Hayes, MollyOlson, JonSchmidt, AmyShimek, Tracy2019-10-082019-10-082018-08-15https://hdl.handle.net/11299/208495Capstone paper for the fulfillment of the Master of Public Affairs degree program.The CapitolRiver Council—District 17 (“CRC”) is part of the neighborhood District Council System in the City of Saint Paul. The CRC is the official “citizen participation organization” (I-231) for Downtown Saint Paul and the State Capitol area, and acts in an advisory capacity to the Mayor and City Council on urban planning and community building efforts as part of a shared vision to support sustainable, safe, healthy, and vibrant neighborhoods (CapitolRiver Council webpage 2018). It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation which seeks to serve as the voice for residents, businesses, property owners, employees, and visitors to Saint Paul (CapitolRiver Council webpage 2018). The CRC Board of Directors is comprised of these stakeholders and utilizes five committees in accomplishing its work (CapitolRiver Council webpage 2018). Its Board meetings and committee meetings are open to anyone with an interest in issues concerning District 17. In April 2018, the CRC’s Executive Director engaged four students from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota to support the work of the CRC executive director and board. The research team is comprised of Molly Hayes, Jon Olson, Amy Schmidt, and Tracy Shimek, who are all mid-career professionals with expertise spanning sectors including military/national security, diplomacy, law, municipal government, and private industry. The research team has a grounding in qualitative and quantitative research methods, policy analysis, program implementation, and leadership. (See Appendix I for additional biographical information.)enCapitolRiver Council: Mapping the Future to Everyone's DowntownThesis or Dissertation