Arcelia Hurtado, Executive Director of Equal Rights Advocates (ERA) and founder of the Women Defenders Fellowship
12.06.2011
OK Radio host Lynne Norton speaks with Arcelia Hurtado, Executive Director of Equal Rights Advocates (ERA) and founder of the Women Defenders Fellowship. Arcelia shares about the work of ERA and what it is like to work for an advocacy group.
About Arcelia Hurtado and ERA
Arcelia Hurtado serves as Executive Director of Equal Rights Advocates, a non-profit legal organization dedicated to protecting and expanding economic and educational access and opportunities for women and girls. ERA is a leader in fighting for education equity, working families and marginalized women workers via public education, legislative advocacy and litigation.
Before joining ERA in 2009, Hurtado worked for 12 years as a public defender. As a trial lawyer, she litigated more than a dozen jury trials representing juveniles and adults accused of misdemeanors and felonies and, as an appellate lawyer, she represented people on death row and argued cases before numerous courts, including the California Supreme Court.
Raised in South Texas by Mexican immigrant parents, Hurtado is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and UC Berkeley Boalt Hall School of Law. She has served on the boards of numerous professional and non-profit organizations including Women Defenders, San Francisco La Raza Lawyers Association, Our Family Coalition, and Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom. Hurtado is also the founder of the Women Defenders Fellowship, which supports law students pursuing careers in indigent criminal defense. She has taught Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, and Criminal Procedure at several Bay Area law schools.
Since joining ERA, Hurtado has won several honors. She was named a Pioneer in Justice by the Levi Strauss Foundation, an innovative initiative to bring together next-generation leaders shaping the next wave of social justice work. Hurtado was also awarded the competitive two-year executive training LeaderSpring Fellowship.
A frequent speaker on civil rights and women’s rights, Hurtado lives in San Francisco with her family.
Interview Highlights
Mission of ERA
Working for an advocacy group
Campaigns ERA is currently involved in
Title 9 and its description
ERA’s involvement with the WalMart lawsuit
OK if? If Arcelia could eliminate one habit, what would she stop doing?
