Miriam Aukerman, West Michigan Regional Staff Attorney
Mia Axon, Development Director
Mary Bejian, Deputy Director
Brenda Bove, Paralegal
Alexandrea Brennan, Legal Fellow
Rana Elmir, Communications Director
Mark Fancher, Racial Justice Staff Attorney
Rick Haberman, Education Advocacy Staff Attorney
Julia Henshaw, West Michigan Administrative Assistant
Paul Jeden, Annual Fund Manager
Jay Kaplan, LGBT Legal Project Staff Attorney
Dan Korobkin, Staff Attorney
Merissa Kovach, Field Organizer
Maggie McGuire, Communications Associate
Sarah Mehta, Legal Fellow
Rodd Monts, Field Director
Dave Moss, Stewardship & Events Manager
Kary L. Moss, Executive Director
Isela Patino, Office Manager/Executive Assistant
Marie Sickon-Burke, Director of Finance and Administration
Michael J. Steinberg, Legal Director
Jenny Suidan, Development Associate
Shelli Weisberg, Legislative Director
Miriam Aukerman, West Michigan Regional Staff Attorney
Miriam Aukerman joined the ACLU of Michigan in December 2010 as the staff attorney for the newly-opened West Michigan Regional Office. In addition to building a robust legal program in West Michigan, Miriam participates in advocacy activities, such as public speaking, media interviews and outreach work to increase understanding of constitutional rights and the ACLU’s work.
Prior to joining the staff of the ACLU, Miriam worked with Legal Aid of Western Michigan in Grand Rapids, as both a Soros Justice Fellow and then as the founding director of the Reentry Law Project. Miriam litigated numerous high impact cases challenging the legal barriers preventing individuals with criminal records from obtaining housing, employment and education. She also spearheaded a multi-faceted statewide campaign to achieve systemic reform on reentry issues.
For nearly ten years, Miriam has been an active member of both the ACLU of Michigan Western Branch Board and its Lawyers Committee. She has served as a cooperating attorney on many important issues including racial profiling in Grand Rapids and a challenge to a Dearborn ordinance restricting protests, which resulted in a significant Sixth Circuit decision on the right to protest. She also led the ACLU’s election protection efforts in Grand Rapids in 2004 and 2008.
Miriam graduated summa cum laude from both Cornell University and the New York University Law School, where she received numerous academic and public interest awards. She was also a Keasbey Scholar at Oxford University, earning a master’s degree with honors in international relations. Following law school, she was selected for a judicial clerkship on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York with Judge Pierre Leval.
The daughter of a minister, Miriam lives with her husband and two children in Grand Rapids.
Mia Axon, Development Director
Mia Axon is responsible for managing and coordinating the organization’s development operations to raise philanthropic funds for the ACLU of Michigan. Axon’s development career spans over 20 years and includes substantial leadership and campaign experience at a number of organizations. As Capital Campaign Director, Axon coordinated efforts to raise $17.7 million cash for the Wyoming Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Axon was also the Director of Development at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where she was one of six senior managers, working on an operating campaign, major gift program, corporate and foundation grants, exhibition sponsorships, membership program and planned giving.
Recently Axon was with the University of Michigan's Department of Surgery where she worked with development officers across campus to coordinate major gift activities ranging from donor cultivation and solicitation to stewardship events. She also implemented a new monthly training for inexperienced major gift officers. Axon also held the positions of Director of Development at the Colorado Outward Bound School and Rocky Mountain Region Major Gifts Officer for the Environmental Defense Fund.
Before Axon entered the development profession she was an accomplished musician -- she was principal harpist for the Colorado Ballet Orchestra and attended the University of Michigan on a four year music scholarship, where she was also captain of the Women's Varsity Gymnastics team. Axon acquired her Masters in Harp Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music and received fellowships from the Aspen Music Festival and Tanglewood. Axon was also a professional rock climber, sponsored by Five.Ten, Prana, Clif Bar, and Marmot; she was the national woman’s climbing champion in 1993 and 1994, fourth-place finisher in the 1994 World Cup in Austria and third-place finisher in ESPN's 1995 Extreme Games. In 1996 Axon was the fourth woman in the world to climb 5.14a, the hardest technical rock climbing grade a woman had climbed at the time.
Mary Bejian, Deputy Director
Mary Bejian joined the ACLU of Michigan staff in 2004 as the organization’s first full-time Field Organizer. As Deputy Director, Bejian is a member of the ACLU of Michigan’s leadership team and plays a key role in shaping the future of the ACLU-MI and increasing the effectiveness and capacity of our organizing strategies and public policy campaigns.
