Embedding youth leadership and gender equity into the infrastructure of state government

At every phase of her career, Jaime Tincher has been guided by a commitment to supporting and elevating women. Long before launching In Your Corner, she created space for women to lead, be heard, and shape the work around them.

In 2016, persistent gender and racial disparities continued to impact outcomes for young women and girls in Minnesota across education, economic security, health, and safety. While awareness of these inequities was growing, there was no coordinated, statewide structure capable of aligning government authority, philanthropic investment, and lived community experience into sustained action - particularly for young women of color, American Indian young women, LGBTQ+ youth, young women in Greater Minnesota, and young women with disabilities.

As Chief of Staff to Governor Mark Dayton, Jaime played a central role in designing, launching, and embedding the Young Women’s Initiative of Minnesota (YWI MN) as a durable public‑private partnership between the State of Minnesota and the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota. Announced in October 2016, just months after the United State of Women Summit hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama, YWI MN became the first statewide effort of its kind in the nation, modeled in part on My Brother’s Keeper.

From the outset, Jaime was intentional that YWI MN would not be symbolic, nor advisory. She led the effort to embed the initiative directly into the infrastructure of state government, giving it legitimacy, authority, and staying power beyond a single administration.

Central to YWI MN was the establishment of the Young Women’s Cabinet: 25 young women and youth leaders (ages 16–24) from eight designated communities across Minnesota. Selected through a competitive application process and formally appointed by Governor Dayton, Cabinet members were entrusted with ensuring the initiative reflected young women’s lived experience and their community-driven priorities.

The Cabinet worked alongside the Young Women’s Initiative Council, a cross-sector body of more than 70 leaders from elected office, business, philanthropy, and community organizations. Three Cabinet members also served on the Council, an intentional power-sharing design that elevated youth leadership within formal decision-making spaces. Jaime served as an inaugural Co-Chair of the Council, helping align agencies, philanthropic partners, and community leaders around shared accountability and execution.

The Initiative produced a 200‑page Blueprint for Action, outlining 20 recommendations across six focus areas, including financial stability, safety, education, health and wellness, cultural identity, and caregiving. Developed through deep community engagement and research, the Blueprint was designed as a seven‑year roadmap for action.

Because YWI MN was embedded into state infrastructure, its impact has extended well beyond that initial report. Since its launch, the Young Women’s Initiative of Minnesota has translated vision into sustained, measurable impact.

Key Outcomes since 2016:

$4.2 million invested in 72 organizations, with 58% led by women of color, strengthening community-based solutions across Minnesota
166 young women engaged through the Young Women’s Cabinet, grounding statewide strategy in lived experience and emerging leadership
10 original research reports published, advancing data-driven understanding of young women’s leadership, opportunity, and barriers
162 microgrants awarded to 128 innovators, directly supporting grassroots ideas and community-led solutions

Together, these outcomes reflect an initiative designed for durability, linking leadership development, investment, and accountability to real-world change.

This work reflects the core of how Jaime now partners with leaders through In Your Corner. Clients don’t come to Jaime for abstract strategy or surface‑level leadership development. They work with her because she knows how to design structures that hold power, align people, and endure under pressure. Whether supporting women leaders navigating transition, executive teams facing complexity, or organizations seeking durable change, Jaime brings the same approach she used in government: centering lived experience alongside authority, translating values into operating systems, and embedding accountability so progress does not depend on one person or a particular moment.

In Your Corner is built on this premise: meaningful leadership isn’t performative. It is structural, collective, and built to last.