PCM Legislative Fellowship 2023
Jill and Betsy during Reproductive Freedom Lobby Day 2023.
Meet Betsy
I have had an interest in human rights-related work my whole life, stemming from being a naturally independent and empathetic child. Growing up in Minneapolis in a family who taught me the importance of community, love, and embracement, this interest grew. My interest continued to grow, turning into fascination and then into a passion.
Being a member of a BlackBox theater in high school taught me the importance of being an advocate, as we would travel to different schools week-to-week and open up difficult conversations. I learned how to express my voice and the importance of creating a platform for those who do not have one.
These experiences progressed in college as I filled my course load with related material and spent my time outside of school at various volunteer opportunities. Much of my spare time in the last year has been spent with The Advocates for Human Rights in their WATCH program for court monitoring and observation. The purpose of this program is to ensure integrity and accountability within the courts. This experience has expanded my passion for human rights law and reminded me of the changes that I believe need to be made within this system.
When starting my undergraduate career, I was unsure of what I wanted to do but knew I wanted it to revolve around one thing: change. After taking various classes in Sociology, Political Science, and Global Studies, I decided to pursue a degree that I thought would lead me down the best path toward my end goal, human rights law. I graduated this fall from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities with a B.A. in Sociology of Law, Criminology, and Justice and Developmental Psychology. I will use this degree to further my education, as I begin Law School in the Fall of 2023. Just as Jill mentioned, my “when I grow up,” statement was to be a lawyer.
Being a Legislative Fellow for Pro-Choice Minnesota is a title I take with great pride and one that I am very lucky to have. I am so grateful to be able to first-hand witness a historic year in Minnesota for Reproductive Freedom and work alongside an amazing team who works tirelessly to help make that possible. The experiences I have had, the relationships I have made, and the things I have learned throughout my fellowship thus far are invaluable. I will take this time with me as I continue my journey in years ahead, and continue to work for the change we all want to see.
Meet Jill
As a middle schooler, I wrote that “when I grew up,” I wanted to first become a physician and make a difference in the individual lives of my patients, and then retire from medicine to be a politician and shape policies that would positively impact the collective lives of my community. Recently, while meeting with a mentor to discuss my aspirations for making the world a better place, I remembered these words. Although I haven't followed this path precisely, I realized that I've taken just a slightly different route.
Throughout college, I worked in the emergency department of my local hospital, and after graduating, I worked as a nurse in both pediatric hematology/oncology/bone marrow transplant and public health. I became a mother to my three children and dedicated time to raising them. Once my children weren’t so little, I began community organizing and volunteering in my various communities, providing collective care to those in need.
However, the political climate in 2016 prompted me to expand my community organizing to include political activism. I started small and eventually volunteered in various capacities for the 2020 election as a part-time job. After the election, eager to continue the work, I ran for the smallest and most local office available to me, my neighborhood board. As the 2022 midterm approached, I wanted to grow in my organizing and political activism, so I became an organizing fellow for the MN DFL with the goal of flipping the MN Senate, which we succeeded in doing.
During my time as an organizing fellow, I spent a lot of time on people's doors, hearing about their needs and concerns. Over and over again, I heard about reproductive rights and human rights. People shared their vulnerable and personal stories with me, just as they did when I was a nurse. This past fall reaffirmed that personal is political, and healthcare is personal. Abortion is healthcare, and reproductive rights are basic human rights.
As the election came to a close, I knew the fight for reproductive justice in MN was only half over. We had flipped the Senate, but we needed to pass bills that would make abortion and other reproductive rights safe, free, accessible, and legal. I am honored to be a Legislative Fellow with Pro-Choice Minnesota, working on this vital issue alongside all the amazing people at PCM, my fellow Fellow Betsy, and all of our partners. I am learning so much from those already in the work and getting to do the work as well. PCM has been working on reproductive justice since 1966, and I am proud to be part of their team.