As Deputy Director at Gender Justice, Tana provides critical leadership management, shapes organizational culture, and guides work management processes.

From high-profile museums to start-up cooperatives, Tana has extensive experience in non-profit leadership, strategic planning, and project development. She has co-created a wide range of projects for creative and learning communities in New York, Boston, and Providence. After years working on the East Coast, Tana is back in her hometown of Minneapolis, creating art and action through public art-based policy engagement, and through the development of a network of artist-led worker cooperatives.

Tana is a collaborator in multiple Black-led and BIPOC-led movements. She is a member of the Black Liberation and Abolition Cohort, a group called together in the immediate aftermath of the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department. Tana is a member of the Subversive Sirens, a Minnesota-based synchronized swimming team committed to Black liberation, equity in swimming and the aquatic arts, radical body acceptance in athleticism, and queer visibility. She is a cohort member of Don’t You Feel It Too?, a public art action and form of movement meditation that transforms the self while taking action in the world.

Erin Maye Quade is known as someone who will run head-first into a challenge. She is a proven leader with extensive experience in the private, non-profit, and public sectors who believes in evidence based-solutions and in our collective ability to come together and solve problems.

Currently, Erin serves as a Minnesota State Senator and as a Special Projects Advisor at Gender Justice. During her run for Senate, Erin went into labor while giving a speech at the DFL caucus in April, sparking a national conversation on misogyny in politics. When she was elected in November 2022, she became one of the first three Black women to be elected to the Minnesota Senate. She is also the first out lesbian in the Minnesota Senate and the first Black mom in the State Senate. She was also the first LGBTQ person—and among the youngest—to be endorsed as the DFL candidate for Lt. Governor when she joined Erin Murphy’s ticket in 2018.

In just one term as a State Senator, Erin has successfully led initiatives to expand reproductive freedom, protect LGBTQ+ rights, safeguard election integrity, and promote literacy. In particular, Erin’s leadership on reproductive freedom inside and outside of the legislature has been critical to making Minnesota a national leader for abortion access. Erin built UnRestrict Minnesota, the biggest reproductive freedom coalition in the state, into a powerful force in state politics. Thanks to her leadership, the coalition won a court victory overturning most of Minnesota’s abortion restrictions, elected the state’s first-ever pro-reproductive freedom legislative majority, and passed historic legislation expanding and strengthening reproductive freedom throughout our state.

As a State Representative from 2017-2019, Erin wrote bills to increase funding for public schools and special education and quickly established herself as a candid and fierce advocate for Minnesotans championing paid family leave; expanding access to affordable child care; ending childhood hunger; eliminating gun violence; and investing in treatment for mental health and substance abuse issues. As a Democrat, she is proud to have successfully passed bills through a Republican controlled House.

Erin previously served as Advocacy Director for Gender Justice, working to advance gender equity through public education, legislative outreach, strategic partnerships and coalition-building. Through her work with Gender Justice and UnRestrict Minnesota, she led the largest reproductive health, rights, and justice coalition in the state of Minnesota from 2019 to 2022. In this role, she laid the groundwork for a statewide movement that successfully expanded access to abortion care in Minnesota in the year after Roe was overturned.

In 2018, Rep. Maye Quade founded the Childhood Hunger Caucus, a coalition of businesses, nonprofits and policymakers dedicated to ending childhood hunger in Minnesota.

Erin doesn’t back down from tough fights, even when others tell her to stand back. After legislation to prevent gun violence was blocked, Erin held a 24-hour sit-in on the House floor to protest inaction on the issue and shared stories of victims and survivors of gun violence.

Monica Meyer has been leading organizing, activism, fundraising and policy advocacy on behalf of issues of equity and justice since 1992. Monica’s most recent job was working for LGBTQ liberation as the Executive Director of OutFront Minnesota. During Monica’s twenty years at OutFront Minnesota, she loved getting to work with thousands of justice-loving people fighting to make Minnesota more loving and equitable.

During this time, OutFront was involved in securing some key victories advancing LGBTQ equity including helping to form and lead Minnesotans United for All Families, the campaign to defeat a constitutional amendment banning same-sex couples from the right to marry and secure marriage equality through the Minnesota legislature. They also worked to pass one of the country’s strongest anti-bullying laws, a policy to secure trans inclusion in sports, and elect pro-equality candidates up and down the ballot.

Some of Monica’s recognition includes the Humphrey Institute’s Public Leadership Award, the Lynx’s Inspiring Women Award, HRC’s Brian Coyle Award, the Charlotte Striebel Award from MN NOW and the MN School Social Work Association’s Friend of Social Work Award.

Monica received her master’s degree in public policy from the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota, and her undergraduate degree from Hamline University. She lives in NE Minneapolis with her family and loves being close to so much great art and food.

Jess Braverman is the Legal Director at Gender Justice, where she ensures that our litigation strategy not only promotes the dignity of our clients, but also advances our mission of removing barriers to gender equity.

Jess came to Gender Justice from the Hennepin County Public Defender’s office. After representing hundreds of clients in felony matters in the Fourth District, she spearheaded the office’s Special Litigation Unit, where she focused on racial profiling in policing. Jess developed litigation that challenged racially discriminatory undercover marijuana sting operations, which ultimately led to the end of the sting operations and the dismissal of dozens of wrongful charges.

Jess attended NYU Law School, where she was an Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Fellow with a focus on LGBTQ rights. She has worked with organizations dedicated to LGBTQ and gender civil rights advocacy, access to health care, immigration advocacy and workers’ rights. After graduating, Jess worked at the Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Project, representing young people in delinquency and child protection cases in Brooklyn, New York.

Minnesota Lawyer honored both Jess Braverman and Christy Hall as 2021 Attorneys of the Year, alongside our co-counsel ACLU of Minnesota and Stinson LLC, for our transformative victory in N.H. v. Anoka-Hennepin School District. In August of 2022, Jess was celebrated by the Minnesota Lynx for her work to both ensure trans women can participate in sports and litigation for abortion access. During their Women’s Health Night, they presented Jess with a signed basketball in recognition of her accomplishments. Jess has also earned the 2020 Equality & Justice Award from the Minnesota Lavender Bar Association.

Christina Sambor is the North Dakota State Director at Gender Justice, where she is working to develop a strategic presence in North Dakota to promote gender equity and protect the rights of North Dakotans. Christina is a licensed attorney. Prior to joining Gender Justice, she owned and operated her own law firm, focusing on family law, employment law, civil rights, and legislative advocacy. Christina has lobbied at the North Dakota State Legislature since 2015, advocating for vulnerable youth, victims of trafficking and domestic violence, unhoused individuals and the LGBTQ+ community. Through her lobbying and work with non-profits, Christina led efforts to strengthen laws that protect vulnerable North Dakotans, secured millions of dollars in funding to support direct service programs, and most recently led the fight against the wave of anti-trans legislation introduced in the 2023 ND legislative session.

Christina has her Juris Doctorate from Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA, where she graduated cum laude and was a member of the Dispute Resolution Journal. She has obtained certificates in executive education from Harvard Kennedy School and the Georgetown School for Continuing Studies. She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of North Dakota, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. Christina served as a law clerk at the United States District Court in Bismarck, and was a 2014 Bush Foundation Fellow.

Christy Hall is Senior Staff Attorney at Gender Justice, where she represents clients challenging gender discrimination. She practices in both state and federal court and has argued before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Christy litigates cases involving discrimination in employment, housing, health care and education. She is proud of her ground-breaking work on transgender rights in the Affordable Care Act and the Minnesota Human Rights Act. She has a particular interest in representing clients who have experienced trauma. Minnesota Lawyer honored both Jess Braverman and Christy Hall as 2021 Attorneys of the Year, alongside our co-counsel ACLU of Minnesota and Stinson LLC, for their transformative victory in N.H. v. Anoka-Hennepin School District. Christy has also been named a Power 30 employment lawyer by Minnesota Lawyer Magazine in 2021 and 2022—the only non-profit lawyer to do so. Christy graduated magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School and joined Gender Justice in 2011 as a Robina Public Interest Scholars Fellow. Prior to becoming an attorney, Christy worked as a computer programmer.

Brittany Stewart is a Senior Staff Attorney at Gender Justice. She earned her JD at UC Law San Francisco, before returning home to Oklahoma City to begin her legal career. In 2010, she was the first out transgender Oklahoman to run for political office. While she did not win that race, she helped normalize the participation of trans and non-binary people in Oklahoma politics and was named to Oklahoma magazine’s 40 Under 40 list.

Brittany helped advance equality for LGBT+ Oklahomans in legal cases ranging from free speech to employment discrimination. She was a key member of the legal team in Tudor v. Southeastern Oklahoma State University, the first sex discrimination case with a transgender plaintiff to be tried to a jury in federal court. Her work helped secure a unanimous jury verdict in favor of her client, with the jury awarding over $1 million for the discrimination. The verdict was later upheld by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Outside of law and politics, Brittany is a car and road trip enthusiast. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and their cat. In the last 10 years, she has been on road trips through all 48 contiguous states in the U.S. She is also a big sports fan, mostly of basketball, football, and IndyCar racing. Her favorite teams are the Oklahoma City Thunder, as well as the Vikings, Wolves, Lynx, and Wild.

Sara Jane Baldwin is a Senior Staff Attorney at Gender Justice. Her legal career has run the gamut from Legal Aid and Public Defense to Municipal and Entertainment Law. Prior to becoming an attorney, Sara Jane worked in the Broadway entertainment industry as a general manager where she managed national tours. In addition to her professional pursuits, Sara Jane completed coursework towards a PhD in music history.

Sara Jane was previously an at-large board member of the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers (MABL) and a member of the Sixth Judicial District’s Equal Justice Committee (EJC). She is currently a member of the Minnesota Judges’ Criminal Benchbook Committee and Co-Author of the Benchbook’s chapter on Driving While Impaired.

Sara Jane is passionate about running, theater, music, and dismantling white supremacy and the patriarchy. She lives in Duluth, MN with her son Max and is a proud graduate of Macalester College (BA, Music) and Georgetown Law.

Grace Moore is a Saeks Public Interest Legal Fellow at Gender Justice, where she assists the legal team in representing clients challenging gender discrimination. She is in her last year at the University of Minnesota Law School, and after graduation she will continue working at Gender Justice as an attorney through her fellowship. 

Before Gender Justice, Grace worked at a legal services organization serving survivors of intimate-partner violence and at a non-profit dedicated to ending gender-based violence through legal and policy advocacy. She also worked at Health and Human Services – Office of the General Counsel, where she worked on health equity initiatives, including ensuring access to reproductive health care.  

Jamie Smith is a Saeks Public Interest Fellow at Gender Justice. While finishing their last year of law school at the University of Minnesota, Jamie is working with Gender Justice’s legal team to represent clients challenging gender discrimination. After graduation, they will work at Gender Justice as an attorney through their fellowship.

Jamie is passionate about making Minnesota a more equitable place for everyone. Before Gender Justice, they worked at Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services Mankato and at University of Minnesota Law School clinics, serving low-income Minnesotans in need of legal assistance. They have also worn a lot of other hats over the years: operations manager, package handler, doggy daycare handler, and others. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Jamie is proud to call Minnesota their new home state and enjoys exploring all the Twin Cities has to offer on their bike.

Paola was born and raised in Mexico City until the age of ten when she and her family moved to Grand Rapids, MN.  Following graduation, Paola moved to Los Angeles and specialized in Treasury Management, working for some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Nearly a decade later and back in Minnesota, Paola found her passion for advocacy work, and gained years of experience in Family and Criminal law.

Prior to working at Gender Justice, Paola served as the Vice Chair for the Grand Rapids Human Rights Commission and is well-known for her community engagement regarding social issues. Paola has collaborated with countless organizations including Global Rights for Women, Planned Parenthood, VEMA (Voices for Ethnic & Multicultural Awareness), and other organizations focused on combatting discrimination. In 2019, she was featured in the documentary “Colored Lines” where she shared her personal experience regarding racism and lack of diversity in northern Minnesota.

Michelle has extensive experience in non-profit leadership, fundraising, political organizing, and social change advocacy. She has run record-setting fundraising campaigns and raised millions of dollars for LGBTQ+ equity, social justice, and environmental protection. She has previously worked for OutFront Minnesota, Save the Boundary Waters, Environment Minnesota, and a 2020 Congressional campaign.

Michelle first joined the movement for reproductive justice as a student at Carleton College. She currently serves on the Sierra Club Council of Club Leaders and the Sierra Club North Star Chapter Executive Committee and Political Committee.

