sylvia murray serves as Chief of Staff at Gender Justice, bringing 15 years of experience in nonprofit leadership and consulting, philanthropy, and international programming managing diverse teams in complex and dynamic socio-political environments. sylvia specializes in designing and holding spaces for personal and community healing, transformation, and movement building, and supports individuals and communities to transform systems and conflicts with curiosity, connection, and courage.

sylvia previously served as the Head of Programs and Strategy at Euphrates Institute, where she directed a global portfolio across 60 countries to equip, connect, and uplift peacebuilders worldwide. sylvia co-founded the Peace Leadership Collaborative, a global network bridging the gap between peace leadership scholarship and practice, and is Co-Editor of Peace Prospects, a biannual digital magazine dedicated to advancing peace leadership through research, practice, theory, and storytelling. sylvia is a Senior Advisor at Leading Woman Films, supporting women documentary filmmakers creating culturally grounded films that advance gender equity within their communities. They are a trained birth doula with Community Aware Birthworker in the Twin Cities.

sylvia also served as a Program Officer at Island Foundation where they ushered in a new portfolio supporting intergenerational collaborations and organizations at the forefront of innovation and systems change for gender equity and inclusion. sylvia served as Co-Founder and Board Member of Sarus, a peacebuilding nonprofit working to inspire and equip the next generation of leaders to build a peaceful and prosperous Asia. sylvia holds an MA in Coexistence and Conflict and an MBA from Brandeis University, and a BA in Peace Studies from Goucher College.

Outside of work, sylvia gets excited about observational comedy, quiet time in the woods, swimming in lakes, and connecting with people through food.

With over 19 years of nonprofit leadership experience, Alissa Light is an adaptive and heart-connected strategist partnering with change agents in the nonprofit sector. Alissa loves advancing justice and equity and has deep experience in board governance, organizational development, coaching, strategy development, fundraising, and relationship-building. She is a geek about role clarity and distributed decision-making.

From 2010-2022, Alissa served as the Executive Director of Family Tree Clinic, a nationally recognized sexual health center in the Twin Cities. During her time at Family Tree she led growth and transformation culminating in an $8 million capital campaign establishing an innovative, trauma-informed, healing-focused LGBTQIA+ and sexual health center in the heart of Minneapolis.

From 2022-2024, Alissa served as President & CEO of The Bakken Museum, an internationally recognized Museum and change agent sparking inquiry-based mindsets and supporting inclusive participation in STEM. In 2024 Alissa was thrilled to join the team at Gender Justice Action as a Senior Advisor, Minnesotans for Equal Rights Campaign. In this contract role Alissa is supporting efforts to pass the Minnesota Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which would offer everyone the strongest possible protections against discrimination based on race, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, or sex — including pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation — no matter who’s in power in state government.

Alissa received the Distinguished Citizen Award from Macalester College in 2023, was named TCB top 100 Minnesotans to Know in 2021 and received the Business of Pride award from Mpls/St. Paul Magazine in 2019 for her LGBTQIA+ health equity leadership. Alissa served as Board President of the Reproductive Health Alliance leading legislative strategy and partnering with government relations to advance a statewide reproductive health coalition agenda, and currently serves as Treasurer and member of the board of directors of The PFund Foundation, the only LGBTQ+ community foundation in the Upper Midwest. Alissa lives in Minneapolis, with her partner Crystal, two kids Ada & Perrin, and dogs Cookie & Ru.

Lauren Himiak is a strategic communications leader who started her career as a journalist and has spent more than 20 years building communications infrastructure, storytelling strategy, and stakeholder trust for organizations working on the front lines of social justice, global health, and reproductive rights.

Lauren has led communications strategy at both the international and grassroots level. Early in her career, she led communications for global health organizations including Population Council and Women Deliver, shaping strategy and messaging for global health and advocacy initiatives. She later brought that same strategic instinct to reproductive rights work in the U.S.: at the Center for Reproductive Rights, she created a new storytelling initiative that wove abortion storytelling into litigation, national campaigns, and policy advocacy, and at the Women’s Equality Center, she helped launch UnRestrict Minnesota, building trust and alignment among a wide range of stakeholders to advance reproductive rights in the Midwest — work that gave her deep, firsthand ties to Minnesota that she has maintained ever since.

