and South Minneapolis with a focus on democratizing the design and construction process. Susan has been a volunteer with Alley Communications for over 20 years, and is now serving on the Board. Currently, she is employed on a community engagement team at the University of Minnesota, working to promote Community Based Participatory Research principles and practices where community and academic knowledge is equitably valued and utilized.
Natalie Mazey
Natalie is a current student at Macalester College studying English, media studies, and environmental studies. She is the arts editor for Macalester’s student newspaper, the MacWeekly, and has pursued freelance journalism in her home state of Ohio and the Twin Cities. She was introduced to the alley through a guest speaker in a class about local media and is thrilled about the opportunity to expand her journalistic roots through working on design for the alley and serving on the board. She is passionate about the power of local journalism to uphold the principles of democracy.
