Margaret graduated cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2003 and began her legal career with the Housing Preservation Project. She began her career as a community organizer, fighting for the rights of manufactured home community members with All Parks Alliance for Change. After law school, Margaret joined HJC under its former name Housing Preservation Project, where she worked on a range of issues including preservation of federally subsidized housing and manufactured home community preservation. She then returned to APAC as the Legal and Public Policy Director where she helped resident associations fight for their rights in parks, represented resident associations in court, and helped push legislation to support manufactured homeowners, including a law that prevented deceptive lending practices and creation of the relocation trust fund for homeowners displaced through park closures.

Next, she spent four years at the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs as the Operations Director for the Minnesota Center for Neighborhood Organizing, working to ensure that people affected by decisions had the tools and skills to organize and advocate on issues ranging from education to transportation to police community relations to housing. Most recently she spent six years as the Community Development Director at Minnesota Housing where she worked to create connections between community needs across the state of Minnesota and the programs and policies of Minnesota Housing. Margaret was also a policy fellow with the North Star Policy Institute. She brings a wealth of knowledge about local, state, and federal housing policy and programs as well as a robust background in the intersection of community organizing and the law.

Contact Margaret at mkaplan@hjcmn.org 

Ivory Taylor is the Associate Director of Housing Justice Center. Since 2017, she has worked to advance and ensure the rights of renters in Minnesota by engaging in both grassroots organizing and local and state level policy and systems change advocacy. She is also deeply committed to building local organizing infrastructure and providing ongoing support to new organizers. Driven by her personal experiences with housing instability, she is determined to see a shift in the dominant narratives and systems that deny housing access and justice for so many in Minnesota and beyond.

Contact Ivory at itaylor@hjcmn.org 

Timothy (Tim) Thompson is a 1975 graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School. He joined HJC in 2000 (known as Housing Preservation Project back then) and up until 2006 was also employed as the Litigation Director of Mid-Minnesota Legal Assistance, Inc. Tim has worked for various legal services programs for more than 25 years, specializing in tenants’ rights, government housing programs and class actions. He has been lead counsel or co-counsel on over 30 cases in Federal Court brought on behalf of low income residents. These suits have helped to secure rights to public assistance and federally subsidized housing programs for those most in need of these services. Tim’s cases have had far reaching impact on the rights and opportunities of the poor and communities of color.

Contact Tim at tthompson@hjcmn.org

John (Jack) Cann graduated from Carleton College in 1964 and did three years of graduate work at Stanford University. In 1967, Jack began to work full time on a variety of housing related activities, many of them litigation oriented. This provided him with a unique breadth and depth of experience relevant to housing litigation, including tenants’ rights organizing, advocacy, lobbying, and real estate development and finance. He graduated magna cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law in 1986. Jack brings a great deal of knowledge and experience to the HJC staff. He has worked extensively with Section 236, Section 8, Low Income Housing Tax Credits, and Community Development Block Grants. His knowledge of financing tools and compliance requirements gives HJC an advantage in both negotiations and litigation. He has also extensively litigated preservation cases on both the district and appellate level, both in Minnesota and across the country.

