Each year the Bush Fellow program recognizes people who are making a difference in their communities in Minnesota, the Dakotas and 23 tribal nations in the region. The fellows receive up to $100,000 to learn and expand on their work. The 2024 cohort was announced on June 17. The fellows have a wide variety of work including art, food, housing, racial justice and more. Many are focused on health care and healing, like Mari Avaloz. She’s currently director of Upward Bound, a program that prepares low-income students for higher education at St. Olaf College. She’s putting the fellowship toward a vision of getting Latino families better access to cancer care. Mari Avaloz joined Minnesota Now to talk about her work.