Tanya M. Bransford has served as a District Court Judge in Hennepin County District Court since 1994. Judge Bransford currently manages a caseload of juvenile cases and worked as the Presiding Juvenile Court Judge from 2006-2008. As the Presiding Juvenile Court Judge, she led the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, which dramatically reduced the numbers of young people in detention, while preserving public safety.  Prior to her appointment, she was the first black woman to serve as a District Court Referee for Hennepin County’s Juvenile Division, and the first black female Workers’ Compensation Judge with the Office of Administrative Hearings.

Mirella Ceja-Orozco is co-Executive Director of the Minnesota Freedom Fund, an immigration attorney, and adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law School Center for New Americans in the Federal Immigration Litigation Clinic. Mirella serves as vice chair for the Minnesota/Dakotas chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. She is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area and moved to Minnesota to attend law school at Hamline University School of Law (now Mitchell-Hamline School of Law). Mirella is the 2021 Super Lawyer Rising Star recipient and 2020 Mitchell Hamline Alumni Award recipient.

Dan Dressen is a tenor equally at home in opera, concert, and recital repertoire. His eclectic career includes appearances with Washington Opera, Cleveland Lyric Opera, and the Minnesota Opera. His long relationship with VocalEssence includes performances of more than fifty works, including many tenor solos. He is also in his forty-fourth year as tenor soloist at Plymouth Congregational Church of Minneapolis. As Professor Emeritus of Music, Dan completed his fortieth year at St. Olaf College; in addition to teaching voice, lyric diction and in the lyric theater program, Dan served for ten years as the Music Department Chair, six years as the Associate Dean for the Fine Arts and nine years as the College’s Associate Provost.

Anna K. B. Finstrom is an associate in the commercial litigation group at Dorsey. Anna litigates a wide range of commercial and governmental matters with a focus on real estate, leasing, automotive distribution, and other contract disputes. She practices in state and federal courts throughout the United States in addition to various arbitration forums. Anna also maintains an active pro bono practice with a focus on asylum, visa, naturalization, and various forms of humanitarian immigration relief. She served on the Board of Directors of Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid from 2016-2018 and as co-chair of their Associates Campaign from 2019-2021.

Elizabeth Truesdell Smith is Corporate Secretary for Allina Health, a member of the Executive Leadership Team, and chief legal counsel for the Board of Directors. Liz has served as in-house counsel at Allina Health for more than 20 years. Before joining Allina Health, she practiced as a trial lawyer for eight years with a focus on hospital and health law, medical professional liability and medical products liability litigation defense. Liz has worked in biomedical laboratory research at Harvard Medical School and in biomedical ethics and maternal and child health services at Boston City Hospital, Boston University School of Public Health, and the Center for Bioethics at the University of Minnesota.

Amanda Storm Schuster is Director of Donor Impact at the Clean Air Task Force. She works with generous donors who provide the critical resources needed for achieving innovative solutions for climate change. With more than seventeen years of non-profit leadership and fund development experience, Amanda is a respected leader known for strength in major gifts, board and volunteer management and team leadership. Most recently, she served as Senior Director of Development with United States of Care, a national health care policy advocacy start-up. She also served as Vice President for Advancement at the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota.