ACLU OF SOUTH DAKOTA - Key Persons

Adam Dale Jorgensen

Job Titles:
  • Communications Associate
  • Digital Media Associate
Adam Jorgensen joined the ACLU as the communications associate in December of 2017, and became the Digital Media Associate in April of 2020. In this role, Adam works collaboratively with the communications director and advocacy teams to produce strategic digital content for South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wyoming audiences. Pre-ACLU, Adam served at Sioux Falls Pride as the president, worked as the communications and development coordinator at NARAL Pro-Choice South Dakota, helped folks at LifeScape secure employment, and lead a team of 250 volunteers at Sanford Hospice. Throughout the last several years, Adam has immersed himself in the local non-profit advocacy world with the goal of unifying different groups. Adam is a graduate of the University of Sioux Falls and Southeast Technical Institute with majors focusing on marketing, project management and graphic design. A self-described "doting pet parent and doer of things," Adam is beholden to his dog Nina and is an active member of the Sioux Falls community volunteering with organizations like the Bishop Dudley House and the Multiple Sclerosis Society. One of Adam's favorite moments in history is in June 2015. The moment America was at its best. On one morning in Pride month no less, the Supreme Court, at 10:07 a.m., ruled that same-sex couples had a constitutional right to marry. Adam celebrated this day with friends, family and loved ones - not to mention rainbow cake, flags, and tears of pure joy.

Andrew Malone

Job Titles:
  • Staff Attorney
  • Staff Attorney for the ACLU of South Dakota, North
Andrew Malone is the staff attorney for the ACLU of South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wyoming. Andrew joined the team at the ACLU in 2018. As staff attorney, Andrew develops and litigates cases and participates in non-litigation advocacy to advance civil liberties and civil rights in the three states. Andrew first became interested in advocating for civil liberties while pursuing his undergraduate degree in political science from The University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn. He then proceeded to attend law school at the University of Alabama School of Law where he sought to better understand the complexities of our country's political and legal landscape. After graduating with honors, Andrew spent two years clerking for the Hon. Joan G. Margolis in the United States District Court of Connecticut. During his time with the Court, Andrew took a special interest in cases stemming from denied claims of disability benefits and tried to help these vulnerable citizens receive the due process they deserved.

Heather Smith

Job Titles:
  • Executive Director of the ACLU of South Dakota, North
  • in 2013 As the Communications Director
Heather Smith is the executive director of the ACLU of South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wyoming. Heather joined the ACLU in 2013 as the communications director and transitioned to executive director several months later. As executive director, Heather oversees substantive programmatic and advocacy efforts to defend and advance the ACLU's work on civil rights and civil liberties in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wyoming. Under Heather's leadership, the ACLU has grown its capacity and reach and is the leading civil rights and civil liberties voice in the three states. Heather enjoys the challenge of working across the geographically large - and sometimes politically difficult - area. Heather believes that the ACLU does its best work when inspired by big, proactive ideas that will influence change. Prior to joining the ACLU, Heather worked in private practice as an attorney in Queensland, Australia, and as an immigration attorney in Boise, Idaho. While in Idaho, Heather volunteered on a legal panel for the ACLU of Idaho and assisted an incarcerated Iranian transgender woman with her application for asylum. She also launched a new statewide organization with the Western Organization of Resource Council's leading community members to create public policy change in their local communities on conservation issues. Heather serves as the ACLU's primary spokesperson in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wyoming. She represents the organization on the ACLU's history, programs, and mission, and helps increase public awareness and broaden the ACLU's reputation among strategic constituents. Key media appearances include the New York Times, the Washington Post, and NPR. Heather is a graduate of Charles Darwin University and holds a law degree from James Cook University with honors and an interest/thesis on the rights of displaced persons. She is also a 2012 graduate of the Western Institute of Leadership Development with the Western States Center in Portland, Oregon. Heather coordinated and led a panel discussion titled "Civil Liberties and Human Rights at Standing Rock" at the 2016 ACLU Conference and participated in a panel discussion on protestor rights with the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

IN THE COURTS

Helping people secure their rights through negotiation and lawsuits is one of the main tools available to help us protect individual rights. We take on individual and class action lawsuits that have the potential to change the law and broaden and strengthen civil liberties in South Dakota.

