Speakers

Sue Abderholden

Executive Director - NAMI Minnesota

Sue is responsible for providing direction and leadership toward the achievement of the organization’s mission and leads NAMI’s public policy efforts. She brings over 30 years of experience in nonprofit and advocacy work having held top management positions at Arc Minnesota, the Minnesota office of Senator Paul D. Wellstone and PACER Center. She received her B.A. from Macalester College and a Master’s degree in Public Health Administration from the University of Minnesota. Her passion for NAMI’s mission stems from having family members who live with depression and anxiety. Sue became NAMI Minnesota’s executive director in October 2001.

Elianne Farhat

Executive Director - TakeAction MN

Elianne Farhat has been a leader in many successful local, state and national campaigns throughout her ten years of community, labor, and electoral organizing. The first in father’s family to be born in the United States, she is passionate about building power in New American communities and in 2008 joined the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights’ non-partisan voter registration and mobilization campaign. From that first professional organizing job onward, Elianne’s commitment to building power in low-income communities of color has been a constant thread through her diverse work experience – whether that be while organizing New American voters in Chicago, electing Minnesota’s first DFL governor in more than 20 years, or advancing strategic campaigns to secure historic policy wins for working families.

Senta Leff

Executive Director - Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless

Senta Leff has more than a decade of experience working across sectors to create opportunities for people in poverty to achieve their potential. She has worked most recently as program developer for the Family Supportive Housing Services division at the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation. Senta served on the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless board of directors from 2011-2015 and is a board member of the Family housing Fund. Senta holds a degree in Women's Studies from Mills College and has traveled independently to over 30 countries, mostly in the developing world. She lives in Minnesota with her family.

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