Professional Pathways for Pursuing Gender Justice
Jess Braverman is the Legal Director at Gender Justice, where she ensures their litigation strategy not only promotes the dignity of their clients, but also advances their 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 attended NYU Law School, where she was an Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Fellow with a focus on LGBTQ 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.
Comfort Dondo was born and raised in Zimbabwe and now residing in Minnesota, Comfort’s struggle with domestic violence was compounded by the inability of women’s shelters in America to provide the language, cultural and societal resources she and her children needed to feel safe and supported. Often, she found herself back in her abuser’s home with no alternative. Now free from the dangerous situation, Comfort wants to make sure women and children of African descent have the cultural resources they need to feel comfortable in sharing their stories and recovering from their experiences. She understands firsthand that individuals who’ve fled African countries to save their lives often have lasting trauma that needs to be acknowledged and treated holistically to ensure long-term progress. Comfort created Phumulani, named for a Zulu word meaning “lover of peace,” as a way of helping African immigrants and refugees in Minnesota. It is truly a place where survivors of gender-based abuse and violence can find peace and recovery.
Cheryl Thomas is the founding Executive Director of Global Rights for Women. Since 1993, Cheryl has worked with partners around the world to promote women’s human rights and achieve effective systemic and legal reform to end violence against women and girls. She has participated in the drafting of laws on violence against women and girls and trained stakeholders to enforce such laws in dozens of countries. She has worked closely with the United Nations to develop model standards violence against women laws, leading a global consultation on the enforcement of laws in Spain in 2015.
Cheryl co-chaired the United Nations Expert Group Meeting to draft UN Handbook for Legislation on Violence against Women. In 2021, she received the Arabella Babb Mansfield Award from the National Association of Women Lawyers and in 2014 she received the Myra Bradwell Award from the Minnesota Women Lawyers. In 2011, she was recognized by Newsweek magazine as one of 150 Women Who Shake the World. Former positions include Director of the Women's Rights Program at The Advocates for Human Rights, Executive Director at WATCH, partner and Shareholder at Briggs and Morgan Law Firm, Special Assistant Attorney General and the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office and Adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota Law School.
This panel will be moderated by Megan McIntyre (Moderator), J.D. candidate at UMN Law School, Legal Intern at Gender Justice; and Isabella Minahan (Moderator), undergraduate student pursuing degrees in Spanish Studies and Global Studies, 2024 Arvonne Fraser Fellow.