Fredrikson & Byron Named Meda Corporate Volunteer of the Year

The Metropolitan Economic Development Association (Meda) has named Fredrikson & Byron the 2017 Corporate Volunteer of the Year. Meda, a nonprofit dedicated to helping minority entrepreneurs succeed, is hosting its 47^th annual meeting on June 11, 2018, to celebrate and recognize advances in minority entrepreneurship within its community.

This honor recognizes Erik A. Splett, Julie Snow-Samanant, Anupama D. Sreekanth and Pamela J. Wandzel for their donation of time to Meda clients, helping minority entrepreneurs understand the legal implications of business ownership and providing instruction in Meda’s Mini MBA program. Splett is an attorney in Fredrikson’s Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity and Cross-Border M&A Groups. Sreekanth is a Fredrikson litigator. Snow-Samanant serves as the firm’s Chief Marketing Officer, and Wandzel is Fredrikson’s Director of Pro Bono and Community Service.

Wandzel shared, “Fredrikson is proud to be a long standing partner of Meda, an organization that works to promote economic equity for minority business owners. We appreciate the recognition as much as the opportunity to advance the mission of Meda.”

“When minority businesses succeed, the entire community benefits,” said Gary Cunningham, Meda president and CEO. “Our 2017 award winners are innovative partners, clients and volunteers—all determined to advance minority entrepreneurship.”

Since its inception in 1971, Meda has assisted over 20,500 minority entrepreneurs and helped start over 500 minority-owned small businesses. Meda provides business consulting, access to capital and market opportunities for minority entrepreneurs. Meda also operates a business development center under cooperative agreement with the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The Minneapolis MBDA Business Center connects Minnesota Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) with business opportunities and has been recognized as the top performing center in the country for the past two years.

Fredrikson & Byron is a 275-attorney law firm based in Minneapolis, with offices in Bismarck, Des Moines, Fargo, St. Paul, Saltillo, Mexico, and Shanghai, China. Fredrikson & Byron has a reputation as the firm “where law and business meet”. Our attorneys bring business acumen and entrepreneurial thinking to work with clients, and operate as business advisors and strategic partners, as well as legal counselors. More information about the firm is available at www.fredlaw.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and on Twitter @FredriksonLaw.

Media Contact: Kelly Griffith, 612.492.7514, kgriffith@fredlaw.com.