Contact Jack at jcann@hjcmn.org

Jim works with low-income tenants and community organizations to enforce their legal rights to fair, safe, and affordable housing. Before joining Housing Justice Center in January 2020, Jim worked for 19 years as lead trial counsel at one of the top law firms in the country, Faegre Baker Daniels, where he won dozens of complex, high-stakes cases frequently involving disputes over $100M. Before that, Jim worked as a law clerk for a federal district court judge in Minnesota after graduating magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Minnesota Law Review. Jim has been consistently ranked as one of the top civil litigators in the country by Best Lawyers in America and IAM 1000 World’s Leading Litigation Professionals: “Jim Poradek is one of the most gifted oral advocates anywhere; . . . brilliant at taking complex technical subject matter and making it easy to understand and, above all, interesting.” Jim’s work in housing justice law goes back to the 1990s, when he worked as a community organizer and affordable housing activist in Washington, DC., and did scholarly work on access to justice and affordable housing at the University of Minnesota Law School. At Faegre, Jim developed the firm’s pro bono tenant rights enforcement practice and served as lead counsel in many successful tenant rights lawsuits, including a groundbreaking consumer fraud class action against predatory landlords that resulted in a class settlement that returned millions of dollars in rent to tenants. Jim received the 2018 Baker Benson Pro Bono Award for his tenant rights work and was recognized by the Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court for “extraordinary efforts to help low-income tenants [that] sets a shining example for all in the legal profession.” Jim’s approach as a litigator is the same today with housing rights clients as it was with Fortune 500 clients when he worked at Faegre: he believes in rolling up his sleeves and working side-by-side with clients and colleagues to develop creative strategies that achieve high-impact wins for his clients.

Contact Jim at jporadek@hjcmn.org

Teresa is originally from Guatemala and came to the United States when she was five years old. She graduated from Humboldt High School, then continued her education as a Spanish community interpreter. Teresa considers it such a blessing to be a part of Housing Justice Center as a Community Organizer. Her experiences with affordable housing and the need that she has seen in her community are part of the reasons why she applied for this position. Teresa is looking forward to supporting her community and creating a positive change.

Contact Teresa at tgarcia-delcompare@hjcmn.org

Zaria joined Housing Justice Center in September 2021 as a paralegal. Zaria attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and graduated summa cum laude in 2021. Zaria graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Philosophy and Sociology with a specialization in Diversity and Social Justice along with a minor in Black Studies. Zaria is passionate about expanding and protecting the resources provided to members of protected classes who are often disadvantaged by the systems functioning in society. Zaria is especially interested in dismantling mechanisms that disenfranchise people from accessing sufficient legal advocacy. Zaria is a native of St. Paul, Minnesota and is excited to have the opportunity to work alongside the HJC team to positively impact her hometown. In her spare time, Zaria enjoys spending time with family, watching TV, and listening to music.  

Contact Zaria at zwhitlock@hjcmn.org 

Markanetta graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Social Work and earned an MSW degree in 2017. She is passionate about social justice and equity and seeks to help members of marginalized communities gain access to the opportunities and services that are often denied to them. She started at Housing Justice Center in 2021.

Contact Markanetta at msmith@hjcmn.org 

Steph is a 2L at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. Steph spent her 1L summer working at a Legal Aid and quickly developed a passion for housing law and advocacy.  She is excited to dive in and see legal advocacy break down barriers to affordable housing. In her free time, you can find Steph outside with her dog, hiking, camping, or checking out a local bookstore in search of her next campfire novel.  

Contact Steph at skletscher@hjcmn.org 

Emma joined Housing Justice Center in August 2022 as a VISTA tenant organizer. She graduated from Carleton College in 2021 with a degree in Political Science. Before Housing Justice Center, Emma worked as a paraprofessional teacher with the Migrant Education Program in East Central Illinois and as an English language assistant at a high school in Cournon d’Auvergne, France. She is excited to learn about organizing and tenant law while supporting members of her new community! In her free time Emma enjoys hiking, reading, and knitting.

Contact Emma at ediers@hjcmn.org 

Ellie Benson joined Housing Justice Center in September 2022 as Office Manager & Communications Associate. In her previous tenant organizing work, Ellie had the opportunity to build renter power to improve housing conditions and move rent stabilization forward in Minneapolis. She’s excited to tap into her administrative skillset to advance housing justice across Minnesota. Ellie graduated from Macalester College and is currently pursuing her Masters in Advocacy and Political Leadership at Metro State.

Contact Ellie at ebenson@hjcmn.org 

Abbie joined Housing Justice Center’s litigation team in August 2022. She attended the University of Minnesota Law School and graduated magna cum laude in 2021. During law school, Abbie worked at Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid and Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, supporting their family law, public benefits, and elder law units. After law school, she spent a year as a law clerk for the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Abbie is excited to contribute to HJC’s work advocating for safe, stable, and affordable places to call home in communities across Minnesota.

