Episode 18: Scott Redd

In this episode of Creativity on Tap, host Frank Sentwali sits down with Scott Redd, President and CEO of Sabathani Community Center, one of Minnesota’s oldest African American–founded nonprofits. Scott shares his journey from Waterloo, Iowa, to leading a cornerstone organization in South Minneapolis, reflecting on the role of creativity, community voice, and resilience in driving transformation.

Listeners will hear how Sabathani’s roots in a neighborhood church grew into a vital 188,000-square-foot hub, how community-driven solutions have guided nearly 60 years of impact, and how Scott’s own story, from football scholarship to social engineer, shaped his commitment to service. This conversation highlights the creative spirit that sustains communities, the importance of listening deeply, and the power of building spaces where people thrive together

About COMPAS
COMPAS (compas.org) is a nonprofit with 50 years of experience delivering creative experiences to millions of Minnesotans of all ages and abilities, particularly those from historically marginalized communities. COMPAS connects professional teaching artists with students, older adults, and other community members to inspire creativity and empower voices.

About Creativity on Tap
Creativity on Tap is produced by COMPAS. In each episode, Creativity on Tap brings together educators, entrepreneurs, elected officials, parents, and other community leaders to discuss creativity and answer the question: What is creativity, and how can it solve the unique challenges facing today's world?

Creativity On Tap is part of Creativity Saves the World, an initiative led by COMPAS to explore, celebrate, and emphasize the pivotal role creativity can and must play in shaping a world that prioritizes equity, justice, and inclusivity.

Theme music (played at the end of the episode), "Krank It," was produced by COMPAS Teaching Artist Bionik.

Transcript

Welcome to Creativity on Tap. Creativity on Tap is a series of conversations produced by COMPAS about the value and importance of creativity. For more information about Compass and how creativity saves the world, visit C-O-M-P-A-S.org. I am your host, Frank Sentwali and I hope you enjoy this episode of Creativity on Tap.

Today's guest on Creativity on Tap is Scott Redd, a dynamic and visionary leader serving as the president and chief executive officer of Sabathani Community Center, one of Minnesota's oldest African-American founded nonprofits. Scott brings over 20 years of executive experience in driving organizational growth, strategic transformation, and operational excellence. Under his leadership, Sabathine has achieved significant milestones including record revenue growth, completion of an affordable housing development, program innovations, and securing $1.3 million for sustainability and green infrastructure.

Scott holds a BS from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and an MS from St. Cloud State University. Please welcome to Creativity on Tap, Scott Redd. Welcome, brother man.

Well, Frank, thank you for having me on, appreciate it. Man, it is good to finally be able to get you to be a part of the podcast. I've had you in mind for quite some time.

I think we discussed this, what, probably almost a year ago now. So we got you here. Glad to be here.

Yes, indeed. Well, let's get right into it, man. Tell us a little bit about Sabathine Community Center and Sabathine's history for those who don't have that information.

Sure, sir. So we're one of the oldest black African-American institutions, nonprofits in the state of Minnesota. We've been around almost 60 years.

And we came out of a black church, Sabathine Baptist Church, where at the time, Reverend Stanley King, instead of building a big sanctuary, he said, you know what? I see a lot of young kids out in the community getting in trouble, don't have much to do, but he built a gym at Sabathine Baptist Church. Because he knew if he built the gym, the kids would come. That would bring their parents.

And he answered his bet right. And 60 years later, we're here. And we actually, so we were across the street from Sabathine, where Sabathine's now, which was known as Bryant Junior High School, where Prince was in high school at, junior high.

And that building became available as black leaders in the community lobbied the state of Minnesota, Minneapolis Public Schools. And we got that 188,000 square foot building for $1. Yeah.

That had to be more than just lobbying. That had to be some creative and ingenuitive thinking. Tell me a little bit about the role that creativity played in that process.

Oh yeah, for sure. So, you know, at Sabathine, our mission is to provide people of all ages and cultures with essential resources that inspire and improve their life and build a thriving community. So being able to listen to the community, you know, and learn from the community, that was the key thing.