Cameron Kruger has a long history in the nonprofit sector, most recently serving as President/CEO of the Duluth Children’s Museum where he navigated the museum through an extensive capital campaign and established the museum’s first permanent location in its 90-year history. He previously served as Chief Information Officer for the Duluth Area Family YMCA and was Board Chair of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. Cameron holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Springfield College and teaches as an Adjunct Professor of Organizational Leadership for Southern New Hampshire University.

Living on the shores of Lake Superior in Duluth, Cameron enjoys running, hiking, kayaking, and spending time with his two children and one cat.

Reika brings years of experience in nonprofit database management, grassroots fundraising, and event planning. In her previous roles, she contributed her skills to advance housing equity, racial justice, and grassroots movements at Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative and Headwaters Foundation for Justice.

As a first-generation immigrant, she calls both Minnesota and Saitama, Japan her home. She lives in West Saint Paul with her cat, Odie.

Gabbi Pierce brings an extensive background of movement, non-profit, and community based work to her role as Communications Manager for Gender Justice. As a queer trans woman, she strives toward uplifting gender oppressed voices and struggles, and believes firmly that collective action has the power to motivate substantial change. In 2022, she served as the first trans member of the Minnesota AFL-CIO General Board where she fought for and represented trans and queer workers in the state. Prior to her work on trans labor issues, Gabbi was part of the national staff team of Sunrise Movement, where she ran internal communications for the movement’s thousands of grassroots climate organizers. Additionally, Gabbi spent a year deeply engaged in public service in Los Angeles while serving in her role as a Director at Large on her neighborhood council’s board, where she represented 65,000 community members and received certificates of congressional and municipal recognition. Across all of her work over the years, she has found that powerful and truthful human narratives can change hearts and minds, and drive social transformation. She hopes to use her work to help make that change real.

Stacey Burns comes to Gender Justice from a communications and public health background, and has been active in Minnesota’s reproductive health, rights, and justice movements for many years. Prior to joining us as Information Specialist in 2023, she has played several roles with the organization since 2019, previously as digital organizer and communications manager on the UnRestrict Minnesota campaign and later contracting on special projects with the Gender Justice communications team.

In addition to her work with UnRestrict Minnesota, Stacey has created, directed, and implemented social media campaigns with the National Network of Abortion Funds, Rewire News Group, and the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health. She also oversaw Minnesota’s Abortion Provider Expansion Project with Pro-Choice Minnesota and Pro-Choice Resources (now Our Justice), helped launch Nurses for Sexual & Reproductive Health, and organized collections at the public health library of the Minnesota Department of Health.

While studying Political Science at Macalester College, Grace joined Gender Justice as an intern. She is now a Project Manager for the UnRestrict MN Campaign where she is excited to be a part of expanding abortion access in the state.

Before Gender Justice, Grace did on-campus voter engagement work and worked as a Research Assistant in Macalester’s Assessment Office. Her research focused on programming for first-generation students and student attitudes about the liberal arts.

Heidi Nybroten joined Gender Justice in December 2022 and, as Senior Manager of Operations, works to support the infrastructure of the organization. They bring operations, finance, and many years of legal assistant experience from non-profits as well as public defense firms. Heidi studied Law, Diversity, and Justice as well as Spanish at Western Washington University.

Heidi grew up in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington State and currently lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota with their partner, puppy, three cats, and four chickens. They like to spend time outside hiking, camping, and paddling as well as training industrial climbing skills for direct action.

Atzín brings a wide-scoped background including everything from childcare, teaching art, youth STEM programs, food service, business management, and mutual aid organizing. They studied studio art and psychology at Kalamazoo College and are currently in school for a master’s in advocacy & political leadership. Their recent years of work in internal operations management, finance, and HR led them to work with Gender Justice as the operations manager. After years of celebrating Gender Justice’s work from afar, they are thrilled to now be part of the team!

Atzín is a co-founder of a queer housing cooperative in St. Paul where they currently live with several other people and pets, including the elderly baby dog they co-parent alongside their fiancé. On the rare occasions when they have free time, they enjoy doodling and drawing, drinking tea regardless of the weather, and cooking a giant batch of food for the house.

Jay Belsito has been a community organizer for over a decade. They are a proud Northsider, youth mentor, educator, and graduate student pursuing a Master of Clinical Social Work. Parent of two cute kids, one pup, and backyard chickens. Jay is excited to bring their passion for gender equity to the team at Gender Justice to expand abortion access this legislative session.

