Great River Greening

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Welcome Aboard

Join us in welcoming three new members to the Great River Greening Board of Directors.

Vanessa Cossetta

Vanessa Cossetta is the Director of Portfolio Management at the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Digital Health. Prior to joining the Mayo Clinic, Vanessa was a Senior Finance Manager at Best Buy. She has over 17 years of experience in the finance sector as a director, manager, auditor, and an analyst.

Vanessa, her husband, and her two children are all passionate about preserving our natural resources. Vanessa’s son can name nearly every insect, bird, and reptile in their yard—which includes an acre of land that the family has restored to native prairie! Vanessa’s favorite native plants (which can also be found in their yard) are the Purple Poppy Mallow and Prairie Spider Root.

Tim Rogers

Tim Rogers is a manager with Xcel Energy’s transmission organization where he works on siting and permitting solar, wind, and transmission facilities. He also leads Xcel Energy’s avian protection program and pollinator habitat initiative in their Midwest territory. He recently served as Policy Chair of Energy and Wildlife Action Coalition, a national organization with membership from electric utilities and renewable energy companies.

Tim has been a Volunteer Supervisor for Great River Greening’s restoration planting events for many years. Tim and his wife Kathy live in St. Paul where they raised their 4 children. He spends much of his free time skiing, running, and biking trails with his dog Mabel.

Meg Hickey McGuire

As Investment Director for Granite Partners, Meg Hickey McGuire focuses on the firm’s investments in new platform and add-on companies as well as sustainability topics across the Granite Companies. Meg joined Granite in 2020, bringing prior experience in both private investing at Norwest Equity Partners and management consulting at Bain & Company. Through these roles, Meg gained experience working with companies of all sizes on strategy and merger/acquisition topics.

Meg grew up in St. Paul and still resides there with her husband and three children. Sustainability is a core part of the professional and personal impact Meg hopes to have on the world. She loves Great River Greening’s focus on Minnesota and the unique approach that brings together all different types of stakeholder groups to work together on this mission. Fun Fact: Meg has a bamboo tree in her living room that has survived 12+ years (including several cross-country moves and 3 children).

We are thrilled to welcome Vanessa, Tim, and Meg to Great River Greening’s talented and dedicated Board of Directors!


Photo Credits: Headshots provided by individual board members.