Councilmember Chris Tolbert

Tell us about your background.

For the past 11 years, I have represented Ward 3 on the Saint Paul City Council which includes the Highland Park and Macalester Groveland neighborhoods. Born and raised in Saint Paul, I attended Saint Paul Public Schools, graduating from Central High School, then went on to Saint John’s University and then Hamline Law School. I have also been an Assistant Hennepin County Attorney since 2010. 

As a Councilmember, I have been committed to increasing diversity and expanding opportunity for all, with a focus on public safety, jobs, housing and transportation. Initiatives that I have founded include: Full Stack Saint Paul, Right Track, and Lead Free SPRWS. As chair of the Housing Redevelopment Authority, I have been a leader on housing and economic development, including leading the transformation of the Ford Site to Highland Bridge neighborhood.

Why have the tech sector and tech careers been such a passion for you?

Saint Paul, the Twin Cities and Minnesota are fortunate to have a healthy and diverse business community. The diversity of sectors has kept Saint Paul competitive, helping us through economic ups-and-downs and sector specific business closures and job loss. Tech is one of the important sectors today and will expand into the future, thus it is the jobs of today and the good paying jobs of the future. Prior to Full Stack Saint Paul, I felt that the innovative companies in Saint Paul were underappreciated, that Saint Paul was not respected as a great place to be in the innovative and tech sectors, and that we were not prioritizing producing a strong tech workforce. I think making sure that we grow, retain, and attract tech jobs and companies is essential for Saint Paul’s future success and that is what has made me passionate about it. I want to leverage the power of tech and innovation. I see a future for Saint Paul that fosters the next generation of tech talent, growing innovators and companies, while creating pathways to careers and access for our young residents. 

Speaking to young people, what are some reasons that Tech careers are worth pursuing?

Minnesota was previously on the frontier of tech, providing innovations in supercomputing and served as the headquarters of companies like Cray and Control Data. Today, we have a fantastic, established and growing tech eco-system that is underappreciated and underreported. We are very Minnesotan about it, as in we don’t brag even though we can. Looking to the future, we need our youth to go into tech so that we can continue to compete with the rest of the world. We need our next generation to bring their fresh perspective in tech to solving problems. We also want our young people to have good paying and sustainable jobs. They can find that in the tech industry. 

What makes you most excited about tech and innovation in Saint Paul?

There is so much in this space that excites me. I admire the courage of entrepreneurs who bet on themselves and their idea. I love to see people bring new perspectives and solutions to solving problems. I appreciate the great companies and family supporting jobs that the tech and innovation sectors support and create. But most of all, I’m excited to see what the future of tech and innovation holds for our city. I’m betting on our people and community to continue to be a leader in this space.