Most recently, Lauren served as Associate Vice President at Fenton Communications and Senior Director at Metropolitan Group, where she led communications strategy and supervised staff across a range of social justice clients. She holds a Master of Arts in International Affairs, Governance & Human Rights from The New School and a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing & Communications from SUNY Cortland.

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 Minneapolis with her family and loves being close to so much great art and food.

Anne Page is the Development Director at Gender Justice, bringing 10 years of development experience. Throughout her career she has focused on funding reproductive healthcare access and the LGBTQIA/gender equity movement.

Anne has previously worked at Planned Parenthood North Central States (PPNCS) and the PPNCS Foundation, OutFront Minnesota, and Girl Scouts River Valleys. She has experience in major gifts fundraising, events planning, corporate sponsorship, and organizational leadership, as well as 501(c)4 and PAC fundraising.

Anne spends her time outside of work with her family going on long walks around their neighborhood, eating great food, and seeing live music (when she can find a babysitter).

Kelly McCann serves as Gender Justice’s Senior Operations Manager, bringing 10 years of experience in operations and administration. Most recently, Kelly spent 5 years in operations at OutFront Minnesota.

Kelly has two cats — Timothy and Tweety — and a Corgi named Basil. In 2014, she helped found MN Pocket Rescue, a nonprofit dedicated to finding homes for smaller animals like rabbits, ferrets, rats, and more! Additionally, Kelly enjoys picking up new hobbies and trying out classes in the Twin Cities, from woodworking at Fireweed Woodshop, to Glass Workshops at Foci, to other craft classes at the Toolbox Collective.

Siena Iwasaki Milbauer is the Communications Manager at Gender Justice. She brings 7+ years of mission-driven communications experience, alongside deep roots within Minnesota advocacy and community spaces, to her role.

Siena has previously held communications roles at Future of Us and Columbia’s School of General Studies, as well as fundraising and events coordination positions at Pro-Choice Minnesota and League of Women Voters Minnesota. She is also a longtime contributing writer with Minnesota Women’s Press.

Outside of work, you can find Siena knitting, taking advantage of Minnesota’s amazing green spaces via long walks and bike rides, and curating her 1,000th (and counting!) bespoke playlist.

Kara Cowell serves as Gender Justice’s Advocacy and Organizing Manager. Kara comes from a background in reproductive health research, policy, and community organizing. She holds a Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences from St. Cloud State University.

Kara has worked across the academic and nonprofit sectors in roles spanning advocacy, research, communications, and program development in sexual and reproductive health. She is a national leader in menstrual equity work, contributing to Minnesota statewide policy change, and has developed research-informed resources to support equitable access to menstrual health in schools and communities.

Outside of work, Kara enjoys exploring new coffee shops, training for triathlons, and spending time with family and friends.

Sara Hildreth is the Development Manager at Gender Justice, bringing a background in nonprofit development and reproductive justice work. She holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Minnesota and is also a certified Birth Doula.

Sara has worked across the public health and nonprofit sector in many roles including grant writing, fundraising, event planning, and community outreach. Prior to joining Gender Justice, she worked at Everyday Miracles, where she led grant initiatives and outreach efforts to expand access to birth doulas for communities that have been historically denied this support. Sara has held roles at Hennepin County, Hennepin County Medical Center, The Minnesota Perinatal Substance Use Development Project, and Research Projects at the University of Minnesota.

Outside of work, Sara enjoys long walks with her cattle dog Willow, attending concerts, and spending time exploring the world with friends.

Board Chair

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.

Chelsea is a co-founder and co-director of Believe In What’s Possible—a youth voter engagement nonprofit working to reveal, center, and support youth leadership in Minnesota politics.

Originally from Massachusetts, Chelsea started working on political campaigns in Minnesota in 2018 before moving to the state in 2022 to run the re-election campaign of Hennepin County Commissioner Irene Fernando. Since then, she has offered her expertise across numerous government offices, nonprofits, and city council campaigns before launching Believe In What’s Possible in 2023. Her work is rooted in unflinching optimism, anger at how politics speaks to and about her generation, and a long-lasting curiosity for how we teach young people to create social change.

