Legal Rights Center

Category: Staff

Legal Rights Center Staff

  • Edward Yellowhammer, Community Advocate

    Edward Yellowhammer, Community Advocate

    Edward Yellowhammer

    COmmunity Advocate

    Ed (he/him) has served as a Community Advocate at the Legal Rights Center since 2011. Before joining LRC, he worked at the Upper Midwest American Indian Center for 12 years as a community outreach worker in the Youth/Father Program.

     

    Ed brings substantial advocacy experience for issues relating to foster care, and he is also trained to co-facilitate Family Group Conferences. Ed’s father, Walter, worked at the Legal Rights Center for many years in the 1980’s and 90’s.

  • Emanual Williams, Community Defense Attorney

    Emanual Williams, Community Defense Attorney

    Emanual Williams

    Community Defense attorney

    Emanual Williams (he/him) is an attorney of LRC’s Community Defense Team. Emanual is originally from Lovelady, Texas, where his deep passion for criminal justice reform began. He believes that every voice can and should be heard. He has experience with clemency, parole, and expungement work throughout various organizations. Before joining the LRC, he spent time at the Attorney General’s Office. He became involved with the Legal Rights Center because of his unrelenting commitment to racial equity and community-led political change.

  • Marecca Vertin, Community Defense Attorney

    Marecca Vertin, Community Defense Attorney

    Marecca Vertin

    Community Defense & Access to Justice Attorney

    Marecca joined the Legal Rights Center in 2024 with nearly fifteen years of experience in public/community-based criminal defense and social movement legal support in a variety of roles and jurisdictions.

     

    She worked first as a defense investigator on behalf of kids accused of crimes in New Orleans, is a 2019 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, and spent the past five years as a trial attorney with the Hennepin County Public Defender, defending cases from petty misdemeanor to serious felony.

     

    Her focus overall has been on interjecting early in the criminal legal process, and, with the LRC, she works to expand access to counsel right at arrest for all those who are policed and prosecuted – the vast majority of whom are unable to afford private attorneys. 

  • Sam Koltes, Restorative Facilitator & Youth Advocate

    Sam Koltes, Restorative Facilitator & Youth Advocate

    Sam Koltes

    Restorative Facilitator & Youth Advocate

    Sam Koltes (she/her) joined the Legal Rights Center as a Restorative Facilitator and Youth Advocate in the summer of 2021. Previously she had worked with youth in school-to-prison pipeline disruption through facilitation of restorative processes, circle mentorship, and community diversion. At the Legal Rights Center, Sam’s role is to support families in addressing harm and conflict with systems through restorative processes. Sam is originally a farm kid from Stearns County, Minnesota.

     

    Sam can be reached at skoltes@legalrightscenter.org or 612-677-2129.

  • Hersch Izek, Community Defense Attorney

    Hersch Izek, Community Defense Attorney

    Hersch Izek

    Community Defense Attorney

    Hersch has served as an attorney at the Legal Rights Center since 2001 and brings substantial felony trial experience. Before working for the Legal Rights Center, he handled federal public defender assigned cases and also represented personal injury clients. Hersch graduated from the William Mitchell School of Law.

  • Anna Hall, Community Defense Attorney

    Anna Hall, Community Defense Attorney

    Anna Hall

    Community defense attorney

    Anna Hall (she/her) is a criminal defense attorney and a researcher focused on pretrial justice in Minnesota. Through direct representation, community education, qualitative research, and partnership-building, Anna works to make the law more accessible to all Minnesotans, especially those most impacted by mass incarceration and policing.


    Anna is guided by curiosity, a deep commitment to community, and a belief that all people are worthy of a meaningful, joyous life. Music, speculative fiction, and bodies of water support her in imagining and working toward a world where that is possible.


    Anna graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School in 2019. She subsequently clerked for Justice Paul C. Thissen on the Minnesota Supreme Court and Judge Paul L. Friedman on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. 

  • Emily Green, Administrative Assistant

    Emily Green, Administrative Assistant

    EMILY GREEN

    ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

    Emily Green (she/her) joined the Legal Rights Center in 2023 as Administrative Assistant. Her role includes providing administrative support to leadership and to programs in the form of organization, data entry, communication, financial processes, hiring systems, and facilities maintenance. She comes to the organization with a passion for social justice and helping to create more equitable systems and structures. She believes in addressing criminal justice inequities by helping those in need now while educating and providing agency to younger generations to imagine a new system.

     

    Emily has nearly two decades of experience in non-profit administration. She has served in many positions in a variety of non-profit arts organizations in Chicago prior to her move to Minneapolis. Emily also has a background as an artist working with textiles.

  • Michael Harrell, Legal Empowerment Lead

    Michael Harrell, Legal Empowerment Lead

    Michael Harrell

    Legal empowerment Lead

    Michael is a rising senior at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, where he is pursuing a degree in Sociology of Law & Justice Criminology. Born and raised in Minneapolis, he is deeply committed to empowering youth through Know Your Rights education and community advocacy.


    As Legal Empowerment Lead at the Legal Rights Center, Michael designs and facilitates legal education trainings that equip community members—especially young people—with the knowledge to navigate and challenge legal systems. Outside of his work and studies, Michael enjoys reading, writing poetry, listening to music, and staying active.

  • Norma Gaona, Programs Assistant

    Norma Gaona, Programs Assistant

    Norma Gaona

    PROGRAMS ASSISTANT

    Norma joined the Legal Rights Center in 2006 as part of the administrative team. As Programs Assistant, Norma handles reception duties and is responsible for accurate data collection. Before coming to the Legal Rights Center, Norma worked at U.S. Bank and with Radio Rey, a local Hispanic radio station.

  • Garrett Fitzgerald, Investigator

    Garrett Fitzgerald, Investigator

    Garrett Fitzgerald

    INVESTIGATOR

    Garrett (he/him) was hired by the Legal Rights Center in 2017, following several months as a volunteer. He has long provided volunteer legal support for political activists and others facing charges arising from institutional, law enforcement, or prosecution bias. Include was his participation the local committee seeking to free CeCe McDonald, a case defended by the Legal Rights Center.

     

    Garrett can be reached at gfitzgerald@legalrightscenter.org or 612-677-2136.