Minneapolis Names Bridge After HPF Director Sharon Sayles Belton
HPF is proud of the wealth of talent on our board. Our directors have very diverse and accomplished backgrounds in public service, the financial services industry, and academia. The common attribute that binds them all together is a commitment to public service. The only compensation our directors receive is the satisfaction that comes from helping oversee an organization whose primary mission is to help financially distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure and to strengthen the institution of homeownership nationally.
As our directors don’t get public recognition for their HPF board work, we take satisfaction when they are honored for their other accomplishments. So we are incredibly proud that founding member and longstanding board member Sharon Sayles Belton is having a Minneapolis bridge named in her honor.
Ms. Sayles Belton is a former two-term Mayor of Minneapolis, where HPF is headquartered. Sharon’s major accomplishments during her tenure include revitalizing one of the poorest neighborhoods in Minneapolis through public safety, job creation, and quality housing initiatives. It was also during Sharon’s tenure that the Minneapolis Convention Center, one of the city’s most important assets, was built. The bridge that will be renamed for Sharon, also constructed during Sharon’s term as mayor, connects the Convention Center with the Minnesota African American Museum. Sharon was the first woman and first African American to serve as mayor of Minneapolis.
Sharon is currently the Vice President of Government Affairs and Community Relations at Thomson Reuters Legal, where she directs government affairs activities affecting all Thomson Reuters businesses, customers, and employees; she is also responsible for the company’s Community Relations activities. Additionally, Sharon is a senior fellow at the Hubert Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota.
The Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired Minneapolis bridge, currently known as the Third Avenue South bridge and located over Interstate 94, will be renamed the “Sharon Sayles Belton Bridge” and renovated to feature public artwork honoring Sharon’s achievements as mayor. Sharon was instrumental in transforming Minneapolis through public art and was responsible for renovating the city’s historic theaters and bringing housing, entertainment, and culture back to the city’s neglected Mississippi Riverfront communities.
We salute Sharon for all her impressive accomplishments serving the residents and businesses of Minneapolis and are grateful for her continued service on HPF’s Board.
Click here to read the official announcement of the bridge rededication.
