The ACLU of Wisconsin today announced the addition of three members to their senior leadership team at the affiliate.
Sarah Siegel has joined the affiliate as deputy executive director; Justice Grau will serve as the community engagement director, and Amanda Merkwae will step into the advocacy director role.
“I am thrilled and profoundly grateful to invite more servant leaders – mission-driven, compassionate, with fortitude and fierceness – to join our team at this pivotal time in Wisconsin. We are better with their wisdom, stronger advocates with their voices,” said Dr. Melinda Brennan, executive director of the ACLU of Wisconsin. “I could not have asked for more in these leadership teammates, who understand Audre Lorde’s words – that there is no ‘single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.’”
As deputy executive director, Sarah Siegel will advance the organization’s mission by managing the administration and finance, leading policy reform, and board support and management.
Sarah comes to the ACLU of Wisconsin from the Jewish Community Center in Milwaukee, where she worked for 14 years. She is passionate about the entirety of the ACLU’s mission and believes that we must work harder than ever to ensure that all communities are treated with dignity and equity. Read more about Sarah here.
Justice Grau, who joins the organization as the Community Engagement Director, will promote and protect the civil liberties and civil rights of all residents of Wisconsin through education, outreach, advocacy, organizing, direct action, and programming for adults and youth.
Before joining the ACLU, Justice served as the Operations Manager for Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT). Before that, she was the assistant director of the Women’s Resource Center at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, working tirelessly to advocate for vulnerable and historically excluded students on campus. Read more about Justice here.
As Advocacy Director, Amanda will be responsible for helping lead the affiliate's core programs and campaigns and working in coalition with other groups and individuals to protect the civil rights and liberties of all Wisconsinites.
Before joining the ACLU of Wisconsin, she served as a legislative advisor for the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families and as a public defender representing young people in delinquency and children in need of protection or services (CHIPS) cases to representing parents facing termination of their parental rights. Read more about Amanda here.
