Mark Ritchie, the former Minnesota Secretary of State, has joined the board of the nonprofit Jefferson Center, which works to improve citizen participation in the civic process.
Ritchie served eight years as Secretary of State, but didn’t seek reelection last year. Since leaving office, he’s always been busy pushing for the state to get “Expo 2023,” a world’s fair-type international exposition.
The Jefferson Center, based in St. Paul, is known for holding citizen juries on important policy questions. In 2012, they held juries on the economy and the federal debt.
Last year, it partnered with Healthy Democracy in Oregon to conduct a Citizens’ Initiative Review in Jackson County, Ore., on GMO planting.
Kyle Bozentko, the Jefferson Center’s executive director, said he looks forward to “benefiting from [Ritchie’s] leadership and strategic guidance.”
Ritchie has a long history of civic engagement, dating to before his term in office, and has promoted environmental and economic sustainability. He’s been on the State of Minnesota’s Executive Council, the Minnesota Board of Investment, the Minnesota Historical Society Board, the Twin Cities Army Community Advisory Board and the Minnesota National Guard Senior Advisory Council.