Lisa Gulya joins Gender Justice through the ACLS Leading Edge Fellowship to apply her skills as a social scientist to advancing gender equity, reproductive justice, and LGBTQ youth well-being.

Lisa previously taught sociology and public affairs at Macalester College and the University of Minnesota, including courses on childhood, sexuality, and qualitative research methods. In addition to teaching, her experience includes applied research with the Minnesota Justice Research Center and the American Academy of Neurology.

Lisa has a PhD in sociology from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s degree in English and Russian with a concentration in women’s studies from St. Olaf College. Before graduate school, Lisa worked as a reporter at the Grand Forks Herald covering education and the courts and spent a year in Russia on a Fulbright grant, researching women’s experiences as young mothers and their responses to federal pronatalist policy.

Board Chair

In 2004, Summra Shariff learned the true meaning of the word “cold” when she moved from Los Angeles to Minneapolis, excited to start law school. She was amazed to learn that humans can live, thrive, and have fun in temperatures well below zero. She also learned that to survive in Minnesota, you have to wear layers, find community, and make friends.

When she is not walking on frozen lakes, cooking spicy food, and spoiling her nieces, Summra serves as the Executive Director and President of Twin Cities Diversity in Practice (TCDIP) and the Wanton Injustice Legal Detail (WILD). Since taking on the position in 2018, Summra has built on the organization’s past successes by re-energizing and revamping programming at all levels to maximize TCDIP’s ability to attract, recruit, advance, and retain attorneys of color in the Twin Cities.

In 2020, Summra and the TCDIP Board, responded to the tragic murder of George Floyd by establishing the Wanton Injustice Legal Detail (WILD), an organization with bold vision of a Twin Cities community free from anti-Black racism and all forms of racism. WILD’s mission is to mobilize volunteer attorneys and legal professionals from TCDIP’s Member Organizations to partner with and support community organizations engaged in the work. Under Summra’s leadership, WILD continues to work in four focus areas – Rebuilding Access to Wealth in Black Communities, Community Safety, Education Equality, and Voting Rights.

Prior to her work with TCDIP, Summra worked with underrepresented groups, including with communities of color. For close to five years, she served as Diversity and Inclusion and Pro Bono Coordinator for a national law firm. She is a former long-term member of the Minnesota Justice Foundation’s Board and Executive Committee and a former board member for the Housing Justice Center. She also formerly held a leadership role with the Minnesota Asian Pacific American Bar Association. Summra continues to be active in her community by serving on the boards of Gender Justice, Minnesota Supreme Court’s Legal Services Advisory Committee, ACLU of MN, Greater Twin Cities United Way, and the Hennepin Healthcare Foundation. She is a graduate of the University of St. Thomas School of Law and the University of Southern California.

Board Vice Chair

Ann Tobin is a retired executive, business attorney and compliance officer with deep expertise in the healthcare industry. She has substantial experience with boards of directors, including governance, committee leadership, and development. Ann was on the boards of OutFront Minnesota and Headwaters Foundation for Justice. She served as a chairperson in both organizations and as chair of their development committees. Both organizations are focused on advancing equity and justice in Minnesota. Throughout Ann’s career, she has mentored women in formal and informal settings, including through Menttium, Medtronic, UnitedHealth Group, and Prime Therapeutics.

In Ann’s profession, she was most recently Chief Compliance Officer at Prime Therapeutics, a pharmacy benefit manager owned by 18 Blue Cross Blue Shield plans and serving 28 million members nationwide. In this role, she reported to the Board of Directors through Prime’s Compliance and Audit Committee and brought strategy and direction for not only regulatory compliance but also privacy, ethics and corporate compliance, external audit management, governance and reporting, and compliance/ethics investigations.

Ann is passionate about creating an equitable society that works for everyone and enhancing people’s lives through fighting discrimination based on sex, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity.

Board Treasurer

Amanda Furst is Assistant Dean and Chief of Staff at the University of Minnesota Law School, having previously served as Director of Public Interest Programs. A 2008 graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law, Amanda started her career as an Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellow in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she developed a Medical-Legal Partnership with Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, a legal services organization.

