Memoirs of Leadership

Moderated by Jennifer Amie

Saturday, November 8, 2025
12:00pm, Red Cap Room (located upstairs from the Book Fair)

How do two kids from Minnesota end up in key leadership positions of public service in their home state? For Medaria Arradondo, it meant staying rooted in his hometown of Minneapolis, where he rose to become “Chief Rondo” at a time of unprecedented crisis; for Steve Grove, the journey was one of reinvention, winding through key roles in technology, government, and journalism. Join these now-grown Minnesota kids as they talk about their leadership paths, belief in local community, and hope for the future with magazine writer and Chief Rondo co-author Jennifer Amie, who returns to her native Twin Cities for this special TCBF conversation. 

About the Authors

Chief Medaria “Rondo” Arradondo was appointed as Minneapolis’s first Black Chief of Police in 2017. He gained national recognition for his role in leading Black and Blue through the George Floyd crisis, securing justice and implementing reforms while enhancing transparency. He remains active in the community as a Minneapolis Public Housing Commissioner and Executive Board Member of Fentanyl Free Communities. Also a consultant, Rondo advises a range of clients, including major corporations and organizations, on leadership and social justice.

Steve Grove is CEO and publisher of the Minnesota Star Tribune; prior to that, he was Minnesota’s commissioner of employment and economic development. Before moving back to his home state of Minnesota, Grove built a career in Silicon Valley as an executive at Google and YouTube, most recently as the founding director of the Google News Lab and previously as YouTube’s first head of news and politics. A graduate of Claremont McKenna College with a master’s degree from the Harvard Kennedy School, Grove has written for several national publications and has served as an advisor to the White House and State Department on counterterrorism strategy. Steve and his wife Mary are the cofounders of Silicon North Stars, a nonprofit that helps underserved youth find career pathways in technology. They are the proud parents of eight-year-old twins, a yellow lab, and two farm cats.

Jennifer Amie is a born-and-raised South Minneapolis native. A writer with deep roots as both a magazine journalist and a staff writer for educational institutions, she specializes in the worlds of art, culture, nature, science, and people who are catalysts of change. She received a BA from Reed College and an MA in journalism from the University of Minnesota, and currently resides in Portland, Oregon.