At the ACLU, Bejian has been instrumental in coalitions addressing voting rights, affirmative action, gay rights, immigrant rights and others. In 2008, she was awarded with the Humanitarian of the Year Award by Brown Chapel A.M.E. in Ypsilanti, Michigan, for her efforts to stop racial profiling by law enforcement.
Before joining the ACLU staff, Bejian spent nine years coordinating undercover housing discrimination testing at the Fair Housing Center of Southeastern Michigan. In a volunteer capacity, she served as Chairperson for the ACLU of Michigan Washtenaw County Branch for two years prior to joining the staff. In addition, Mary has worked on issues related to the politics of HIV/AIDS, sexual assault prevention, and racial profiling. Bejian holds a degree in Women’s Studies and Psychology from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
Brenda Bove, Paralegal
Brenda Bove works with six staff attorneys under the supervision of the legal director. She helps execute case filings and case work. She oversees statewide legal department intake, including the hiring, training and supervision of undergraduate interns who help with the legal intake operation, including maintenance of the intake data base.
Alexandrea Brennan, Legal Fellow
Alexandrea Brennan joined the ACLU of Michigan as a Legal Fellow in September 2011 after spending the summer of 2010 as a legal intern. Brennan graduated from Center College in 2008 with a B.A. in Government, and is a graduate of the Washington and Lee School of Law. Most recently, Brennan practiced as a Student Attorney at the Washington and Lee University Community Legal Practice Center.
Her volunteer experience includes working with Court Appointed Special Advocates, Gemeinschaft Home, and Project Horizon. Brennan was awarded for her community service during law school, and she also received the Randall P. Bezanson Award for outstanding contributions to diversity in the life of the law school community. Brennan is particularly passionate about issues affecting those living in poverty.
Rana Elmir, Communications Director:
Rana Elmir joined the ACLU of Michigan as the Communications Director in May 2006. She works in conjunction with the ACLU’s legal, legislative and development departments to increase understanding and appreciation of the Bill of Rights and the ACLU's mission. In addition, Rana is responsible for all ACLU publications and the organization’s web site.
Rana is a graduate of Wayne State University’s Journalism School and the Journalism Institute for Minorities. She speaks fluent Arabic and is the winner of a number of awards including the Chips Quinn Scholars Program, Wayne State Media and Ethics Scholarship and Helen Thomas Spirit of Diversity Inaugural Scholarship and the Rosa Parks Scholarship.
In 2004, she was a member of the North American Media Justice Delegation to the U.N. World Summit on the Information Society in Tunisia. Before joining the ACLU of Michigan, Rana served as the Media Coordinator for LIFE for Relief and Development and Director of Programs and Outreach at the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
Mark Fancher, Racial Justice Staff Attorney
Mark P. Fancher is the attorney for the Racial Justice Project of the ACLU of Michigan. Through his work, he addresses: racially disproportionate rates of incarceration; racial discrimination against public school students of color, racial profiling, public defender system reform, attacks on affirmative action and juvenile sentencing issues.
Fancher was formerly the Senior Staff Attorney for the Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice where he specialized in workers' rights. He served on the staff of the State Bar of Michigan from 1998 to 2000 where he coordinated projects to encourage greater pro bono participation by Michigan's lawyers. He was a visiting assistant clinical professor at the University of Michigan Law School from 1996 through 1998.
Before moving to Michigan, Fancher was the Director of Litigation for Camden Regional Legal Services in New Jersey. He has also been in private practice where he specialized in employment discrimination and community economic development. Fancher is a graduate of Rutgers University School of Law - Camden. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Tennessee.
Fancher has played a leadership role in the National Conference of Black Lawyers (NCBL) for numerous years. He is a past chair of the organization’s International Affairs Section, and he served as NCBL’s national co-chair from 1995-1998. He is also a member of the State Bar of Michigan Pro Bono Initiative.
Fancher has lectured across the country and written extensively on issues that include: self-determination for Africa and the African Diaspora; indigenous peoples’ land and resource rights; and political repression in the U.S.
Rick Haberman, Education Advocacy Staff Attorney
As our Education Advocacy Staff Attorney, Rick is responsible for advancing children’s right to a quality education in our state through litigation and advocacy. A graduate of the University of Chicago and the University of Iowa College of Law (with high distinction), Rick is passionate about educational equity and student civil liberties.
Before law school, Rick worked as a middle school teacher for three years in Houston, Texas with Teach for America. He describes his experience teaching English and Reading to disadvantaged students as “a three year crash course in educational inequity that left me with distinct lessons from every level of the educational system: classroom, bureaucracy and statehouse.”