Board Secretary

Melissa Harl recently retired from the University of Minnesota after a 38-year teaching career, as Professor Emerita of Classical and Near Eastern Studies. While at the ‘U’ she served in leadership roles for the Transgender Commission and on many other committees, most recently as a member of the Social Concerns committee of the University Senate.

Melissa has a lifelong interest in social justice, particularly as it relates to race, gender, violence, and education. As a college student she opposed the war in Viet Nam as a conscientious objector, with some personal consequences. In the 1980s she headed a committee of churches in aid of refugees from CIA-funded violence in Central America. More recently she served on the board of the Twenty Percent Theatre Company, a small but fierce organization centering the lives and art of women, especially queer and trans people of color. The murder of Philando Castile in her Falcon Heights neighborhood in July 2016 drove her into deeper engagement with efforts to oppose state-sanctioned violence. Currently she is active in work supporting families seeking asylum and other relief from religiously and racially based over-enforcement of immigration law, and serves on the board of her church, First Congregational Church of Minnesota, in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood of Minneapolis.

CB Baga is a Trial Attorney Associate at Zinda Law Group PLLC with expertise in trans law, complex litigation, and risk management. In 2015, CB founded the LGBT Legal Clinic at the Volunteer Lawyers Network to provide a gateway to legal resources to the LGBTQ+ community. They have substantial experience helping community members navigate and access legal resources. CB has served as a volunteer and community partner for numerous community organizations including running the Legal Clinic in partnership with the Minnesota Trans Health Coalition and Family Tree Clinic. CB also has presented and trained legal community members on trans cultural competence, ranging from Judges to private law firms to public attorneys and law students. Throughout CB’s legal career, they have centered lifting the trans community in law and access to justice.

Amanda Bartschenfeld is a senior manager of Global Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity communications at Medtronic. She partners with business leaders and employees to tell inspiring stories and create a powerfully inclusive and equitable workplace for everyone, knowing that diverse backgrounds and perspectives lead to better ideas and decisions.

She previously served on the advocacy and community impact committee of the American Heart Association in Minnesota and the board of directors for Everybody Works!, a consortium in Western Wisconsin providing employment support to individuals with disabilities.

She earned an MBA from St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of Minnesota.

Sarah was previously the executive director for Domestic Abuse Project (DAP), where she helped establish an innovative and transformational birth-to-3 therapy program, re-instated adolescent male programming and engaged in projects with Hennepin County and the City of Minneapolis to end gender-based violence. In addition, Sarah served as executive director of Joyce Preschool, which was awarded the Nonprofit Excellence award in 2013.

Additionally, Sarah also serves on the board of directors for Propel Nonprofits as Vice-Chair. She also served on Mayor Hodges’ Cradle-to-K Cabinet and the Governor’s Council on Law Enforcement and Community Relations. She is a founding local advisory board member for Educators for Excellence-Minnesota.

Sarah is passionate about education, social justice, ending gender-based violence, and building cross-sector relationships to dismantle disparities in our communities. Sarah received a master’s degree in education and a bachelor of arts degree in sociology and Spanish, both from the University of Minnesota.

Hetal Dalal is an assistant professor at Mitchell Hamline and has wide-ranging expertise in non-profit, tax, labor and employment, campaign finance, corporate governance, public interest law, as well as associated litigation and transactional skills. She has a longstanding interest in the link between rhetorical skills and the preservation of democratic values and a well-informed citizenry.

Hetal has served as in-house counsel for The Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) and its predecessor organization, which she co-founded, from 2010-2020. This organization—which has 100 staff members, a $30 million budget, and affiliated community organizations with 600,000 members in 35 states—is one of the country’s leading organizations advocating for racial equality and economic justice. During her time at CPD, Hetal worked with founding organizers to help launch at least two dozen new community organizing endeavors.

Prior to 2010, Hetal worked in-house at ACORN, developed an independent immigration practice representing businesses and employees, and served as an Associate Attorney at Norton Rose Fulbright. Hetal graduated magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School, where she was a board member of the Minnesota Justice Foundation and participated in the Immigration Law Clinic and the Criminal Defense Clinic, as well as the student-run Asylum Law Project. She clerked for the Honorable Kathleen A. Blatz, then Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Before law school Hetal worked as a community organizer with the National Organizers Alliance and a union organizer (short-term) with UNITE-HERE.

