Hi everyone, it's Sophia another episode of Work and Progress. Today's guest is someone that I absolutely adore.

I've watched her from afar for a very long time

and her leadership has been so impressive to me,

perhaps crystallizing when her husband, none other than Minnesota

Governor Tim Walls, was selected by Vice President Kamil Harris to be her running mate on the 2024 ticket.

Gwen Lalls is an American educator and public school administrator.

She is the 39th and current First Lady of Minnesota as the wife of said governor Tim

Wall's and Gwen is fascinating to me because she is a teacher and an advocate

and she gives me the kind of energy in a conversation that I just know would have made her my absolute favorite teacher in high school.

She began her English teaching career in Western Nebraska, which is where she met Tim, and throughout her career,

Gwen has taught in public alternative and migrant schools, which has shaped her vision for education.

She served for more than two decades as an administrator and

coordinator in the Mancato area public schools,

working to eliminate the achievement gap

and strive for more equity and access within education systems.

Because Gwen knows that a strong public education system,

which she considers to encompass from birth through senior citizens

is critical to empowering every person and for her every Minnesotan to succeed.

Throughout her life, Gwen has worked passionately to build a more just and equitable world,

from teaching at prisons and promoting criminal justice reform to advocating for the LGBTQ

plus movement, Gwen's desire to learn from and work with others to advance meaningful change

is her guiding principle, which makes her an absolutely perfect guest for work in progress. Let's chat with the First Lady of

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