September 10, 2025
Claudia Appel, Business Advisor
We’re excited to introduce two of our newest team members who bring an wonderful mix of expertise, dedication, and passion to our mission. Each of them adds unique strengths to our growing organization—and we’re excited to have them on board as we deepen our work in cooperative housing development and support.
Claudia Appel joined CoNorth as a Business Advisor in May. She was born in Curaçao, grew up in Colombia, and has been living in the United States for the past 25 years. She’s a proud parent of two wonderful kids — a 20-year-old daughter and a 17-year-old son — and also has a lovable Goldendoodle named Dinero.
An economist by profession, she has worked in the mortgage and commercial lending industry for the past 18 years. Claudia is passionate about personal and professional growth and loves staying active. Every morning, she goes to the gym, and enjoys hiking, watching Netflix movies, and traveling to new places. Helping others and building community is also very close to to heart. She deeply admires the mission and impact of nonprofit organizations and love being involved with causes that support and uplift people.
Amelia Swisher, Director of Communications and Advancement
Amelia Swisher joined the CoNorth team in February as the Director of Communications and Advancement after spending 25 years at Northeast Youth & Family Services, a nonprofit mental health and community services agency. She has served in many communications, marketing and development capacities over the years and is excited to work for an organization dedicated to supporting cooperative housing and building community.
One of her first projects at CoNorth was reorganizing and expanding the website and she is enjoying learning about all facets of the agency in the process.
Amelia began her career as a print journalist and newspaper editor after graduating from the University of Minnesota’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Throughout her career, she’s been fortunate to find jobs that encourage curiosity, communication and engagement with diverse audiences. Both of her children also graduated from the U of M and live locally so she enjoys spending her free time with them and traveling as much as she can.
Amelia is a born and raised Minnesotan but more “outside-y” than outdoorsy. She doesn’t ski or snowshoe but enjoys cooking, sewing, knitting, gardening and walking around White Bear Lake – as long as those strolls don’t turn into a hike. She wishes she was more enthusiastic about Minnesota winters but loves the first warm day of spring and overestimating her gardening capabilities every year.