Volunteer with PRIDE - Help host Pride in Minneapolis! - 6/27, 6/28 & 6/29

Help host Pride parades, festivals and events in MN

DATES:  Friday, June 27th, Saturday, June 28th & Sunday, June 29th

TIMES:  All Day (hourly or more) Shifts Available

WHERE: citywide - Minneapolis

Join UMN ACS, UMN Outlaw, and Minneapolis PRIDE orgs in supporting local pride celebrations. Put your advocacy into action by helping Youth Pride, Minneapolis People's Pride (celebrating BIPOC queer communities) and Twin Cities Pride during the last weekend of Pride Month. Because support is needed all weekend long, we are spreading the word so that you may volunteer and participate as often as you'd like! Sign yourself up and bring a friend!

Volunteer roles and times differ, so check out the volunteer sign-up pages for shifts and a list of duties. Deadline to apply is JUNE 21!

  Minneapolis People's Pride - volunteer info: https://www.mplspeoplespride.com/services-6-1

    volunteer form and duties - Festival (6/28)

     

  Twin Cities Pride - volunteer info: https://tcpride.org/volunteer/

    volunteer form and duties - Parade (6/29)

    volunteer form and duties - Youth Night (6/27) and Festival (6/28)

Below is a list of positions that need extra support:

-monitoring the parade floats/route

-set up 

-general volunteer- giving directions, assistance, etc.

-food/kitchen help

-information booths

-hanging side walls

-ice/water booth

-entertainment (logistics)

-merchandise sales

-vendor load-out (our biggest need) Sunday evening

-tear down of signs/banners

 

" . . . Making space for and feeding queer joy is a radical act of resistance . . . "  - Mpls People's Pride

Join the American Constitution Society for a reception on the evening of Wednesday, June 18, from 5:00-7:00 PM ET. The reception is free and is an opportunity for ACS members and friends in the Washington, DC area to come together in community and solidarity as we continue the crucial work of protecting the rule of law and our democratic institutions.

Light hors d'oeuvres will be provided. Drink tickets will be available for purchase with credit or debit cards.

Register here.

Please join the American Constitutional Society's Oregon Lawyer Chapter for a panel discussion with leading experts on Oregon’s critical shortage of attorneys for the accused. The right to counsel a foundational function in our criminal justice system. Without that obligation being met, individuals accused of crimes are denied the right to a fair and speedy trial. Similarly, victims are denied their opportunity to participate and interact with a criminal justice system that functions and ensures that justice is done. Join the discussion and see what has been and is being done to address this crisis right now and what plans are in place for the future. 

Featuring:

Jennifer Nash, Chair of the Oregon Public Defense Commission

Jennifer Nash is an attorney in private practice in Corvallis, Oregon. She was a public defense provider in the Benton County consortium from 1999-2017 representing adults and children in criminal and juvenile court and was their contract administrator for 16 years. She joined the Public Defense Services Commission in August 2022 and became its chair in August 2023. When the Commission transitioned to the Executive Branch in 2024 and became the Oregon Public Defense Commission, she remained as its chair. She is a passionate defender of the constitution and the rule of law.

Carl Macpherson, Director of Metropolitan Public Defenders

Carl Macpherson is the Executive Director of Metropolitan Public Defender (MPD), which is the largest, single provider of trial-level public defense services in Oregon. MPD is a non-profit criminal defense law firm founded in 1971. Carl has been a criminal defense attorney for over twenty years, practicing in three different jurisdictions. He has been a public defender for his entire career except for four years when he worked in a criminal defense law firm in Ann Arbor, Michigan (2007-2011).

Aliza Kaplan, Law Professor and Lewis and Clark Law School

Aliza B. Kaplan is a Professor at Lewis & Clark Law School and the Director of the Criminal Justice Reform Clinic (CJRC) where students work on a variety of cases and projects relating to the back-end of criminal cases in the areas of parole, clemency, wrongful convictions, and juvenile justice. She serves as of counsel to the Forensic Justice Project, is a co-founder of the Community Law Division at Metropolitan Public Defender and co-founded the Oregon Innocence Project.

Suman Malempati, Federal Public Defender 

Suman Malempati, J.D., M.D., is an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the District of Oregon. After graduating from Emory University School of Law in 2021, he clerked for Judge Marco A. Hernández at the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. Before joining the Federal Public Defender’s Office, Malempati worked as a trial attorney at Metropolitan Public Defender in Multnomah County.

Jessica Snyder, Assistant Federal Public Defender

Jessica Snyder is an Assistant Federal Public Defender in the District of Oregon, where she has worked since 2017. Jessica graduated from Stanford Law School in 2013 and then clerked for Judge Michael Simon at the United States District Court for the District of Oregon before starting her public defender career at Metropolitan Public Defender in Washington County.

Moderated by:

Ryan J. Anfuso, Attorney at Law, Anfuso Law, P.C.; Board Member, ACS Oregon Lawyer Chapter

Community Gathering Honoring Public Interest Attorneys

Event Update

ACS Minnesota is devastated to hear of the loss of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, as well as the attack on state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife. There is no place in Minnesota or anywhere for this senseless political violence. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of these leaders.

In the wake of this tragedy, ACS Minnesota believes it is all the more important to bring communities together and support the critical work that our local governments and public interest attorneys do every day. We hope that you will join us tomorrow from 5 PM to 7 PM at the Campbell Mithun Tower to reflect and honor this important work. Please RSVP below. 

Thank you to Fredrikson & Byron, P.A. for sponsoring this program. And thank you to our co-sponsors: The Advocates for Human Rights, Minnesota Justice Foundation, Mid Minnesota Legal Aid, Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, and We Are All Criminals.

Join fellow progressive attorneys in Indiana for a virtual meeting to discuss revitalizing the Hoosier Lawyer Chapter, organizing a steering committee, planning a kickoff event, and learning more about ACS's work to advance democracy and defend the rule of law.

ACS is the nation's largest progressive legal network. We strive to ensure that the Constitution and the law work for all people by empowering leaders and informing discourse. Join the meeting to learn more!

Join us for the 2025 ACS National Convention Series!

This is a year of change. The American Constitution Society network in every state is focused on mobilizing to help protect against new threats to our rights and democratic institutions, and ACS itself is preparing to welcome a new president.

In recognition of these seismic shifts and to ensure that our entire network, supporters, and partners have access to timely, thoughtful, and action-inspiring discussions and ideas, this year we are hosting the ACS National Convention Series – a four-week, virtual programming event that will highlight how states are responding to pressing issues around democracy and voting, transgender rights, economic and racial justice, and immigration.

The Convention Series will include free, virtual panel discussions every Wednesday in June, talkbacks with speakers and ACS staff, and virtual networking opportunities. It also will include an in-person reception on June 18, 2025, in Washington, DC.

All registrants are automatically registered for the live virtual panel discussions listed below. You can choose which networking opportunities you wish to participate in when you register. A link to access each panel and virtual networking session will be emailed to registrants at least two days prior to the scheduled event.

• June 4 at 2pm ET: Power Plays: Exploring the ways in which power is being centralized in state legislatures through gerrymandering and a series of actions designed to strip authority from those best positioned to provide a check against such power.
• June 11 at 2pm ET: Combatting a Campaign of Erasure: Investigating the anti-trans policies of the current presidential administration, their roots in state-based efforts, and how states can protect trans people against discrimination, ensure access to healthcare, and uphold their dignity. 
• June 18 at 2pm ET: Resisting Oligarchy + Building Power: Examining how Americans can rebuild working- and middle-class power at the local, state, and national levels in the face of unprecedented efforts to weaken pro-worker and consumer federal agencies.
• June 25 at 2pm ET: Then They Came for Me: Protecting Our Neighbors and Ourselves: Examining the current legal landscape in immigration, including legal challenges to actions by the Trump administration and the role of states in both enforcing the law and protecting immigrants.

CLE credit for the virtual panels will be available for a flat fee of $100, due at registration. 

On the next page you will select ticket quantity and promo codes/discounts will appear if applicable. Registrants who are unable to afford the registration fee for CLE credit due to a financial hardship, may request a full or partial waiver. If you have a hardship that makes paying the ticket price impossible, please contact us at LCEmails@acslaw.org.

Before registering for or attending ACS National Convention, please review our sexual harassment policy here.