Janna Farley - CCO

Job Titles:
  • Communications Director
  • Writer

Libby Skarin

Job Titles:
  • Acting Executive Director
  • Policy Director
  • Acting Executive Director for the ACLU of South Dakota, North
As acting executive director, Libby oversees chapter operations and leads efforts to ensure the work of the ACLU is well-supported, coordinated, and aligned with its strategic plan to further advance civil liberties throughout the tri-state region. Libby joined the ACLU in 2014 as the policy director for the ACLU of South Dakota. In this role, Libby served as the primary lobbyist for the ACLU and oversaw some of the ACLU's greatest legislative victories for civil rights, including the passage of a bill ending life sentencing for juveniles and stopping the repeal of presumptive probation. In 2020, Skarin was promoted to the chapter's campaigns director where she was responsible for developing and implementing effective, non-partisan issue campaign strategies and initiatives throughout South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wyoming. Prior to joining the ACLU, Libby served as an assistant attorney general for the state of Iowa in her hometown of Sioux City. Throughout her career, Libby has placed an emphasis on serving in the public interest and advancing both civil and human rights and has worked with the Sioux City Human Rights Commission as well as Iowa Legal Aid to provide assistance to underserved communities. Libby is a graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law where she was a writer and then senior editor for the University's Journal of Gender, Race & Justice. She received her bachelor's degree in journalism and political science from the University of Iowa. Libby Skarin is the acting executive director for the ACLU of South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wyoming.

Samantha Chapman

Job Titles:
  • Manager
  • Advocacy Manager
Samantha Chapman is the advocacy manager for the ACLU of South Dakota. As advocacy manager, Samantha builds the ACLU's public education and advocacy programs through coalition-building, leadership development, communication, and lobbying. She ensures that supporters of the ACLU of South Dakota have the tools, information, and opportunities to be effective advocates on issues like abortion rights, Indigenous justice, criminal justice reform, and LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit rights. Samantha joined the ACLU of South Dakota in December 2022 with six years of professional advocacy and health care communications experience. Throughout her career, Samantha has advocated for abortion access, pregnancy and breastfeeding workplace accommodations, and rights for immigrants and refugees. She co-founded South Dakota Voices for Peace in 2017, and served as the Sioux Falls market public information officer at Sanford Health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to joining the ACLU, Samantha worked as the communications director for South Dakota Urban Indian Health, where she deepened her understanding of the original caretakers of the land she lives on, developing her passion for Indigenous rights and celebrating Lakota culture. Samantha lives in Sioux Falls with her husband, two daughters, and three dogs. Outside of her professional work, she serves on her neighborhood association board of directors and finds joy in cooking, reading, playing chess, and ballet.

Stephanie Amiotte - Chief Legal Officer

Job Titles:
  • Legal Director
  • Member of the Oglala Lakota ( Sioux ) Tribe
Stephanie Amiotte is the legal director for the ACLU of South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wyoming. As legal director, Stephanie leads the ACLU's litigation program and engages in non-litigation legal advocacy to advance civil liberties and civil rights in the three states. Stephanie was the Glynn County Bar Association president in 2020 in Brunswick, Ga., and previously served on the South Dakota Board of Governors as an appointed member. She has also provided presentations and training seminars related to civil depositions, correctional health care, and Medicare fraud, waste, and abuse and provided federal Criminal Justice Act training in the Southern District of Georgia. Stephanie is an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Tribe. She is a graduate of the University of South Dakota and the University of South Dakota School of Law. While in law school, Stephanie was the constitutional law graduate assistant to Professor David S. Day and was also a member of the South Dakota Moot Court Board.