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Annual League Conference - 2009

This year the League of Minnesota Human Rights Commissions has collaborated with the Minnesota State Department of Human Rights to build a comprehensive mini conference track within the Human Rights Day Conference that will be held Friday, December 4 at the Saint Paul River Centre, 175 Kellogg Blvd., Saint Paul, Minnesota.

The keynote address will be given by Dr. Frank Wu, author of Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White and co-author of Race, Rights and Reparation: Law and the Japanese Internment.

Biography, registration form, and additional information

The League of Minnesota Human Rights Commissions, a non-profit advisory body to city commissions, is a formal co-sponsor. There will be a four-session track especially for Human Rights Commissioners; however, all workshops are open to all conference attendees.

Grant monies are available to cover registration cost for the conference. If a Commissioner lives further than 50 miles from the Twin Cities, mileage and an overnight stay are also covered. Eligibility to receive funding requires that Commissioner participants attend the annual meeting/capacity building track (compulsory) and at least one other workshop of the individual’s choice within the League track.

League Track workshops are:

1. League of Minnesota Human Rights Commissions Annual Election and Capacity Building session, Building Community through Language and Civility — Plymouth HRC

The first part of the session is the League’s annual business meeting during which elections for the Board of Directors will be held. The Plymouth Human Rights Commission will facilitate a capacity building conversation about language, culture and the promotion of civility using respectful conversation.

The City of Plymouth Human Rights Commission was asked to prepare this workshop for presentation to the City’s 250 employees. The Commissioners are volunteers with varied backgrounds including: social work, education, conflict resolution, communications, and criminal justice. All of the commissioners are dedicated to promoting Human Rights through education. Individual biographies of presenters will be provided when they are selected.

2. Human Rights as Community Action: How to Get the Message to the People and Get the People to Live the Message — Keesha Gaskins, JD, Executive Director, League of Women Voters in Minnesota

Ms. Gaskins will discuss legislative, municipal, and regional issues that affect the ability to enforce laws regarding human rights and the quality of life in Minnesota. Also for discussion will be the capacity of governmental and quasi-governmental agencies and organizations to communicate information about these issues and to disseminate information for improving the quality of life of Minnesotans.

League of Women Voters Minnesota, a non-partisan political woman-led organization, is the leader in Minnesota’s grassroots organizing and has been since 1919. The LWVMN mission is to encourage informed and active participation in government, and to influence public policy through education and advocacy guided by its history and human rights values.

Keesha Gaskins is the executive director of the League of Women Voters Minnesota (LWVMN) and the League of Women Voters Minnesota Education Fund (LWVMNEF). Immediately prior to working with LWVMN she was the executive director of the Minnesota Women’s Political Caucus.

Keesha holds a law degree from Northeastern University School of Law, and served as a law clerk for both the Minnesota Supreme Court and the Supreme Judicial Court for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She worked as a practicing trial attorney in the areas of products liability and employment law until 2006, most notably with the trial firm of Bowman and Brooke LLP. Keesha also worked as a pro-bono appellate special public defender for the Minnesota Public Defender’s Office. Keesha graduated with honors from St. Cloud State University with a dual major in Political Science and Criminal Justice in 1996.

She has served on over 10 non-profit boards, most notably with the board of directors for the Minneapolis YWCA, the Girl Scout Council of Greater Minneapolis, Minneapolis NAACP, Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers and the Board of Governors for the Minnesota State Bar Association. While earning her undergraduate degree at St. Cloud State University, Keesha served as the Chairperson for the Human Rights Commission for the City of St. Cloud.

Keesha was recognized as a Rising Star by Minnesota Law and Politics Magazine in 2004 and 2007. She has been a guest lecturer on issues related to women and politics, Minnesota’s political system, and on political reform at a number of colleges and universities across Minnesota.

3. Understanding Mental Illness — Sue Abderholden, MPH, Executive Director National Alliance on Mental Illness of Minnesota

People with mental illnesses have the highest unemployment rates and face a great deal of discrimination in many areas of life, including employment, housing and health care. Learn more about mental illnesses, the stigma surrounding it and what you can do to break down barriers and promote justice.

Sue Abderholden has devoted her career to changing laws and attitudes that affect people with disabilities and their families. She is currently the executive director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Minnesota. She has held positions with Arc of Minnesota, U.S. Senator Paul D. Wellstone and PACER Center (Minnesota’s Parent Training and Information Center). Sue has a B.A. in political science from Macalester College and a master’s degree in public health administration from the University of Minnesota. She has received numerous awards for her advocacy including the NASW Citizen of the Year, Excellence Award from the NAMI National Executive Directors Group, Paul Wellstone Advocacy Award from the Minnesota Psychiatric Society.

4. From Prejudice to Pride: Understanding Hate/Bias Crimes — Rebecca Waggoner Kloek, Anti-Violence Program Director and Phil Duran, Staff Attorney, OutFront Minnesota

This highly interactive presentation is designed to provide participants with a general understanding of impacts of hate and bias related violence on the GLBT communities, common barriers to service often faced by GLBT crime victims and, finally, how to create safety and support for all community members through effective service provision strategies.

Rebecca Waggoner Kloek has worked extensively with anti-violence focused community based programs for over 12 years. With her expertise in sexual assault and domestic violence, Waggoner Kloek has worked at every level of program development and management. She continues to work to build effective coalitions of service providers, systems professionals and program consumers through the development and implementation of “best practices” training and service provision strategies. Currently, Waggoner Kloek is the Anti-Violence Program Director at OutFront Minnesota, the state's leading organization serving Minnesota's GLBT communities. She is currently on the board of directors for the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault and is a member of the Governance Committee for the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs.

Phil Duran is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School, is the Staff Attorney at OutFront Minnesota, the state’s leading advocacy, direct service, and public policy agency for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) Minnesotans and their allies. His work at OutFront Minnesota focuses on legal information, referral, and education; state legislative research and analysis; state administrative agency and local government public policy; school-related issues; and direct representation in selected public-assistance and human rights matters.

Additionally, Duran serves on the board of the Minnesota Lavender Bar Association, which raises GLBT issues within the legal profession in Minnesota. He also is a past member of the executive council of the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA), and served on the steering committee of the MSBA’s Diversity in the Legal Profession Task Force. He currently serves on the MSBA Diversity Committee, MSBA Task Force on the Rights of Unmarried Couples, and Minnesota Supreme Court’s Gender Fairness Implementation Committee.