Get to know the ACLU of Ohio team by checking out our Employee Spotlight blogs! You may know that Emma is from the beautiful state of Vermont, that she loves to dance, and that she is an alumna of Oberlin College, but today we found out some new fun facts! Read on for more information.
- Q: What is your full name?
- A: Emma Rebecca Keeshin
- Q: What pronouns do you use?
- A: She/Her/Hers
- Q: What is your title and which department do you work in?
- A: Legal Assistant; Legal Department
- Q: Did you have any past positions at the ACLU of Ohio?
- A: No
- Q: Which office do you work in?
- A: Cleveland
- Q: When did you start working at the ACLU of Ohio?
- A: May 2016
- Q: What projects are you currently working on?
- A: Recently I've been devoting most of my time to our gerrymandering lawsuit, which we just filed on May 23. Specifically I worked to identify individual plaintiffs in all 16 congressional districts, gathered their stories, and analyzed how their unique stories would fit into our lawsuit as a whole. Additionally, I'm doing work around police practices in Toledo, working with a group of Toledo activists to steer the city away from a dangerous deal with the Department of Justice. Earlier this month we held a forum on safety and policing to hear from Toledoans what they want for their city.
- Q: What issue area are you most passionate about?
- A: Definitely racial justice, particularly as it relates to policing and mass incarceration. I see how "safety" is used as an excuse to discriminate and violate peoples' rights, and I care about making our communities places where everyone can thrive.
- Q: What is your favorite ACLU memory?
- A: Going to the Supreme Court of the United States to hear oral arguments in our voter purge case APRI v. Husted. When I first started here we had only just filed the case in district court and that summer I attended oral arguments at the Sixth Circuit. It was surreal to be at the Supreme Court and hear the Justices discussing a case I had worked on.
- Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go?
- A: I would love to go to Brazil or Mexico City.
- Q: Where do you get your news?
- A: Mostly from the Democracy Now podcast. I love Amy Goodman. Also from various local and state newspapers.
- Q: What is the last movie you saw in the theaters?
- A: I think it was Minding the Gap. It's a really great documentary that I recommend to everyone. I saw it at the Cleveland Film Festival.
- Q: What TV show would you say is the best of all time?
- A: I might have to say Mad Men. I cried like a baby at the series finale. It's so well done. For some lighter fare, I love me some Parks and Rec.
- Q: What are you currently reading?
- A: Travel guides for my upcoming trip to Colombia and Panama!
- Q: What are you most excited about in 2018? Work, otherwise, or both!
- A: Well, it feels amazing to have finally filed our gerrymandering lawsuit APRI v. Kasich, so I'm looking forward to having the time to delve deeper into the policy work around policing. Non-work wise I'm very excited for my trip to Panama and Colombia! I'll also go home to Vermont for a bit this summer, and I'm looking forward to that too.
