Rashad Turner, formerly a key organizer for Black Lives Matter St. Paul, will head up community engagement for Minnesota Comeback, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit group of foundations and business leaders that works to close the achievement gap.

Turner's post is effective Nov. 1. His duties will include finding ways to help parents stay connected in education and thinking about partnerships with other organizations.

He comes from a community organizer role with Black Lives Matter St. Paul, where he "engaged 1,000-plus citizens in criminal justice reform" and worked with St. Paul Police on the relationship between police and the community, according to a release from Minnesota Comeback.

"Our inability to advance education equity cripples the lives of those who need it most — students of color who experience poverty," Turner said in the release.

Before Black Lives Matter, he was the Scholars Program coordinator at Century College and a cultural liaison for White Bear Lake Area Schools' Office of Equity and Integration.

"Rashad is a proven and inclusive leader passionate about fostering equitable communities and improving education," said Minnesota Comeback executive director Al Fan in the release. "Our community is stronger because of his ability to advance social justice, engage communities and change the status quo."