Our Staff

Cody Nelson was hired in December 2006 as a program staff attorney. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of St. Thomas School of Law in 2006. Cody is a licensed attorney in Minnesota as well as the tribal courts of Red Lake, White Earth, Mille Lacs, and Leech Lake. He advanced to supervising attorney, and then to Co-Executive Director before settling in as the program’s fulltime Executive Director in 2017. He has provided legal services to individuals within the Leech Lake Tribal Court Wellness program in addition to his management duties. Cody works with multiple agencies including the Native American Indian Legal Services Nationwide Coalition.  In his spare time, Cody enjoys spending time with his wife and cat, watching movies, sports, and playing pool.

Valerie passed the Minnesota Bar exam in 2004. She grew up in northern Minnesota and is a graduate of Bemidji State University, and graduated from the University of Cincinnati School of Law in 2003. Valerie has worked for legal service organizations in Minnesota for over 10 years. Prior to attending law school, Valerie was employed by programs that help survivors of domestic violence both as an advocate and later Program Director.  Currently, Valerie volunteers as a board member for the Evergreen Youth Program in Bemidji.  She enjoys spending her free time with her cats and visiting family or friends, camping, and volunteering with projects that interest her.

Jaime is a lifelong resident of Northern Minnesota and joined the organization in 2021 with prior experience in the nonprofit finance management field. In addition to finance duties, she also assists the program with policy development.  When she is not working, you will most likely find her camping or at her cabin with her husband, dogs, family and friends. If she’s not there, she’s at the barn or on the trails with her horse, Bear.

Chari has been employed with ALS since October 2006 and has been licensed as a Red Lake Nation Court Advocate since April 2008. She is an enrolled member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians. Chari is currently a volunteer parent-board member for the Voyageurs Expeditionary School which is a local charter school. Born and raised in Minnesota, Chari and her family make their home in Bemidji. Her hobbies include traveling, rock/gem collecting, spending time with her family and hanging out with friends.

Taylor received his Juris Doctor degree from Oklahoma City University School of Law is 2017. He is also a member of the 2014 PLSI (Pre-Law Summer Institute) Class. He began his career with ALS in 2017. He served as an Assistant Attorney General for the Tohono O’Odham Nation in Southern Arizona from 2020-2022 and as a Staff Attorney for the Kalispel Tribe in Eastern Washington from 2022-2023. Taylor helps clients on the Leech Lake, White Earth, and Red lake reservations, as well as on matters in Minnesota courts. When he has time, Taylor enjoys outdoor activities, watching MN sports, cooking, and playing with his dog. Taylor is a citizen of the Muscogee Creek Nation

Joel is a staff attorney and provides the program with over 15 years of experience. His primary cases include defense services in child protection and civil commitment cases through a contract with the White Earth Tribal Court as well as a variety of other civil legal matters.  Joel’s previous experience with a private law practice, and before that working in finance, provides a unique expertise among ALS staff.  He has also volunteered his time to serve on the ethics committee for the district association as well as other local non-profits, for many years.  In his spare time, Joel likes to spend time with family and seek new adventures.

Joining ALS from the high desert surrounding Moab, Utah (a.k.a. “Abbey Country”), Scott has been a dedicated public-interest attorney for more than twenty years—protecting the environment and defending the rights of criminally-convicted, indigent clients through the appeal process. Most recently, he spent more than a decade with Appalachian Voices as an attorney, campaign coordinator and organizer working to phase out coal-fired power plants and permanently end mountaintop removal coal-mining in the Appalachian Mountains. Despite the dramatic climate change from the high desert of Utah, Scott is eager to use his skills and passion to defend the rights and sovereignty of the Ojibwe people and their Nation! In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, gardening, hiking, backpacking, kayaking, snowshoeing, stand-up comedy, jam bands, learning to play the congas (albeit ineptly) and contemplating the wonders of the universe.

Rita is a Certified Disability Representative. Rita graduated from Bryant & Stratton College with an Applied Science Degree in Paralegal Studies. To complete her degree requirements, she interned with ALS for over 400 hours and was later hired as a full time employee. Following her initial employment, she later moved to Duluth and worked for the Public Defender’s office and two private attorneys. Rita has since returned and provides services primarily for disabled and vulnerable individuals through their disability benefits approval process. Rita is excited to work more intensively with the SSI/RSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) program initiative to reach the homeless citizens in our area and working to obtain benefits for their financial security. Rita lives in the greater Bemidji area since 1989 and has four grown children, two boys and two girls, along with 7 grandchildren.

Joni is a long-time resident of Cass Lake. She brings many years of experience in customer service and administrative roles, and currently assists primarily elders within our service area. She is a 2013 graduate of Leech Lake Tribal College with her AA in Business Management as well as an AA in Liberal Education from 2017. She is an enrolled member of Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and a proud mother of 3 children: JessLyn, Mark & Kyson. Joni is also licensed to practice in Leech Lake Tribal Court as a lay advocate. Outside of work she pursues her private business endeavors and enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, and creating regalia and beadwork for her children.

Catie is our Legal Secretary/ I.T. Coordinator. She comes with years of experience and interest in technology and is working on advancing her knowledge in that field.  Catie’s prior employment experience includes running her own classroom at Leech Lake Early Childhood where she earned her Child Development Associate(CDA).  She is currently working on enrolling in Red Lake Nation College for further academic studies. Catie loves her two adoring cats Nam-ie and Ha-ru, and in her free time she works on creating beadwork and plays various types of video games.