Economic Justice Institute names Nelson as executive director

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The Economic Justice Institute has named Erica Nelson as its executive director of the LIFT Wisconsin project.

Nelson brings a vision for LIFT’s future that is grounded in respect, mutual trust and collaboration, and motivated by a life-long commitment to racial and economic justice.

Nelson is known for her report detailing racial disparities in Dane County issued while in her role as a program director at Kids Forward (formerly the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families). This baseline Race to Equity report, and future publications remain an authoritative voice about increasing racial equity in our community.

Prior to coming to Wisconsin, Nelson served as a staff attorney for the New York-based Center for Family Representation, defending the rights of families caught up in the child welfare system. Nelson brings dual expertise in policy change and direct legal services – a perfect combination for LIFT’s innovative approach to address the civil legal justice crisis by deploying technology to increase access to legal services while also transforming systems that are creating legal barriers in the first place.

Nelson will succeed Marsha Mansfield, who is retiring on March 1.

Mansfield and colleagues co-founded LIFT in 2019 and spearheaded its development from an innovative concept to a national model for advancing access to justice. Mansfield forged partnerships with state agencies to help people gain access to their public data so they can resolve their civil legal issues. Her efforts were instrumental in creating LIFT’s free LegalTuneUp tool to get rid of eligible Wisconsin criminal records or reinstate a suspended driver’s license by simply searching public data, inputting information and getting the necessary guidance to address the issue.

LIFT Wisconsin is a collaboration of the Economic Justice Institute Inc., University of Wisconsin Law School’s civil legal clinics, Center for Patient Partnerships, Legal Action of Wisconsin, and the Employment and Training Association of Dane County.