Mary Stransky began working for Rise just after finishing college in 1973. She wore many hats during her career here until becoming Human Resources Director, a position she left in 2014. “The thing I liked most about Human Resources was to have a connection with staff and all the people we serve,” she said.

Our trailblazing spirit has always been a part of Rise. Being here during our formative years, Stransky recognizes the role she played during that time of extreme growth. “We were all committed to the same vision. That was the most important thing for me was the team aspect of the job,” she said.

For the first time, in the 1970s, Rise was a place for people with disabilities to go for activities or work outside of Minnesota’s institutions. People found new friends and became embedded in their communities close to family and friends instead of living in crowded state facilities.

Stransky proudly remembers the satisfaction on people’s faces when they found a job that they liked and had a paycheck. “There was a place for them to it, and if it wasn’t for Rise, they wouldn’t have had that opportunity,” she said. “That was a wonderful thing to see at work was to see them walk through and be happy.”