The Commission strives to break barriers to help people from all backgrounds feel they belong in the community.

By Alexandra DeYoe — government reporter (deyoe006@umn.edu)

Breaking down barriers, representing Roseville’s diversity and finding fulfillment in civic impact are Roseville’s Equity and Inclusion Commission’s main objectives, said one of its newest and youngest members. 

Prajwal Vemireddy, 25, recently became one of Roseville’s commissioners for its newest city commission of equity and inclusion. The Commission was created last September and though they are still developing their long-term goals, Vemireddy said his main focus will always be dismantling barriers within the community. 

“I’m really desperate to leave the world a better place than when I came into it,” Vemireddy said. 

Emigrating from Mangalore, India, when he was about 5 years old, Vemireddy said he’s had a unique experience living in various places across the United States, from Louisville, Kentucky, to San Diego, California, and now to Minnesota. 

“I feel like I have a very American experience where I’ve seen the north and I’ve seen the south,” he said. 

With the recent push to reduce diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs by the federal government throughout the country, Vemireddy said he recognizes that some may not understand the purpose of this Commission. He said the Commission’s main purpose is to ensure as few barriers as possible for everyone to participate in local government and feel they belong in Roseville. 

“I don’t see equity and inclusion as political buzzwords, even though I think they’re being used by certain people as a scapegoat for everything,” Vemireddy said. 

In April, Minnesota’s Board of Education rejected President Donald Trump’s administrations efforts to reduce DEI initiatives in schools, and stated that it will not remove inclusion efforts. The Trump administration also threatened funding cuts to schools that do not follow its removal efforts, which is unlawful according to the U.S. Congress rules. 

Vemireddy said he has some “lofty” goals already, one being possibly expanding the city’s fee assistance program, which helps children of low-income families pay for community programs such as sports and other recreational services. 

“I feel like that can be expanded to all children,” Vemireddy said. “I don’t think how much money your parents make should be a reason why you can’t be part of this, you know, soccer camp in Roseville.” 

Another long-term goal Vemireddy said he is considering is addressing language barriers within the city’s public resources, such as forms and newspapers. 

“I feel like language shouldn’t be a barrier for access to government,” Vemireddy said. “So there’s a city newspaper that is always printed in English. I would like it in the long run that we print in other languages.” 

Before taking on the volunteer position of a commissioner for the city, Vemireddy graduated from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management in 2021 with a finance degree and currently works as an analyst at 3M. Although he likes finance and helping others understand it better, he said he hopes he’ll find more fulfillment in his work with the community. 

Vemireddy said he understands the skepticism that comes with the newer equity and inclusion commission entering the local government because of its lack of standing that other commissions have. Though the other commissions have been around for the last decade, he hopes the community can see the commission’s genuine efforts to improve the community. 

“Because at the heart of it, we’re not talking about, like, a specific policy or program. We’re talking about people,” Vemireddy said. “Whether every resident of Roseville, regardless of their background, multifaceted income, language, ability, feels like they belong in this community and the decisions that shape it.”