Answering the Call

As a new cohort of MNLEND fellows joins the Institute this month, a familiar face will lead some of the program’s policy discussions.

Sophie Iverson (MNLEND 2022-23) will speak about disability policy, wrapping in learnings and perspectives developed from her own career and self-advocacy work. Iverson was a medium-term trainee for MNLEND, which stands for Minnesota Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities. In addition to her MNLEND experience, which included contributing to the creation of policy briefs at ICI, Iverson (formerly Strzok) holds a master’s degree in law at Hamline University, a bachelor’s degree in political science from St. Catherine’s University, and she has worked as a policy intern with the Minnesota Council on Disability. She also spent time in a policy role with the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

"I can think of no other MNLEND alumni who are as well-versed in policy and in the overall legislative processes surrounding getting seen and heard by our elected officials,” ICI’s Rebecca Dosch Brown said of Iverson, who was born in Northeast Minneapolis and still lives there. “MNLEND has now come to rely on Sophie to guide our trainees each year on how to research and prepare for and then deliver effective communications about policy to their elected officials."

Today, Iverson works as an options counselor for Disability Hub MN , a statewide resource network and disability call center that offers free assistance with managing benefits, housing, and other community services. She also works part-time supporting The Arc Minnesota’s Metro Regional Quality Council and provides independent policy and advocacy consulting services for organizations.

She said the person-centered training skills she honed through her MNLEND experience prepared her well. At Disability Hub, she works directly with families and individuals who need help getting connected to services.

“I’m the actual person on the phone giving information referrals and answering questions,” she said. And callers have a lot of questions.

“I have really complex medical needs and disabilities myself, so I know what it’s like to have to advocate for yourself. I help people with questions about their Social Security benefits, education, navigating waiver services, and healthcare – that’s a big one,” she said.

Iverson’s policy work is far-reaching, providing practical skills in informing elected officials that the trainees can use for the rest of their lives, said Dosch Brown, ICI’s director of interdisciplinary education.

“In turn, these skills help ensure our state and federal legislators are much better informed about disability issues."

Iverson’s personal passion for writing initially led her to think she would be a communications major, but meeting an inspiring professor in the political science department at St. Catherine’s sealed her interest in public policy.

“I'm still learning in my career, and it’s amazing to see the joy in people and the relief they get when they talk to us,” she said. “We bring very complex benefits to a human level, away from the jargon, and that is really special and rewarding. All that training and the conversations we had in LEND about person-centeredness is what I bring to the table every day at work.”