FORMER COUNCIL MEMBER MOLLY DENNIS FOR MAYOR

“It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a …" 
 

Hi, I'm Molly Dennis your Rochester neighbor. I am running to be your next Mayor of Rochester.  In our beautiful city, I am overwhelmed with sincere gratitude to the residents for entrusting me to be a council representative for four years. It has been a steep learning curve with many challenges, like high seasoned city staff turnover, incredible growth, and recovering from a global pandemic. I have been humbled and sincerely honored to serve you and to amplify your voices on the Rochester City Council. I appreciate your support and encouragement to continue my advocacy for your needs in our growing community.

My family and I have lived near Elton Hills Drive since 2007 and it has been a blessing to call Rochester my forever home. I originally grew up near the Black Hills of SD in Rapid City. I earned my Bachelors of Science degree in Sociology, with minors in both Biology and Political Science, followed by earning secondary teaching certification for instruction in middle school and high school science and government from South Dakota State University.

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I lived for a while in Washington DC where I worked in the Hart Senate Building for the Senate Majority Leader. Being curious by nature, I spent a large amount of time researching history and ideas at the Library of Congress while having the opportunity to shadow and work in national level government. After graduation, I taught high school biology/physical science near Sioux Falls before moving with my spouse to Worthington MN. In MN I worked with people with many different abilities and special needs as I lead and supervised a team of direct care staff and managed a facility for adults with varying abilities in a high medical home. My employment included recording staff payroll, developing assessments for clients, and processing financial transactions. I oversaw developing site budgets and staff DEI and certification training. 

We moved to the Fargo/Moorhead area where I supported my spouse in graduate school. There I worked in a day support center planning curriculum for people struggling with mental health needs. I also held an administrative position in a large local facility that worked with people with many different special needs.  In this capacity I helped organize volunteers and helped lobby for funding. I also developed and facilitated diversity training and cultural awareness programs. During this time I also served on the safety taskforce, developing policies for and working with governmental agencies to help find affordable housing for people with varying needs and abilities. My background is rich in human services and education, both of which are vital to advocate for as Rochester experiences exponential growth and change.

In addition to my teaching and human service work here in the Midwest, I have also been blessed to have gained broad experience when living and teaching overseas. In doing so, I witnessed different governments, programs and cultures. I also volunteered in China, Japan, and South Korea and working with people struggling in Ukraine and Armenia.  By fundraising, volunteering and traveling around the world I have been blessed to gain perspective on culture, government differences, and learn from amazing leaders. I also have been able to see first-hand disparities, inequalities, and how fragile our representational democracy is.  How we are blessed to live in this great country and as citizens we need to be hold our government accountability in order to protect the democracy we cherish.