About R.T. Rybak

R.T. Rybak has served as mayor of Minneapolis since 2002, during which time he has led efforts to make Minneapolis a national leader in innovative, cradle-to-career approaches to youth development. He founded the Minneapolis Promise, an innovative cluster of coordinated efforts to get young people college- and career-ready and put them on the path to success. Mayor Rybak has been recognized as a national “Afterschool Champion” by the Afterschool Alliance not only for his leadership of the Minneapolis Promise, but for founding the Minneapolis Youth Violence Prevention Initiative, an innovative public-health approach that has dramatically lowered youth involvement in violent crime, and for being a champion of the youth-led Minneapolis Youth Congress. In 10 years as Minneapolis’ mayor, R.T. Rybak has also: restored Minneapolis’ fiscal health and AAA bond rating; led successful efforts to bring down crime to the lowest levels in decades, positioned Minneapolis as aggressively pro-jobs and pro-growth, and championed internationally-recognized efforts to make Minneapolis more sustainable. Raised in Minneapolis, Mayor Rybak spent almost 30 years working in journalism, business and activism before becoming mayor.