Linda St. Ores of Woodbury, a city of St. Paul human rights department specialist, was an innovator in helping those in need.
St. Ores, who began a program to link contractors with women and members of minority groups looking for construction jobs, died of pancreatic cancer on Oct. 13 at her home in Woodbury. She was 51.
"She was a true drum major for freedom, justice and equality," said her former boss, Tyrone Terrill, former director of St. Paul's Department of Human Rights.
After graduating from Redwood Falls High School in 1974, she earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn., in 1978.
She worked for West Virginia's Human Rights Department before taking a similar position with St. Paul in 1980.
"She always had a strong compassion for the little guy and the poor," said her sister Gail Wood of Excelsior. "She saw that many immigrant construction workers needed work, and she decided to hook them up with big contractors."
In 2001, she founded what is now the Twin Cities Construction Coalition for Diversity, said Mary Dahlquist of St. Paul, who is active in the group.
St. Ores, who worked in contract compliance, thought it would benefit employers and prospective employees if there was an organization that could bring them together. She brought in civic organizations that provide skills training to disenfranchised people and funneled information to the organization about upcoming construction projects.
