Sprockets Staff

By now, you probably realize that Sprockets is all about bringing together different organizations. So it should come as no surprise to learn that our staff is a partnership of community-based agencies. We don’t all share one office, but we do share one common purpose: to make positive change in the lives of youth through quality out-of-school time programming. Make positive change in the lives of youth through quality out-of-school time programming 

Did you know?

Every member of the Sprockets team has been a youth worker at some point in our pasts. Guess you could say that passion for encouraging youth to reach their fullest potential runs deep in all of us.

  • Kari Denissen-Cunnien, Director

    City of St. Paul
    kari.denissen@ci.stpaul.mn.us
    651-266-6426

    Kari joined the City of St. Paul in 2006 to help advance Mayor Chris Coleman’s bold education and out-of-school time vision, and was named Director of Sprockets to coincide with its 2010 launch. As a teenager participating in after-school theatre, Kari learned that there is no such thing as a small part, and that great theatre happens through collaboration and team work. She has carried these lessons into her professional life, where she brings more than 10 years of experience in facilitating community collaborations and promoting youth engagement to her daily mission to help young people thrive through quality out-of-school time experiences.

    A contributor to numerous whitepapers and a frequent presenter at industry conferences, Kari studied youth policy and public and nonprofit management at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. In her free time, Kari loves trying out new recipes, painting with her toddler son, and losing herself in a good book.
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    Catherine Penkert, Database Project Lead

    City of St. Paul
    Catherine.Penkert@ci.stpaul.mn.us
    651-266-6422

    Catherine has been part of Sprockets, well, since long before it was called Sprockets! Nearly every job Catherine has had, including her past four years with the City of St. Paul, focused on helping young people reach their fullest potential. As Sprockets Database Project Lead, Catherine enjoys the challenge of creating and testing new models for making out-of-school time data accessible, relevant and higher profile. Catherine, who holds master’s degrees in both public policy and social work, draws upon those skills in her work to help provide opportunities for youth to be agents of positive action in their communities.

    A seasoned traveler (and former member of her high school fastpitch team), Catherine enjoys experiencing other cultures, as well as being home with her family in St. Paul’s Highland Park neighborhood.
  • Erik's photo

    Erik Skold, Associate Director for Quality

    Center for Democracy and Citizenship at Augsburg College
    skold@augsburg.edu
    651-209-3519

    For the past ten years, Erik has been deeply involved in bringing learning experiences for children and youth beyond the classroom. This set the stage well for his current role as Sprockets Associate Director for Quality, where he works with schools, city governments, parks, libraries and many community-based organizations to develop and promote quality programming that supports young people as they strive to recognize and achieve their greatest potential.

    Erik, a former high school debate team member, turned his enthusiasm for long hours spent in library research into a pursuit of a master’s degree in youth development leadership from the University of Minnesota. A Wisconsin native, Erik frequently crosses the border back to his home state to introduce his three young children to the wonders of the great outdoors.

  • Jocelyn Wiedow, Sprockets Network Organizer

    YWCA of St. Paul
    jwiedow@ywcaofstpaul.org
    651-265-0720

    As a Sprockets Network Organizer, Jocelyn brings together people and programs from all across St. Paul with the shared goal of helping young people succeed. It’s a perfect fit for someone with more than 15 years of experience in coordinating and directing youth and family programs around the Twin Cities – not to mention the practice she gets at home, guiding and encouraging quality out-of-school experiences for her own two active sons!

    Jocelyn’s summers at camp as a young person inspired her love for learning in nontraditional settings. Some of her favorite outdoor classroom experiences have been teaching horseback and dirt bike riding.  Jocelyn has a master’s degree in public and non-profit administration. An outdoor enthusiast, Jocelyn enjoys a little time away to go camping and canoeing.

  • Athelgra Williams, Sprockets Network Organizer

    Center for Democracy and Citizenship at Augsburg College
    william7@augsburg.edu
    651-209-3519

    Athelgra brings a rich background focused on youth, justice, community partnership and social change to her work as a Sprockets Network Organizer, where she brings people and organizations together to enhance out-of-school experiences for all youth in St. Paul. So it should come as no surprise to learn that Athelgra is currently working toward a master’s in youth development leadership — knowledge that will build upon her passion for sharing St. Paul’s out-of-school offerings with youth and their parents, connecting those opportunities to in-school learning, and creating long-lasting, meaningful partnerships between families and schools.

    Athelgra spends many hours reading with her young daughter and sharing with her the love of books that she discovered as a young person, when she spent her summers curled up with a stack of good books as part of her local library’s summer reading program.