Phil Duran
Director of Advocacy and Research
Phil Duran, Senior Advocate for Aging & Gender Care Access, oversees Rainbow Health’s advocacy and research programs, including its Aging Initiative and community research. As an experienced attorney and civil rights advocate, Phil also assists our legal team with cases in the areas of trans health and human rights. He has been a member of the Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission and Transgender Issues Workgroup, and of Governor Mark Dayton’s Task Force on the Prevention of School Bullying. He was a founding board member of the Minnesota Lavender Bar Association and served as the first out president of the Minnesota State Bar Association, where he remains a member of its Health Law Section.
Christy Hall
Senior Staff Attorney, Gender Justice
Christy Hall is Senior Staff Attorney at Gender Justice, where she represents clients challenging gender discrimination. She practices in both state and federal court and has argued before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Christy litigates cases involving discrimination in employment, housing, health care and education. She is proud of her ground-breaking work on transgender rights in the Affordable Care Act and the Minnesota Human Rights Act. She has a particular interest in representing clients who have experienced trauma. Christy graduated magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School and joined Gender Justice in 2011 as a Robina Public Interest Scholars Fellow. Prior to becoming an attorney, Christy worked as a computer programmer.
Rajean P. Moone, PhD, LNHA, LALD, FGSA
Faculty Director, Long-term Care Administration for Professionals
Associate Director of Education, Center for Health Aging and Innovation, School of Public Health
Rajean’s professional career is dedicated to eliminating ageism and working on age-friendly initiatives that support the inclusion of older adults in society. In the past Rajean worked with the state unit on aging and area agencies on aging. He aided in the founding of Training to Serve (an LGBTQ aging non-profit), the Minnesota Diverse Elders Coalition, and Finish Strong Funders Network for Aging Services. Academically, Rajean holds a BA in Psychology, a MS degree in Gerontology, a PhD in Social Work, and a MN nursing home administrator’s license and assisted living director license. Rajean joined academia full time in 2018 in a position spread across the University of Minnesota campus with roles in the College of Continuing and Professional Studies, Center for Healthy Aging & Innovation, and MN Northstar GWEP. Rajean is appointed to the Faculty Senate and Governor’s Council on an Age-Friendly Minnesota. He serves on the board of the MN Association of Geriatrics Inspired Clinicians and FamilyMeans. He is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, a lifetime member of the Minnesota Gerontological Society, Hartford Fellow, McNair Scholar and a Health and Aging Policy Fellow. Rajean has published extensively on LGBTQ aging in the areas of education, health disparities, and policy.
Lynn Mickelson
Attorney, Mickelson Law Office
Lynn Mickelson is Legal Services Supervising Attorney at Rainbow Health. She has managed the Minnesota AIDS Project Legal Program since 1995 until it became Rainbow Health in 2021. She is a 1983 graduate of William Mitchell College of Law and is responsible for the development of program policies and procedures; the provision of direct legal services to clients; the training, recruitment, and maintenance of a network of volunteer attorneys; and supervision of legal staff and student interns. The Legal Program serves any HIV-positive Minnesotans or Minnesotans affected by HIV and members of the LGBTQIA communities. Outside of work Ms. Mickelson lives in Saint Paul with her wife of 27 years, basset hound Marshall and Jack the dog.
Matt Toburen
Executive Director at The Aliveness Project
Matt Toburen is the Executive Director of the Aliveness Project, an agency based in Minneapolis serving over 4,000 Minnesotans living with HIV. Aliveness is a community center serving food, social services, and hope to the HIV community. Matt is an experienced leader with a background in non-profit, government, and political campaigns. He brings over 10 years of experience in non-profit management, including: strategic vision and planning skills, program and financial management, fundraising, public relations, community collaboration, collaboration with executive boards, and policy/advocacy.
Matt previously served as Director of Public Policy and Director of Prevention and Care for the Minnesota AIDS Project. In this role he oversaw programs and services for those at risk of or affected by HIV. Matt also led efforts in policy development, legislative lobbying and community organizing to stop new HIV infections and improve the health and wellbeing of all Minnesotans living with HIV.
He has held a variety of positions, including time as staff for the Minnesota Senate, managing political campaigns, and as a former United States Peace Corps Volunteer. Matt has worked as a lobbyist and political director for the Service Employees International Union. He holds a Masters in Social Work from the University of Minnesota. When not fighting to end AIDS, you can find Matt at home playing hide and seek with his wife and three children.
Ellen Currier – Event Moderator
Current student at MHSL, Co-President of the Out!Law student organization and secretary for the Native American Law Student Association (NALSA).