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Member Spotlight By Lenor Scheffler I am honored to write this article spotlighting MWL member Mary Al Balber, an enrolled member of the Red Cliff Ban of Lake Superior Ojibwe and a devoted mother to sons Eli and Rudy. I met Mary Al 11 years ago, when we became founding members of the Minnesota American Indian Bar Association (MAIBA). Her high energy, professionalism, intelligence, friendliness and insightfulness that impressed me then, continue to impress me today. As the second president of MAIBA, Mary Al was very active and progressive in building relationships with the state judiciary and other bar associations in Minnesota. Through her leadership style, networking skills and relationship building strengths, Mary Al helped make MAIBA a respected bar association in the State of Minnesota. One of her initiatives as MAIBA president was the law student reception held annually in the fall to welcome the incoming American Indian law students attending Minnesota law schools. The reception provided an opportunity for the judiciary, attorneys and the MABIA members to get together and build networks and relationships. Today, Mary Al herself continues to serve as a mentor to law students and others. Mary Al grew up in a large family, with many brothers and sisters, and became self sufficient and independent at a very early age. After graduating from Northern Michigan University, where she majored in mass communications, Mary Al worked in the radio business as a news director, a reporter and a producer. The experience highlights her great gift for conversation and getting to the point. These valuable traits have served Mary Al well in her legal career. A 1990 graduate of Hamline University School of Law, Mary Al went on to work as an attorney at Southern Minnesota Legal Services in St. Paul, where she represented individuals in family and juvenile matters within the seven-county metro area. Mary Al then went on to become an assistant attorney general in the Solicitor’s Section, Construction Litigation and Environmental Compliance Division, of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office and served in that capacity during most of the 1990’s. As assistant attorney general, Mary Al was responsible for providing legal representation and advice to multiple state agencies and advising them on environmental matters, including complex Superfund cases and acquisition and transfer of contaminated real estate parcels. As in all of her experiences, she was active in a variety of office committees of the Attorney General’s Office, including the Recruitment Committee, Summer Youth Internship Mentor Committee, Alternative Dispute Resolution Working Group and Indian Law Work Group. In 1999, Mary Al began serving the Prairie Island Indian Community as assistant general counsel and continues in that position today. Her work includes providing legal advice and representation to the Tribal Council, Tribal Gaming Commission and other tribal government agencies on issues including energy, nuclear regula5tions, land use planning, construction and engineering. In addition, Mary Al handles contract, employment and housing issues and various other tribal government matters for the Prairie Island Indian Community. Mary Al also currently serves as Appellate Judge at the Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwe Tribal Court and Associate Judge of the Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe, hearing civil cases that come before the Band. In addition to her professional commitments, Mary Al has been actively involved in the American Indian Community all her life. She is a founding member of the Indian Child Welfare Law Center in Minneapolis and serves on the Two Feathers Fund of the St. Paul Foundations’ Diversity Endowment Fund. She is a member of the Minnesota State Court-Tribal Court Forum and a past board member of Ain Dah Yung (Our Home) Shelter in St. Paul, Anishinabe Legal Services in Cass Lake, National Native American Bar Association and St. Paul Public Schools Indian Education Program. She has served on the Minnesota Supreme Court Law Enforcement and Community Relations Committee and as a parent volunteer at Nokomis Montessori School. She bravely gave of herself to the American Red Cross National Unrelated Bone Marrow Donor Program because there was such a need of American Indian donors. All of these activities illustrate Mary Al’s commitment to making the world better for her sons and others. In 1999, Mary Al was selected as a “Rising Star in the Legal Profession” by the Minnesota Law & Politics magazine and was named a “Super Lawyer” y the magazine last year. Mary Al has also been honored as a Distinguished Alumni at the Hamline University School of Law and a Distinguished Native American Alumni of Northern Michigan University. She was the first Native American attorney to be featured in Careers and the Minority Lawyer, a magazine distributed to the top 20 American law schools in the country. And in between lectures and serving as a qualified neutral civil mediator and family law mediator, Mary Al makes time to sew dance outfits and dance jingle dress. Mary Al is a strong woman of compassion, integrity and principles. She is a professional, a sister, a friend, a mom, a mentor and a good relative to many, many people. She is one of the assets of our American Indian Community and one of our gifts to the Greater Community.
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