Before coming to the ACLU, Rick was a partner at Dickinson Wright PLLC, where he worked for 14 years. In addition to his litigation responsibilities, he served as Pro Bono Coordinator for five years, doubling the firm’s commitment to volunteer work and creating a team to defend death penalty cases. He was named a 2011 Super Lawyer by Thomson Reuters.
A longtime ACLU cooperating attorney and member of the ACLU Lawyers Committee, Rick has also been a union organizer, a board member of Legal Aid and Defenders Association, and Co-Chair of the Federal Bar Association’s Pro Bono Committee.
Julia Henshaw, West Michigan Administrative Assistant
Julia Henshaw joined the ACLU of Western Michigan in August 2011 as administrative assistant to support the legal work being done on the Western side of the state.
She is particularly passionate about protecting religious freedom of expression, ensuring that people of all religions or no religion are protected, and assisting in the creation of an atmosphere of interfaith support in the Grand Rapids area.
Julia earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2006, focusing primarily on American philosophy. She was a chosen participant in PIKSI (Philosophy in an inclusive key summer institute) at the Rock Ethics Institute of Pennsylvania State University, focusing on issues of race, gender, and disability. Currently, she is pursuing her M.Ed in Adult and Higher Education at Grand Valley State University.
Paul Jeden, Annual Fund Manager
Paul Jeden joined the ACLU team in February 2006. He earned a B.A. with honors in Metro-Urban studies at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, MN. After graduation Paul worked as a Housing Specialist for the Wilder Foundation in St. Paul, Minnesota, then as a Homelessness Prevention Advocate for Person to Person in Minneapolis. In this position he placed Section 8 voucher holders into homes, advocated for low-income families who were at-risk of losing their housing, and supported the executive director in planning the spring fundraiser, building community partnerships, and conducting other development efforts.
Paul’s honors include being granted the Augsburg College Marina Christensen Award for social justice and community service, and winning the Sociologists of Minnesota research project competition.
Paul’s honors include being granted the Augsburg College Marina Christensen Award for social justice and community service, and winning the Sociologists of Minnesota research project competition.
At the ACLU of Michigan, Paul is responsible for drafting grant proposals and managing grants received; managing all aspects of individual annual gift fundraising including direct mail, in-person fundraising requests, and the monthly gift club; and conducting financial reports and other aspects of development administration.
Jay Kaplan, LGBT Legal Project Staff Attorney
Jay Kaplan has been the staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan’s LGBT Project since its founding in 2001. He has worked on cases including challenging undercover sting operations targeting gay men, fighting Michigan’s constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying, defending the validity of second parent adoptions granted in Michigan, and recently advocating for a transgender high school student to be able to run for prom court. Jay was honored with the 2006 Unsung Hero Award from the Michigan State Bar and the 2010 Virginia Uribe Civil Rights Award from the National Education Association (NEA).
Jay is a graduate of Wayne State Law School. For 13 years he worked for Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service, Inc. (MPAS) a disability rights agency and specialized in the areas of special education, vocational rehabilitation and guardianship reform. He founded the HIV/AIDS Advocacy Program at MPAS, which provides legal services to persons living with HIV/AIDS and served as staff attorney for the project for 7 years. He also implemented an information and legal referral program for sexual orientation legal issues and the development of a GLBT legal resource manual for Michigan. Prior to his work at MPAS he worked for several legal services programs, specializing in housing and family law issues.
Dan Korobkin, Staff Attorney
Dan Korobkin joined the staff of the ACLU of Michigan in 2008. He litigates on a broad range of civil liberties issues in Michigan, including free speech, juvenile justice, poverty, drug law reform, police misconduct, and prisoners’ rights. He also advocates outside the courtroom to advance civil liberties in Michigan by speaking to students, community groups, and the media.
Korobkin has a law degree from Yale Law School and a bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College. Prior to working at the ACLU, Korobkin served as a law clerk to Judge Myron H. Thompson of the Middle District of Alabama and to Judge Robert D. Sack of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He has also worked for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. In addition to Michigan, he is admitted to practice law in New York.
Merissa Kovach, Field Organizer
Merissa Kovach joined the ACLU of Michigan as an intern in May 2008. Since then, she has served the ACLU in the capacity of Legislative Assistant and currently Field Organizer.
As the Field Organizer, she is responsible for enhancing the political capacity and effectiveness of the ACLU by building local activist bases of ACLU members and assisting in the implementation of statewide issue campaigns. She is also responsible for meeting the administrative and program needs of the ACLU’s local units.
Merissa graduated from Michigan State University’s James Madison College in 2008 with a B.A. in Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy. She has a background in state government affairs and legislative advocacy. Merissa has previously worked for both the Michigan Legislature as well as a government affairs consulting firm in Lansing, which represented such ACLU allies as the Michigan Campaign for Justice and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan.
Maggie McGuire, Communications Associate
Maggie McGuire joined the ACLU of Michigan as the Communications Associate in November 2010. Working with the Communications Director to advance the ACLU's mission, Maggie seeks out media opportunities and strengthens our online presence, including the website and social media. Before joining the ACLU, Maggie worked to develop effective communication strategies for other non-profits and small businesses including locavore restaurant Hell’s Backbone Grill in remote Utah and the international nonprofit Next Generation Nepal.
Maggie is particularly interested in new media’s impact on social justice movements and representations of class, gender and race. Maggie is a skilled writer and editor who graduated cum laude from Wayne State University with a B.A. in English. She also holds a Certificate in Digital Film Production from the Detroit Film Center.
When not blogging, tweeting or posting she works on local organic farms, promotes community radio and tries to play the fiddle.
Sarah Mehta, Legal Fellow
Sarah Mehta joined the ACLU of Michigan staff in September 2011. Previously, she was the Aryeh Neier fellow at Human Rights Watch and the national American Civil Liberties Union, working on the rights of people with disabilities in immigration court and detention.
She is a graduate of Yale Law School and has a dual bachelor’s degree in International Development and South Asian Studies, honors, from Brown University. From 2005-2006 she was a Fulbright Scholar in India, investigating discrimination against Muslims and previously spent a year in Hyderabad, India, studying access to courts.
While a student at Yale, Sarah was a student director of the Prison Litigation clinic and participated in the International Human Rights Clinic, Capital Punishment Clinic and the Criminal Defense project. Sarah was an articles editor of the Yale Human Rights and Development Law Journal and was director of the Civil Rights Project. Sarah has worked on prisoner rights in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alaska and Connecticut and specifically on juvenile justice in Mississippi (with the Southern Poverty Law Center) and police brutality in New Orleans. Sarah speaks intermediate French and Hindi/Urdu.
Rodd Monts, Field Director
Rodd Monts joined the ACLU of Michigan’s legislative department as the field director in October 2010 tasked with managing advocacy efforts in support of the organization’s mission to preserve human rights and constitutional principles. His responsibilities also include proactively cultivating support for issue campaigns and overseeing community organizing and coalition building. The school-to-prison pipeline and juvenile life without parole issues are two major areas of focus for his initial work.
Prior to joining the staff, Rodd was the manager of community initiatives at United Way for Southeastern Michigan in Detroit for 6 years. In that position, Rodd managed early childhood development programs for the educational preparedness unit, including the Reading Village, an early literacy pilot project that he helped develop. The first four of his six years at United Way were spent in the marketing department where he managed communication and public relations for organizational initiatives and campaigns.
Rodd has served on the boards of the MorningSide Neighborhood Organization and Volunteer Impact, and was recognized for his community service leadership twice by Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Southfield alumni chapter.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in advertising/public relations from Grand Valley State University, a Master of Arts degree in public relations/organizational communications from Wayne State University, and a Master of Arts degree in social justice from Marygrove College.
Dave Moss, Stewardship & Events Manager
David Moss joined the ACLU of Michigan’s Development Department as Stewardship and Events Manager in December 2011, after spending the prior two months as Project Manager for the annual dinner. His responsibilities include overseeing a variety of major donor activities, communications and events designed to engage and retain current major donors and recruit new supporters.
Prior to joining the staff, David served as the Development Director of the Holocaust Museum. He also worked for the Jewish Family Service of metro Detroit where he grew the annual campaign for 11 consecutive years, oversaw the agency’s branding efforts, and secured foundation and private campaign grants and donations to build a new agency headquarters. David also has extensive professional experience with marketing, design and social media. He holds a Bachelor of Arts, Public Relations/Journalism degree from Wayne State University.
David is active with local social media groups and blogs about food and wine.
Kary L. Moss, Executive Director
Kary L. Moss has served as the Executive Director of the ACLU of Michigan since 1998. She earned a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University and a JD from CUNY Law School at Queen’s College. Prior to joining the ACLU of Michigan, she clerked at the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and then served as staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Women’s Rights Project which was founded by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Since joining the staff, Moss has spearheaded tremendous growth in the organization. In addition to leading two effective capital and operating campaigns, the organization’s programs have included many high impact, important civil rights cases including the country’s first challenge to the government’s effort to close immigration court hearings to the public and warrantless wiretapping by the National Security Administration. She has served as the Chair of the ACLU’s Executive Director Council, representing all state directors in the ACLU and is a member of the Detroit News Editorial Page Advisory Board.
She has received a number of awards including the 2011 State Bar of Michigan’s Champion of Justice Award, Harvard Law Schools’ Wasserstein Fellowship, Michigan Trial Lawyer’s Weekly Lawyer of the Year Award, many community awards, and has been inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame. She has appeared on numerous national television and radio shows including Nightline and National Public Radio, and interviewed for articles in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, and other publications.
Her publications include: Man Made Medicine: Women’s Health, Public Policy and Reform (Duke University Press); ACLU Guide to Women’s Rights; and many law review articles on these topics as well as environmental justice and racial profiling. She has taught at CUNY Law School at Queen’s College, University of Michigan School of Public Health, and Wayne State University Law School.
Isela Patino, Office Manager/Executive Assistant
Isela Patino joined the ACLU staff in 2008. She is responsible for managing all aspects of office organization, productivity, and provides administrative support to the executive director, deputy director and director of finance and administration. Prior to joining the ACLU, Patino worked at Mexicantown Community Development Corporation as the Business Manager and was part of making the Mexicantown International Welcome Center and Mercado a reality.
Marie Sickon-Burke, Director of Finance and Administration
Marie joined the staff of the ACLU of Michigan in 2005. She received her BS degree in Accounting from Wayne State University in 1988 and her MBA from the University of Michigan in 1999. Marie is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Michigan and has worked in the field of Public Accounting where she audited a variety of companies, prepared corporate and individual tax returns, and provided investment counsel to clients. Marie also worked in private industry where she was responsible for financial reporting and management of accounting staff members. Marie is responsible for all of the financial activities associated with the daily operation of the ACLU of Michigan.
Michael J. Steinberg, Legal Director
Michael J. Steinberg has served as the Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan since 1997 and is responsible for overseeing all litigation taken on by the ACLU throughout the state. Steinberg earned a B.A. with honors from Wesleyan University in 1983 and is a 1989 cum laude graduate of Wayne State University Law School. Upon graduation, he clerked for then Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Marilyn Kelly (now a Michigan Supreme Court Justice). He then established his own private practice in Ann Arbor where he specialized in civil rights litigation and civil and criminal appeals. Among his many private cases, Steinberg successfully challenged the Ann Arbor Police Department’s practice of coercing African American men into giving blood for DNA testing during the Ann Arbor serial rapist investigation.
Since joining the staff of the ACLU, Steinberg has worked on numerous high impact, high profile cases on a wide range of civil liberties issues including: freedom of speech and expression, post 9-11 issues, religious freedom, racial justice, LGBT rights, police misconduct, women’s rights, reproductive freedom, voting rights, right to counsel and prisoner rights. Steinberg is a former high school teacher and coach, a former President of the Ann Arbor Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild and a founding board member of Michigan Peace Action (formerly Michigan SANE/Freeze). He has been selected by Harvard Law School as a public interest fellow for the 2007-08 academic year.
Jenny Suidan, Development Associate
Jenny Suidan joined the ACLU of Michigan as its development associate in July 2010 to support the organization’s philanthropic goals.
As a passionate activist in the metro-Detroit area, Jenny brings with her a unique perspective and dedication to civil rights and civil liberties in our state. Jenny previously served as the treasurer of the Oakland County Democratic Party and has worked as a fundraiser for several political campaigns.
She is a graduate of Central Michigan University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Sociology. During her time there, she served as president of the Gay/Straight Alliance for three years and was an active member of the Detroit Steering Committee of the Human Rights Campaign.
Shelli Weisberg, Legislative Director:
Shelli Weisberg joined the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan staff in 2003 to continue the ACLU’s longstanding commitment to a proactive legislative agenda in Lansing. Her primary responsibility is to persuade the legislature and administrative agencies to enact or amend legislation consistent with civil liberties principles. Shelli is responsible for developing and maintaining the legislative program by building coalitions consistent with ACLU policy; educating, motivating and organizing ACLU members for grassroots activity; and educating the public on the importance of legislative and administrative processes in the protection of civil liberties.
Shelli has a Masters of Finance from Walsh College and a degree in Business Administration from Wayne State University. She is a graduate of the Michigan Political Leadership Program through Michigan State University and served as a trustee for the Birmingham Board of Education for ten years. Shelli has an extensive background in grassroots organizing and political activism for social justice issues.