EJ Dean is a queer non-binary parent and spouse. EJ is the Manager of Adult Mental Health Initiative at Hennepin County and a Psychotherapist, Gender Specialist at Edges Wellness Center. EJ serves on the Minnesota Behavioral Health Planning Council and is a former commissioner of the City of Minneapolis Transgender Equity Council. EJ has formerly held senior leadership roles at Avivo, Family Tree Clinic and Rainbow Health Initiative. They have lived in Pittsburgh, Kalamazoo, New York City, Washington, DC and for the last 9 years, EJ has called Minneapolis home. EJ has spent two decades advocating for queer and trans equity in multiple capacities, from college activist, LGBTQIA2S+ ballot measures and legislative campaigns to leadership development and organizational change work. EJ has extensive experience in leadership development, grant writing, budget management as well as development and implementation od equitable workplace policy toward trauma informed, human centered, anti-racist and trans justice based framework. EJ has a Master’s degree in Marriage, Couple and Family Therapy from Adler Graduate School and a Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology from William James College where they were the recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award for their work in LGBTQ Inclusion work in Health and Human Services.

Thomas Fiebiger has grown a legal career that centers advocacy for those without a voice.  Through litigation, holding public office, and leading grassroots campaigns, he has spent the past 25 years defending and promoting the civil rights of working people in North Dakota and Minnesota.

He has sued the University of North Dakota, its President and Provost, the United States, the state of North Dakota (multiple times), the Catholic Church, landlords, and many employers, large and small, on a variety of discrimination theories.

Thomas’ legislative and advocacy efforts includes his sponsoring a bill to amend the North Dakota Human Rights Act to include sexual orientation, a successful effort to block an attempt to amend the ND Constitution to make religion an excuse to discriminate. In this effort, Thomas helped convince the six major newspapers to all come out against the Measure.

Thomas has spent the past five years in private practice at Fiebiger Law, focusing on labor and employment/civil rights law with his son—and law partner—Rolf. He is an ACLU member, and the father of a gay man who is an artist/entrepreneur and living in New York. Thomas’ wife of 44 years, Siri, is an OB/GYN, active in reproductive rights work, a  former Planned Parent Board member, and active in lobbying issues with ACOG and the Minnesota Medical Association. He has two granddaughters who inspire him and keep him in the moment.

Binta Kanteh is a proud daughter of immigrants from Gambia and is the eldest of three children. Binta was born and raised in Minnesota, primarily in Eastside Saint Paul. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies concentrating in Immigration and Refugee studies from DePaul University. The immigration journey of Binta’s parents inspired her to pursue a life of service to assist individuals who have been historically disadvantaged and isolated. Binta currently serves as the Policy Director to Commissioner Angela Conley of Hennepin County. Her experience in public policy began at the Minnesota House of Representatives where she was a Legislative Assistant to several representatives and the Majority Leader of the House. Binta values the opportunity to develop policy ideas and initiatives that allow our governments to work better for the state’s residents. What Binta loves about this profession is that when resources are redistributed to take into account the harm that has been committed against certain communities, we can build toward an atoned tomorrow. She is also grateful for the opportunity to break down barriers that residents feel when trying to access government assistance and power. Binta is an alumna of the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Public Policy Fellowship Program, the Center for Policy Design’s Education Policy Fellowship, Minnesota International NGO Network Fellowship (MINN), the New Leaders Council Fellowship and was most recently a Public Leaders for Inclusion Council Fellow with America Indivisible. She enjoys painting, listening to podcasts, and trying new foods and teas whenever she gets the chance.

Wintana Melekin brings more than a decade of expertise in spearheading impactful campaigns and leading diverse organizations. With an impressive track record, she has played a pivotal role in the electing over a dozen progressive candidates in Minnesota. Her contributions have been instrumental in historic achievements, including the election of the first openly Queer Black woman school board member, the first Black woman senator and the first Black immigrant to congress in the country. Moreover, she has been at the forefront of various policy initiatives, championing causes such as the $15 minimum wage and paid sick time in Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as successfully advocating for the restoration of voting rights for the 55,000 Minnesotans with felony convictions. She now leads World To Win, an organization solely focused on advancing justice in Minnesota.

