St. Louis Park Mayor Nadia Mohamed honored with 2024 LMC Emerging Leader Award

St. Louis Park Mayor Nadia Mohamed was named the 2024 Emerging Leader Award recipient by the League of Minnesota Cities yesterday. The award was announced Thursday at the League’s Annual Conference in Rochester.

Mohamed was elected mayor of St. Louis Park in 2023 and became the first Somali-American mayor in the United States and the first woman of color to serve as St. Louis Park’s mayor when she was sworn in in 2024. Before being elected mayor, Mohamed became the city’s youngest council member on record to hold the position in St. Louis Park when she was 23 years old.

Throughout her time in St. Louis Park, Mohamed has helped improve the city’s understanding of the Muslim culture by connecting people through events, classes, conversations, and relationship building. Her dedication to increasing the acceptance and cooperation between people of different backgrounds earned her the 2018 City of St. Louis Park Human Rights Award.

Mohamed has been a vocal advocate for creating affordable homeownership in St. Louis Park as a council member and now as mayor. She has supported the city’s affordable housing initiatives such as the first-generation homeownership and down payment assistance programs.

“(Mohamed’s) heart for the community is evident in all her activities. From providing training on diversity, equity, and inclusion in her daily work, to serving the community on city council, to speaking to groups for Women’s History Month and Black History Month, Mayor Mohamed shows us the best of what it means to be a public servant,” the St. Louis Park City Council said in a joint statement included in Mohamed’s nomination form. “She is a role model to us all in how to be authentic, show up as your true self, and lead with care and integrity.”

The League’s Emerging Leader Award is presented in recognition and encouragement of elected and appointed officials who are early in their service to municipal government, have made meaningful contributions to their city, and show promise for continuing service and leadership. Officials who have served for eight years or less are eligible for consideration for the award.

The League of Minnesota Cities is a membership organization dedicated to helping cities throughout Minnesota build quality communities through effective advocacy, expert analysis, trusted guidance, and collective action. The League serves over 830 member cities through advocacy, education and training, policy development, risk management, and other services.