Contact Abbie at ahanson@hjcmn.org

Benjamin joined the HJC team as Rental Assistance Navigator in November 2021. Since the end of the COVID Emergency Rental Assistance program, Ben has been answering and directing phone calls on our general line. Benjamin graduated from Mankato State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science specializing in American public policy with a Minor in Psychology. Ben is passionate about community service and ensuring all Minnesotans have access to stable and affordable housing. 

Contact Ben at bfischer@hjcmn.org

Jessica joined Housing Justice Center’s litigation team in September 2022. She is eager to support the expansion of affordable housing and the rights of tenants by eliminating needless barriers. Prior to her work with HJC, Jessica spent a year as a law clerk in Hennepin County Juvenile Court after graduating from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2021. Jessica brings her experience working alongside clients from low-income and other marginalized backgrounds as well as her passion for developing creative solutions through thoughtful collaboration.

Contact Jessica at jszuminski@hjcmn.org

Walter graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.A. in Communications in 1982, earning a Master’s Degree in Management from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota in 1993. He is a shareholder of the Wilder Square Cooperative, an affordable housing community that was only saved through his leadership. Walter is passionate about working to help others facing housing challenges. Walter has experience in owning multimillion–dollar multifamily housing units and has managed a range of rental properties from single-family homes to multiple apartment units. He has experience with HUD, MHFA, LITHC, Section 8, and other housing agencies and programs.  Walter is a business consultant that focuses on helping motivated entrepreneurs with the basics of going into business and strategies to expand their existing enterprises. He had an outstanding career with the IBM Corporation, including experience as the Branch Management staff member responsible for budgets of an eight-state upper Midwest region, and in the Account Customer Engineer service division. Walter earned many accolades including the prestigious “IBM Means Service” award. His history of volunteer work is equally extensive. He volunteered as an instructor at the RDH School of Ministry in North Minneapolis, teaching college classes in Psychology and Urban Apologetics, and tutored East African students at Saint Paul College. Walter loves the field of Neuroscience and recently earned a certificate from HarvardX—an online learning initiative of Harvard University—in the Fundamentals of Neuroscience. He loves to travel and especially enjoys Puerto Rico.

Martha serves as Senior Research Associate at Rainbow Research. She holds a Master in Public Affairs from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs with a concentration in Women’s International Human Rights and Development Policy, and a License in Psychology from the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua. Her research focuses on intimate partner violence (IPV), masculinities, human trafficking, sexual violence, and the impact of public policies on women’s lives.  She developed a toolkit designed to engage Latino men in domestic violence prevention efforts, and collaborated on the development of a toolkit designed to evaluate domestic violence programs. She has published articles in Women & Therapy, Psychology of Violence, Journal of Family Violence, Latino Psychology Today, Hispanic Health Care International. She has worked for the last twenty years with Latino immigrants in Minnesota on issues related to affordable housing, and access to education.

Howard is the former Minnesota State Director of the U.S. Humane Society, and served as the Director of Multifamily Housing in HUD’s Minneapolis field office. He has also served as Vice Chair of Little Earth Board of Directors and as a member of Beacon Interfaith‘s Real Estate Committee. His extensive volunteer experience includes advocating for housing justice as part of Jewish Community Action‘s St. Paul Housing team and Temple of Aaron’s Housing subcommittee.

