Be the change you want to see in the world. Join our Board of Directors!
Gender Justice has been fighting for reproductive freedom and LGBTQ+ rights—especially trans inclusion—for years.
In Minnesota, we’ve helped create one of the most powerful legal and policy environments for gender equity in the country. But that progress is fragile. It will only hold if we invest in the culture, the coalitions, and the proactive policies and organizing needed to defend it.
In North Dakota, we’ve laid real groundwork in just a few years. We’re challenging the state’s abortion ban and defending access to gender-affirming care—cases that could reshape how state courts understand gender justice for generations.
We know that legal victories alone aren’t enough. Not in this moment. This moment demands more than short-term wins. It demands courage. It demands bold, future-focused strategies and approaches that break from the status quo and meet this moment with the imagination it requires.
Lasting change requires more: narrative power, forward-looking policy, grassroots momentum, and powerful coalitions.
That’s exactly what we aim to build.
We are seeking 3-6 new board members to join our stellar Board of Directors. The volunteer board provides fiduciary oversight of our organization, mission-based leadership, fundraising support, strategic governance, and advice to the Executive Director.
If you’re interested and want to learn more, join us at one of our two upcoming meet-and-greets. We’ll share more about the organization and what it’s like to be a board member, and you can ask current board and staff any of your burning questions. Register for one of our meet-and-greets in-person or via Zoom today!
- In-person: Wednesday, October 1, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. CT, in St. Paul, MN. Register in advance here.
- Virtual: Thursday, October 9, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. CT. Register in advance here.
To apply, please review the full job description below and complete this application form.
Process and timeline:
- Informational Meet and Greet with board and staff: October 1, 2025 (in person) and October 9, 2025 (virtual).
- Complete an application by Friday, October 24, 2025.
- New members will be voted in on December 16, 2025, and notified shortly after.
- New members’ terms begin January 1, 2026.
Volunteer Board Member Role and Responsibilities
About Gender Justice:
Gender Justice is a 501(c)3 nonprofit legal and policy advocacy organization working to advance gender equity through the law in Minnesota and North Dakota.. We envision a world where all people can thrive—regardless of their gender, gender expression, or where they live. A world where bodily autonomy is protected. To get there, we must dismantle the legal, cultural, and political systems that uphold gender-based oppression and replace them with structures rooted in equity, truth, and freedom. We do this work through: impact and strategic litigation; policy advocacy, legal analysis; public education and training; narrative organizing, storytelling, and strategic communications; and building strategic movement partnerships.
About the Board of Directors:
The Gender Justice Board of Directors provides fiduciary oversight, mission-based leadership, strategic governance, and advice to the Executive Director who manages day-to-day operations.
The average monthly board member commitment is 5 hours per month—which includes six Board meetings per year, committee participation, new member orientation, and a retreat. Meetings are conducted on a hybrid basis (simultaneously in-person and virtual), except that the annual retreat is only an in-person meeting. For board members living outside of the Twin Cities area, including outside of Minnesota, Gender Justice will reimburse them for the reasonable cost of their transportation, hotel, and food related to the annual retreat.
To the best of their abilities, Board members deliver:
Leadership
- Ensure the mission of Gender Justice is well understood and embraced by the board, management, and other key stakeholders, and ensure congruence between decisions and core values.
- Focus on organizational strategic priorities and dedicate resources to achieve goals.
- Honor Gender Justice’s commitment to a diverse board and staff that reflects the communities GJ serves, and ensure that board recruitment meets the needs of the organization.
- Represent Gender Justice to stakeholders; acting as an ambassador for the organization.
Participation
- Take part in the oversight of management and operations of the organization.
- Prepare in advance and attend meetings of the board; ask questions, exercise independent judgment, and request information to take responsibility for making decisions on issues, policies and other board matters.
- Contribute to the hiring and the ongoing evaluation and annual performance evaluation of the Executive Director.
- Serve as a trusted advisor to the Executive Director as they lead the organization and implement Gender Justice’s strategic plan.
- Evaluate board member needs and effectiveness of working together to meet board development, recruitment, and orientation needs.
- Participate in recruiting board members to meet the goals and objectives of the organization.
Planning & Committees
- Help set long-term and short-term goals for the organization that align with mission and vision of the organization in partnership with the Executive Director.
- Maintain Gender Justice’s Board and Committee work plans.
- Follow the governing documents of the organization, which include articles of incorporation, bylaws, and other documents governing the organization.
- Establish and monitor committees having the authority of the board and provide well-defined responsibilities and authority for each committee.
- Participate on at least one board-established committee.
Finance & Fundraising
- Provide oversight and support for the Finance Committee of the organization including oversight relating to audits of Gender Justice financial statements and internal controls, ensuring federal and state reporting compliance.
- Oversee financial performance and provide for risk management through monitoring financial results, operational liability, and organizational reputation within the community.
- Verify that published reports and financial reports provided to the board are transparent and properly reflect the operating results and financial condition of the organization.
- Approve the annual budget of the organization including setting target for reserves.
- Support organizational fundraising efforts and actively participate through personal contributions and/or by generating support for the organization.
- Make an annual contribution that is commensurate with the member’s financial capacity.
Conflicts of Interest
- Ensure that management has established appropriate policies to define and identify conflicts of interest throughout the organization, and is diligently administering and enforcing those policies.
- Comply with the Gender Justice Conflicts of Interest Policy.
- Sign the Annual Statement – Conflict of Interest document for board members.
Board Terms
- Gender Justice Board Members serve three-year terms for no more than two consecutive terms (six years).
- Gender Justice Board Officers serve a one-year term, eligible for re-appointment for additional terms.
- Gender Justice Board Members serve on Committees for one-year terms with continued participation evaluated annually by the Board as part of its regular planning process.
Gender Justice is committed to building a board of directors that reflects our values of equity and inclusion with regard to race, culture, ethnicity, class, religion, physical ability, neurodiversity, age, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation. As an organization working in solidarity with the reproductive justice, economic justice and racial justice movements, Gender Justice is committed to fostering the leadership of women, people of color, Native and indigenous people, LGBQ and trans people, immigrants, and those with lived experience in communities most impacted by injustice.
Board Recruitment Meet and Greet: In-Person