Chelsea earned her B.A. from Vassar College, where she majored in both Education and Drama, and is currently studying community organizing at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Treasurer

Elizabeth Glidden is a public policy professional, lawyer, and fierce advocate for progressive causes. Elizabeth is Director of Strategic Initiatives and Policy at the Minnesota Housing Partnership, leading public policy housing justice change at the federal, state and local levels for since 2018. Elizabeth served on the Minneapolis City Council for 12 years from 2005 to 2017; in that role she chief authored transformational legislation affecting thousands of residents, including Minneapolis’ paid sick time law, $15 minimum wage, and a expansion of anti-discrimination law to section 8 housing voucher holders. Prior to her service on the City Council, Elizabeth represented individuals as a worker’s rights and civil rights lawyer for over a decade, including many gender rights cases.

Clara Ries is a seasoned Information Technology leader in higher education. She is a hobby farmer, a parent, a grandparent, a wife, and a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community. Clara is an advocate for diversity, inclusion, and belonging in all that she does.

Clara Ries current role oversees the development, implementation, and deployment of critical technologies supporting students, staff, and faculty throughout their educational journey. She holds a B.S. in Technical Education, a M.A. in Educational Leadership, and a graduate certificate in Cybersecurity and Privacy Law. Clara is a frequent presenter and has served on several national, regional, state, and national committees and workgroups addressing information technology and security issues.

Clara is also an advocate for LGBTQ+ issues and a supporter of the arts. She frequently volunteers for organizations such as Outfront MN, Gender Justice, Trans Northland, and Franconia Sculpture Park. She is the author of the Some Days, Life is Complicated… blog, addressing transgender, diversity, and political issues. Clara is never afraid to be vocal in her support for LGBTQ+ and women’s rights.

Mars Kamenski is the LGBTQIA+ Equity Manager for the City of Minneapolis. At the City, they focus on policy to improve the livelihood of LGBTQIA+ identified Minneapolitans. They identify as a transmasculine non-binary queer 1st generation immigrant, changemaker, and creator. Prior to their career at the City, Mars spent a decade working at Hennepin County as a probation officer and systems change project manager. They have experience in research and program development, showcased by their creation of the first Transition Age Youth probation unit in the state of Minnesota. This strategic initiative was rooted in better serving 18-24 year olds by being responsive to their neurodevelopment. Mars led Hennepin County’s transgender equity work as the Transgender and Gender Non-conforming Employee Resource Group Co-Chair. Mars has served on the boards of the MN Second Chance Coalition, the Minnesota Social Services Association, and the Youth Intervention Programs Association. Mars has also served as an appointed member for the MN State Advisory Task force on Female Offenders and most recently the Minneapolis Transgender Equity Council. They have led work on prison organizing with transgender incarcerated people. They have also been an adjunct faculty at Hamline University. Mars further helped organize a grassroots coalition with the ACLU that helped to free Myon Burrell from prison, who was wrongfully incarcerated since the time he was 16 years old. Mars has interned with the Minnesota State Senate and worked a campaign cycle with the Minnesota DFL. As a long time supporter of Gender Justice, Mars is thrilled to connect their personal and professional passions to advance gender equity for the State of Minnesota.

Mars has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota with a double major in Psychology and Sociology of Law, Criminology, and Deviance. They also hold a Master’s of Science in Public Safety Executive Leadership and a certification in Project Management from the University of Minnesota.

Mars lives in South Minneapolis with his cat, Charli. In his spare time, Mars likes to be outside in nature, lift weights, attend raves and music festivals, cook and try every new restaurant in the City, bike, longboard, hang out with loved ones, read nonfiction, write poetry and talk about the healing powers of transmasculinity.

Erica Mauter was born and raised in Detroit, MI, where she attended her first protest as a toddler, accompanying her mom on a picket line at their neighborhood elementary school—the same school where her parents took her along when they went to vote.

Erica was first politicized by Minnesota’s fight for marriage equality. Since then, she has been a candidate for Minneapolis City Council, chaired the Stonewall DFL Caucus, and has served on the board of directors for Project 515, the Headwaters Foundation for Justice, and TakeAction Minnesota, as well as the City of Minneapolis Capital Long-Range Improvement Committee where she advised on how the city spends money on infrastructure.

Erica is the Chief of Member Experience at MoveOn, a national progressive political advocacy organization. She has previously worked as an arts administrator, and an engineer in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Erica holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Michigan and a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership from St. Catherine University.