Eric is the Executive Director of HOME Line. Eric joined HOME Line after obtaining his B.A. in Political Science and Peace Studies from Gustavus Adolphus College in 2003, later earning a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs in 2009. His research at the Humphrey Institute involved analyzing Twin Cities metropolitan regional approaches to affordable housing planning and preservation. At HOME Line, Eric has participated in numerous community organizing efforts to improve rental housing conditions throughout Minnesota including: long-term preservation of federally subsidized housing, repair of substandard housing conditions and emergency situations, and to prevent displacement from affordable private market rentals. He’s door-knocked thousands of rental unit doors throughout Minnesota and has contributed to original research focused around challenges to Section 8 voucher placement and the implications of evictions. Eric has advocated for stronger tenants rights and meaningful Fair Housing protections on local (city licensing, inspections, and anti-displacement protections), state (improvements to Chapter 504B and increases to the MN Renters Credit), and federal (HUD and USDA) levels. Eric currently holds a position on the Homes for All Coalition Advisory Board.

Linda graduated from Carleton College and Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota before getting her LPN at Southeast Technical College. Linda is a fearless community advocate for affordable housing. She was a former tenant of the Crossroads apartments and currently lives in Saint Charles. The Crossroads at Penn class action filing was her “baptism by fire” in societal neglect of our most deeply in need of affordable housing. Linda attends Freedom from the Streets meetings and organizes in community. She believes in self-governance, self-expression, and that our own voices need to be heard.

Maria is currently working for Hennepin County as a Human Services Representative while attending Metropolitan State University for her undergraduate degree. Maria was introduced to the HJC as a class representative in the Crossroads at Penn class action lawsuit. She has served on the Board of Directors since 2019. In addition to serving on the board, Maria has participated in discussions and panels regarding the lack of affordable housing around the Twin Cities.

Dave is Executive Director of both All Parks Alliance for Change (APAC), the statewide association for residents of Minnesota’s manufactured home parks, and the National Manufactured Home Owners Association (NMHOA). He is a member of the HUD Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee and the Innovations in Manufactured Homes (I’M HOME) Network steering committee. Dave has a Master of Public Affairs from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and a Doctorate of Education in Leadership from the University of St. Thomas. APAC and HJC have worked closely together to develop strategies to keep parks open in recognition of their value as an affordable housing resource.

From 1993 to 2018, Michael Bodaken served as head of the National Housing Trust (NHT). During his tenure at the organization, Michael served as President of NHT, NHT-Enterprise Preservation Corporation (NHT-Enterprise) and the National Housing Community Development Fund (NHTCDF). Michael was largely responsible for the growth of the organization into an industry leader in affordable housing and “green preservation,” targeting grants and loans for energy retrofits of affordable housing. Under his leadership, the Trust won the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Award for Creative & Effective Institutions. He was one of the co founders of “Energy Efficiency for All” a unique collaboration between NHT, NRDC and the Energy Foundation. Under his leadership, the Trust financed and preserved more than 30,000 affordable homes throughout the nation, leveraging more than $1 billion in financing. NHT, through its subsidiary NHTCDF, provides low-interest loans to affordable housing developers across the U.S. Through affiliate NHT-Enterprise, NHT owns and operates nearly 4000 affordable homes along the East Coast and Midwest. Prior to joining the Trust, Michael worked as Deputy Mayor for Housing for the City of Los Angeles after having practiced public interest law for more than a decade. In addition to HJC, Michael is a member of the Boards of the Morgan Stanley Community Development, Homes for America and the Healthy Affordable Materials Project. He is a frequent guest lecturer and panelist at affordable housing industry events. Michael is currently a consultant for the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Center for Community Investment. He teaches part time at the University of Maryland.

Warren is the President & CEO as well as founder of Greater Minnesota Housing Fund and Minnesota Equity Fund. Warren leads the executive team and works closely with state and local governments, philanthropy, investors, and community leaders to assemble resources and design strategies to meet affordable housing needs in Minnesota. He brings over 35 years of development finance experience to GMHF. He was previously director of Riverfront and Neighborhood Development for the City of Saint Paul and was economic development director of West Bank Community Development Corporation. He is the co-founder of Community Reinvestment Fund USA (CRF-USA). He has a Master of Science Degree in City and Regional Planning from the Pratt Institute in New York.