Monthly Topical Call – August 2026 – Cultural Corridors & Creative Placemaking

August 18, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. 

Part of the Minnesota CDFI Coalition’s work is to provide space for connection and collaboration, and the Monthly Topical Calls are themed along an area of work or interest.

In 2025, LISC Twin Cities completed a five-year study of eleven creative and cultural districts in Minneapolis and St. Paul. This study, The Power of Place: Study of Creative & Cultural Districts in the Twin Cities, is the first of its kind in the nation. The study measures and tracks ownership, small business retention, and effectiveness of resources using a snapshot of districts across the metro. Join this conversation to learn about the study, CDFI investment and participation, and strategies for including culture and placemaking in your work.

If you have a question you want to ask in particular, send it to Carl Swanson at carl@mncdficoalition.org.

Jamie Schumacher
Program Officer, Creative Placemaking & Communications
Jamie Schumacher is LISC Twin Cities’ Program Officer for Creative Placemaking. She joins LISC from the West Bank Business Association (WBBA), a nonprofit organization that serves the West Bank / Cedar-Riverside community of Minneapolis. The area is one of Minneapolis’ key Cultural Districts, and Jamie has been an active participant in the LISC’s Creative Placemaking program for nearing a decade. Her role at LISC is to oversee the Twin Cities’ creative placemaking program and cultural districts. Jamie holds a bachelor’s degree from California State University of Fullerton and a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota.