About Elizabeth Shaffer

Elizabeth Shaffer first became a Minneapolis elected official in 2021, serving a four-year term as Minneapolis Park Commissioner for District 4, which includes most of Ward 7 and portions of three other wards. During that time, Shaffer chaired the Park Board’s Administration and Finance Committee, the Operations and Environment Committee, and the Standards and Conducts Committee. She also represented the Park Board on the Minnehaha Creek Policy Steering Committee, the Lake Street Greenway Partnership, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts Board, the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board, and the Southwest LRT Steering Committee. Highlights of her board work include:

Creating three new funding sources for the parks, including its first endowment;
Supporting the expansion of city-wide free youth programming;
Prioritizing maintenance of assets, particularly bike and pedestrian trails;
Working with the Legislature to secure funds for the Berger Fountain restoration in Loring Park;
Increasing the Park Board’s natural resource staff; and
Supporting a partnership between MPRB and Minneapolis Public Schools to address Title IX deficiencies for girls fastpitch softball.

Before running for Park Board, Shaffer was President of the Friends of Thomas Lowry Park, leading an innovative public-private partnership to successfully restore its historic Seven Pools water feature.

Elizabeth was born and raised in Buffalo, MN, and graduated from Monticello High School. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Wheaton College, and obtained a master’s degree in education from the University of Illinois-Chicago. After that, she served as a teacher in the Chicago Public Schools and Oak Park (IL) Public Schools. Elizabeth and her husband Steve are thirteen-year residents of Lowry Hill, have four adult children and one spoiled dog, Bella. Their youngest son serves as a Minneapolis firefighter.

When not working, Elizabeth loves spending time with her family and friends and enjoying the great outdoors, including running the lakes, biking the Grand Rounds, and long-distance hiking, including the Superior Hiking Trail.