Wintana’s journey as a community organizer began in 2012 when she helped to coordinate a protest for Trayvon Martin which became at the time the largest protest in Minnesota history. Her commitment to the principles of a representative democracy, where every voice is valued irrespective of race, religion, or sexual orientation, forms the foundation of her work. She is dedicated to infusing joy into the lives of others while tirelessly advocating for justice. Wintana leverages her skills as an organizer and entrepreneur as powerful tools for enhancing the well-being of her community and beyond.

David Schlesinger is an experienced attorney who has been recognized for the quality of his work for employees. He is an MSBA Certified Employment Law Specialist who has been selected as a Super Lawyer for the last seven years. David has successfully litigated a wide variety of employment claims, including several significant cases involving gender discrimination, cases under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and many other claims. His practice also includes an emphasis on the intersection of employment and business disputes, including litigation of breach of fiduciary duty and minority shareholder claims. He has effectively defended employees from non-compete and trade secret claims brought by their former employers. David taught Law in Practice at the University of Minnesota Law School for several years and is the former president of the Minnesota Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association.

Prairie Rose Seminole – Northern Cheyenne and Arikara Tribal nations. Seminole is an educator, culture bearer, storyteller and is currently the inaugural Indigenous Fellow for the National Parks Conservation Association. Prairie Rose consults with Vote.Org on voter outreach strategies and is a national trainer on the Native Vote, campaign strategy and political coaching. Seminole serves the Olamina Fund Advisory Board, the leadership councils for the Midwest Innocence Project, Humanities ND and Gender Justice. Prairie Rose has been a part of efforts, institutions, and organizations that have seeded, supported, and strengthened public history, cultural heritage, civic education, and community engagement on local, state, and national levels. Prairie Rose grew up in North Dakota, is an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation. She lives with her partner, their 7 dogs and 10 horses in White Shield, ND.

Joni Thome has been recognized locally and nationally for her work for employees and for others adversely affected by discrimination and hostility due to their protected status. Joni has worked for employees and students for over 30 years with unwavering commitment. She is a founder of the MN Lavender Bar Association and board member emeritus. She has also served on boards or worked otherwise as a volunteer for several organizations over the years including the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association, OutFront MN, Minnesota Aids Project, Cancer Legal Care, Seward Childcare Center and the MN Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association. Joni has been named as SuperLawyer each year since 2005 and consistently received recognition as a Top 50 Woman Lawyer and Top 100 Lawyer in Minnesota. Joni co-taught Sexual Orientation in the Law at HUSL for several years. She is the recipient of community service awards from the MN Lavender Bar Association, MN NELA’s Karla Wahl Dedicated Advocacy Award and Cancer Legal Care’s service award. Most of all, Joni is known for her passion in the pursuit of justice for her clients and the greater good. Joni is a founding partner of Wanta Thome PLC and is a practicing MSBA Certified Employment Law Specialist.

Jill Gaulding began her career at MIT, obtaining undergraduate and graduate degrees in Cognitive Science. She then pursued public interest law and has focused her legal career on understanding and eliminating gender barriers. She has done international research on gender stereotypes and family leave policies, as well as taught law at the University of Iowa with a focus on global feminist strategy.

Both as a professor and as a practicing lawyer, Jill has worked to modernize the legal system to better reflect what cognitive science has taught us about implicit bias. Seven years after co-founding Gender Justice, Jill accepted a call to pursue a Masters of Divinity at Harvard. She transitioned out of her role at Gender Justice in June of 2017.

Established in 2017, the Jill Gaulding Law Student Fellowship offers a second- or third-year LGBTQ (lesbian / gay / bisexual / transgender / non-binary / queer) and/or BIPOC (black / indigenous / native / person of color) law student the invaluable opportunity to work in a social justice, public interest legal and policy advocacy nonprofit dedicated to fighting gender inequality.

As an attorney, Lisa Stratton specializes in gender discrimination cases. She began her career at the University of Minnesota Law School, where she later joined the faculty as a professor and director of the Workers’ Rights Clinic. She has won noteworthy federal cases on behalf of undocumented immigrant workers and women trailblazing in male-dominated industries, such as paper mills and processing plants.

In 2014, she was a key advocate at the Minnesota legislature. As part of her work leading Gender Justice’s policy program, she lobbied for the progressive public policy changes in Minnesota’s groundbreaking Women’s Economic Security Act.

In June 2018, Lisa transitioned out of her role at Gender Justice and is now in private practice.