So many people think that, you know, that they have all the answers, but the community has answers, right? And you find so many bright folks that's in that South Minneapolis. We're a resilient community over there that's always looking at ways that we can get ahead and achieve. So by listening to the community, hearing their ideals, and doing community needs assessments, something that we do every single year, we was able to develop that building out and come up with a great plan that would show value to that region.

All right. Yeah, I guess you can't really have a creative approach to serve a community without getting the input from the community. That's right.

Indeed. I'm gonna backtrack a little bit because we're gonna spend most of the time talking about Sabathine, but I wanna kind of give the audience a chance to learn a little bit about Scott Redd. So tell us a little bit about you and where you're from, and how did you kind of end up on your journey to doing what you're doing now? Yeah, that's kind of boring, but I'm originally from Waterloo, Iowa.

And- Is that right? Yeah, yeah. Real quick, I was conceived in Waterloo, Iowa. Oh, was that real? Yes, I wasn't born there, but I'm adopted and I was conceived there.

And so my biological family is from Waterloo and my birth mother moved to St. Paul to live with her dad to give birth to me and go through Minnesota Home Adoption Society. But yeah, so I got a chance to go there because once I met her when I was 16, she took me back to Waterloo to see her roots. So we have that connection.

Okay. I'm sorry, continue. Yeah, no, Waterloo is a great place.

So I grew up in Waterloo, Iowa. I was a student athlete. I played football, went to Eastside Trojans and was fortunate enough to be able to get a scholarship to come play football at the University of Minnesota.

I'll tell you though, when I came here, I was just close to leaving because Waterloo is a very small, well-connected black community. When I got up here, I just didn't feel connected. Our coach at the time was like, hey, you stay on campus, don't go north, don't go to St. Paul, don't go south, you just stay on campus.

And so many folks did, but that's just, that's not who I was. So I remember calling and telling my mom, I'm like, hey, I'm from the transfer university of Iowa. I said, well, all my friends are down there.

And so this is a person that my mom never drove on the highway. And she, so this is like three and a half hour drive. It took her eight hours to get up here.

But she got up here and she's like, because back there, internet wasn't as popular. So she did her research, called some folks, called some of the black churches, and she found this place called Phyllis Wheatley. And so I actually, when we didn't have games in the season, I would go over there and I would volunteer math and science.

My background was in engineering, electrical engineering. And so I would go over there and I'd love to see that light bulb go off in young folks' mind, right? So I would go over there and I'd volunteer. And that really saved me, man.

There's folks like Beazell Bailey, who was over there, who really tied me to the black community. And that's what I was missing. I was missing that black foundation that I had in Waterloo.

So I was able to fall in love with the Twin Cities from there. Yeah, well, this became my second thing. That's something that failed for my school, but being around the brothers and sisters, folks over there, man, that was all about community is what helped me come to that.

I never was an engineer, right? I've been a social engineer. We look at different things. What we practice on is just being in the community and solving problems and making solutions in the community.

Well, clearly I see why you are the person for the job over at Sympath-Me. What year did you play football at the U? Oh, 87 through 91. 87 through 91.

So I'm trying to think. So, what you don't know is, so Leroy Gardner Jr. is my father. Oh, is that right? Yeah.

And so, yeah, so he was the academic advisor over there for Lou Holtz. Yeah, and so as a shorty, I spent a lot of time around the Gopher football program with Lou Holtz and John Guttekens when he became the head coach. I went to the bowl games as a youngster when they went to the Independence Bowl and Liberty Bowls.

Yeah, so I was a little snotty nose kid running around. Yeah, small world. Yeah, and then Leroy, he would say, he said, listen, this is Tiffany.

He said, I know your story, and now one of y'all mess around with me. I know the story well. I know the story.

I had to, she would come home and she said, well, you know, Craig Otto. She said, that's the only one that would, the white dude was the only one that would dance with me because all the brothers was afraid of dad. Small, small world.

Yes, indeed. So your mother came up here and helped you.