Executive Director, Institute to Transform Child Protection
Professor of Law
Education
B.S., 1998, University of Wisconsin-Madison
J.D., 2004, University of San Francisco School of Law
Experience
Policy Fellow, University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Policy, 2022 to present. Program includes mastering skills and gaining knowledge in strategic internal and external communications, bi-partisan advocacy, power/influence mapping, health system disparities and equity, and national and state legislative reform.
Executive Director, Institute to Transform Child Protection, 2016 to present. Direct staff supervision and management of seven staff/faculty and up to 10 students including hiring, promotion, human resources support, and annual reviews; strategic leadership and sustainability planning; grant writing and reporting; complex project management; DEI/equity policy implementation, work with school’s executive leadership team and board of trustees, and external marketing/communications work.
Professor, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, 2009 to present. Courses taught include Feminist Legal Theory, Criminal Law, Juvenile Justice, Criminal Procedure, Constitutional Law, and Policy Clinic, where students work directly on state and federal legislation. Previous director of Reentry Clinic, working with women leaving prison on reentry support/legal issues. Significant DEI, equity, committee work, and student mentoring.
Public Defender, Cambridge, MN, 2005-2009. Represented indigent parents in child welfare cases and others charged with crimes.
Professional Focus
Professor Woolman leads a team at the Institute to Transform Child Protection at Mitchell Hamline School of Law–with a focus on innovative training, evidence-based research, public policy, and cultivating state and national relationships in the areas of child welfare system reform and trauma-responsive legal practice. The institute provides direct representation to families impacted by Minnesota’s child welfare system, using an interdisciplinary team. The institute engages directly with those impacted by system harm through community coalitions.
As a professor, she provides opportunities for students to gain practical experience through legal clinics and courses. She publishes and trains in the areas of child welfare system improvement with a focus on racial and gender equity, family preservation, and community led legislative reform.
Professional Honors
- Child Welfare Leadership Award, Center for Applied Studies in Child Welfare, U of MN, 2022
- Champion of Children Award, Prevent Child Abuse Minnesota, 2016
- Woman of Distinction Award, Century College, 2011
- Minnesota Changemaker, MN Women’s Press, 2010
- Judge Harold J. Haley Award, University of San Francisco School of Law, 2004
Professional Associations
- Member, ABA Center on Children and Law Parent Attorney Steering Committee since 2016
- Member, National Hidden Foster Care Working Group, 2023
- Board Member, One Stop for MN Communities (2016-2017)
