Professional Pathways for Pursuing Gender Justice

When
October 3, 2024, 12:15 to 2:30 pm
Where
Walter F. Mondale Hall
45 (panel); Auerbach Commons (networking session)

University of Minnesota Law School
229 19th Ave South
Minneapolis, MN 55455

This event will feature two parts: a panel and a professional networking session. During the panel, professionals from diverse backgrounds will share how they promote human rights, gender equity, and the rights of women in their professions, as well as the possibilities and limits of the law for achieving gender justice. The professional networking session hour that follows will give students the opportunity to connect with a wide range of human rights professionals and Twin Cities-based nonprofit organizations active in the women’s rights, gender justice, and gender equity space, allowing students to expand their networks and understanding of opportunities to work on these issues within and beyond the legal field. 
 
Panel Discussion: 12:15 pm - 1:15 pm,  Walter F. Mondale Hall Room 45 (light lunch will be available). Panelists include:
 

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.   

Networking Hour 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm, Walter F. Mondale Hall Auerbach Commons (light refreshments will be available). Organizations attending the networking session to be announced. 

Professional Pathways for Pursuing Gender Justice is a collaboration between the University of Minnesota Human Rights Program, College of Liberal Arts; the Human Rights Center, University of Minnesota Law School; and Global Rights for Women, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization.  Recipients of Women’s Center Gender Equity Grant.
Parking Information

UMN Law Parking and Directions