Leadership

Interim Leadership Committee

The Minnesota Disability Bar Association had its first elections in September 2023. The elected officers and their titles are listed below. For more information on how MDisBA elects officers, please see MDisBA’s bylaws.

Ann Motl | President

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Ann Motl (Ann.Motl@gtlaw) is a litigation attorney at Greenberg Traurig representing medical device manufacturers in product liability lawsuits and claims.  She has a form of muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair and voice recognition software.  She has published numerous articles on including disability in diversity efforts and looks forward to continuing to build and support Minnesota legal professionals in the disability community.

Lauren Clements | Officer-at-Large

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Lauren Clements (lclements@littler.com) is a founding member and Member-at-Large of MDisBA. Lauren is an Attorney at Littler Mendelson, P.C., specializing in employment law litigation and unfair competition matters. Lauren is also a Co-Chair of Littler’s Individuals with Disabilities Affinity Group. 

Gordon Knoblach | Secretary

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Gordon Knoblach (gordon.knoblach@hennepin.us) is an Assistant Hennepin County Attorney in the Adult Prosecution Division, prosecuting adult felony crimes. Gordon is diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, a chronic autoimmune disorder affecting the gastrointestinal tract.

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Brianna (Chamberlin) Patterson | Vice President

Brianna (Chamberlin) Patterson (bchamberlin@cooley.com) is a founding member and the Vice President of MDisBA.  Brianna is an Associate Attorney at Cooley LLP, specializing in life sciences patent litigation.

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Eleanor Frisch | Treasurer

Eleanor Frisch (efrisch@cohenmilstein.com) is an Associate at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC, where she litigates employee-benefits and ERISA class actions on behalf of employees and retirement-plan participants. She has an immunological disorder and has participated in a number of panels about disabilities in the legal profession.

Prateek Viswanathan | Chair of Judicial Selection Committee

Prateek Viswanathan (pviswanathan@robinskaplan.com) is an intellectual property litigation associate at Robins Kaplan and a former federal judicial law clerk. He has severe hearing loss and has worn hearing aids since childhood.

Sierra Grandy | Chair of Education Committee

Sierra Grandy (Sierra@QuestifyYourLife.com) is a public speaker and educator on disability and neurodiversity. Sierra lives with multiple disabilities, including chronic pain conditions, autism, and ADHD. Sierra is also on the Minnesota State Advisory Council on Mental Health and is the Second Vice Chair of the National Alliance on Mental Illness's (NAMI) Peer Leadership Council.