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ACLU of South Dakota Announces New Communications and Advocacy Directors |
SIOUX FALLS – The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota announced today the recent hiring of Tiffany Campbell and Taté Walker as directors of advocacy and communications, respectively.
The staff additions make the ACLU of South Dakota the largest civil rights organization in the state, and the fastest growing affiliate for the ACLU nationwide. The ACLU of South Dakota is based in Sioux Falls.
Campbell will oversee legislative affairs at the local, state, and federal levels. She will also maintain and build coalitions dedicated to protecting freedom and liberty, and grow the ACLU's network of activities and volunteers statewide.
"My biggest goal for this position is to create new and enhance existing leadership among civil rights organizations to benefit future generations of South Dakotans," said Campbell, who is a former news producer and political campaign organizer. "I want people to know our office is here and fighting for their rights every day. Freedom can't protect itself."
As the communications director, Walker will be responsible for establishing and maintaining effective contacts and relationships to promote ACLU initiatives to members, volunteers, media, and partner coalitions. In addition, Walker will develop marketing and awareness messaging for online, print, social and other media.
Walker, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, has a background is in print journalism and non-profit management.
Both positions report to Robert Doody, executive director of the ACLU of South Dakota, which has had a presence in the state since 2008. Staff attorney Andrew Knecht and a soon-to-be-hired administrative assistant round out the office of five.
"Thirty years from now people will look back and see this as the start of the largest civil rights movement in South Dakota," Doody said. "The future is brighter for people in this state who have been marginalized because of their race, gender, sexual orientation or citizen status."
The South Dakota Chapter of the ACLU is a non-partisan organization dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of civil liberties and civil rights. The ACLU believes freedoms of press, speech, assembly, and religion, and the rights to due process, equal protection and privacy, are fundamental to a free people.
In addition, the ACLU seeks to advance constitutional protections for groups traditionally denied their rights, including people of color, women, and the LGBT communities. The ACLU of South Dakota carries out its work through selective litigation, lobbying at the state and local level and through public education and awareness of what the Bill of Rights means for people of South Dakota.
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For more information, contact Taté Walker, communications director of the ACLU of South Dakota, at 605-332-2508 or email twalker@aclu.org. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (ACLUSD). |
