In 2009, a group of local leaders, including Samuels—then the founder of the Peace Foundation, a nonprofit working to end violence within the community—met to explore whether a cradle-to-career approach pioneered by Harlem Children’s Zone could be replicated in North Minneapolis. “I started really understanding how many of the kids that were committing the violence almost uniformly had poor educational outcomes and instability in terms of their families,” she says. “We decided we would have one system of support for the same families and children—and that we would be the backbone.” By 2010, the Peace Foundation had evolved into the NAZ, with Samuels as its president and CEO. 

Since its launch, the NAZ has served 7,598 North Minneapolis children and teens, as well as 3,804 families, with 65% of those families living below the federal poverty line. While improving academic outcomes has been challenging in recent years—particularly, says Samuels, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic—NAZ students have made recent progress in key areas. In 2023, NAZ students in grades 3-8 had better school-attendance records and higher academic proficiency rates than their peers. Last year, 86% of its early-childhood students achieved literacy benchmarks, with 71% achieving all six developmental benchmarks, the highest percentage since 2023. And in 2026, the NAZ secured a data-sharing agreement with the state of Minnesota, so they can do even more to track students' outcomes, including high-school graduation rates.

Beyond educational support, the NAZ works to improve children’s financial well-being. In April 2025, the organization launched WealthBuilds, an initiative to provide 1,000 students (pre-K through grade 8) with a comprehensive program on building wealth, which includes financial literacy education and seeding college savings accounts with $500 each. Samuels describes research showing that if a low or middle-income student has $500 or more in a college account, they are five times more likely to graduate. “It's like your community—or your parents—saying we believe in you, and we're investing.”

By 2030, the NAZ aims to support 3,000 additional children and teens. Central to that goal is an investment strategy that includes expanding access to high-quality elementary and middle schools, establishing a high-impact tutoring hub, and extending the program to support students beyond high school, into postsecondary education and careers.

The progress already underway gives Samuels reason for optimism; this year, the inaugural class of students to enroll in NAZ will graduate from college. “It's about hope,” Samuels says. “We're here to power purpose and potential on the North side.”