Sharon Sayles Belton

St. Paul, Minnesota

Activist

Mayor of Minneapolis from 1994 to 2001, Sharon Sayles Belton, the city’s first African-American and first female to hold the post, brought citizens and government together to clean up neighborhoods, fight crime, and develop local business and industry. As a community leader and activist, she has advocated for children’s and women’s issues, leading efforts to improve services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. As a senior fellow at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, Sayles Belton works on anti-racism initiatives and improving information sharing between community organizations and research institutions.