Jodene Emerson (born August 3, 1972) is an American activist and

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

politician. She represents the city of

Eau Claire Eau Claire (French for "clear water", ''pl.'' ''eaux claires'') is the name of a number of locations and features in North America. The name is pronounced as if it were spelled "O'Clare". Place names (Canada) Communities *Eau Claire, Calgary, a n ...

in the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms ...

Early life, education, and family

Emerson was born and raised in

Eau Claire, Wisconsin Eau Claire (; ) (French for "clear water") is a city mostly located in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat, and with a small portion in Chippewa County, Wisconsin. It had a population of 69,421 in 2020, making it the state' ...

, and graduated from

Memorial High School Memorial High School may refer to: United States As ''Memorial High School'' alone * Memorial High School (Millville, New Jersey) *Memorial High School (West New York, New Jersey) * Memorial High School (St. Marys, Ohio) *Memorial High School (Tu ...

. Emerson attended

University of Wisconsin–River Falls The University of Wisconsin–River Falls (UW–River Falls or UWRF) is a public university in River Falls, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System. The campus is situated on the Kinnickinnic River in the St. Croix River ...

for two years before starting a family. Emerson is married to Eau Claire Leader-Telegram reporter Julian Emerson and has two adult daughters. She has been a PTA president and Girl Scout troop leader.

Career

Emerson has been an adjunct instructor on human trafficking topics at the

University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire The University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (UW–Eau Claire, UWEC or simply Eau Claire) is a public university in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers Bachelor's degree, bachelor's and Master's degree, ...

. Emerson was a legal assistant in a law office and worked as the Director of Public Policy and Community Relations for Fierce Freedom, a nonprofit advocacy organization that worked to address human trafficking. Emerson has been an anti-trafficking advocate and author of a number of successful bipartisan pieces of legislation, including Senate Bill 344, Senate Bill 396, Senate Bill 618, Assembly Bill 16, Assembly Bill 186, Assembly Bill 435, and Act 367. Emerson also developed a statewide program to train hotel workers to spot the signs of human trafficking and co-chaired the development of the statewide community response protocol on human trafficking. In 2015, Emerson was appointed to serve on Wisconsin's Anti Human Trafficking Task Force. Emerson has also been a member of the Wisconsin Anti-Trafficking Consortium and the Wisconsin Anti-Trafficking Advisory Council, serving as a frequent guest speaker and panelists at churches, schools and libraries across the midwest.

Wisconsin State Assembly

In March 2018, Emerson announced her run for District 91 of the

. The seat was held by Dana Wachs at the time, but was he was not seeking reelection due to his run for governor. Emerson was endorsed by

EMILY's List EMILY's List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money ...

Fair Wisconsin Fair Wisconsin, previously called Equality Wisconsin is a 501c4 nonprofit civil rights political advocacy organization dedicated to securing equal rights under the law for Wisconsin's LGBTQ+, transgender and non-binary community. The organization ...

Citizen Action Citizen Action was a national liberal consumer and public activist group that was active in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s. State-level affiliates have continued on in Connecticut, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The affiliates of Citi ...

of Wisconsin, State Senator La Tonya Johnson, State Representative

Jill Billings Jill Billings (born January 19, 1962) is a former teacher, former member of the La Crosse County board of supervisors, and Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, first elected to represent the 95th district in a 2011 special election ...

, former State Representative

Kristen Dexter Kristen Dexter (born July 20, 1961) is a Democratic Party politician and former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, who represented the 68th Assembly District from 2009 to 2011. She defeated long-time incumbent Representative Terry Moulton i ...

, and the Wisconsin Chapter of the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

. Emerson currently serves on the following committees in the

: * Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care * Committee on Colleges and Universities * Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety * Committee on Family Law * Committee on International Affairs/Commerce

Electoral history

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Primary Election , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election

Notes

External links

Representative Jodi Emerson - Official government websiteWisconsin Assembly Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emerson, Jodi Human trafficking in the United States 1973 births Living people Politicians from Eau Claire, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–River Falls alumni 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Women state legislators in Wisconsin Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly