Monica Bennett

Legal Director @Aclu Of Kansas

US

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kansas is a non-profit and non-partisan organization dedicated to preserving and advancing the civil rights and legal freedoms guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The ACLU of Kansas works in the state legislature, the courts, and local communities to protect the rights of all people living in Kansas. The organization’s work includes efforts to strengthen and defend First Amendment rights, voting rights, reproductive rights, racial justice, LGBT rights, immigrants’ rights, stopping government surveillance, and reforming the criminal justice system. The ACLU of Kansas often works in broad-based coalitions made up of individuals and organizations from across the political, partisan, and ideological spectrum. The Legal Director is senior-level position that leads the organization’s statewide program of impact-oriented litigation and legal advocacy by: • In coordination with Executive Director, developing vision and setting overall strategy for the ACLU of Kansas legal program; • Ensuring the ACLU of KS maintains an active and diverse litigation docket consistent with organizational and campaign priorities;• Serving as lead counsel for cases pursued by the ACLU of Kansas, where appropriate;• Supervising legal staff (including volunteers and legal interns/fellows);• Drafting, reviewing, and commenting on amicus briefs; • Coordinating collaboration with and legal support for other ACLU of Kansas programs in the promotion of integrated advocacy; • Collaborating with national ACLU partners and maintaining a robust set of co-counsel relationships with law firms and cooperating attorneys;• Serving as a spokesperson for the ACLU of Kansas in the press, as a public speaker, and before other audiences; • Coordinating media strategies for legal cases with communications staff; • Reporting on legal program activities to funders and the ACLU of Kansas board of directors.

Tuskegee University

B.A., Psychology

Howard University School of Law

Doctor of Law (J.D.), Law