Our people

Gloria Contreras Edin is a warm and compassionate attorney dedicated to her clients and upholding their protections under the U.S. Constitution. She has extensive experience advising clients from around the globe on complex immigration matters, representing them in various courts and agencies. Gloria is also a passionate advocate, serving on several nonprofit boards and commissions, and is an adjunct professor of Immigration Law at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. 

Dr. María C. Pabón Gautier is the Chief People Officer at Project for Pride in Living in Minneapolis, MN. In this role, she leads race equity strategies and programming, human resources, talent development, administration/operations, and the career readiness division. María holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Puerto Rico. With over 20 years of experience, she has dedicated her career to training, coaching, teaching, and conducting research to develop evidence-informed practices. 

Her extensive experience spans nonprofit organizations, higher education, for-profit sectors, K-12 education, and government agencies, all with a focus on supporting underserved and marginalized communities. Her work uses an interdisciplinary and diverse approach, with a commitment to advancing justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) in various settings. 

Prior to her current role, María served as the Vice President of Equity and Inclusion at St. Olaf College. Throughout her career, she has been guided by principles of community engagement, the philosophy of “by us for us,” and a foundation in research, measurement, and evaluation. 

She is particularly focused on race equity and strengths-based approaches, ensuring that communities of color are at the center of development and decision-making processes. Her work aims to foster inclusive environments where all individuals can thrive and contribute meaningfully. 

Gloria Perez is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota (WFM), the first statewide women’s foundation in the country. Since 1983, WFM conducts ongoing research on the status of women and girls in Minnesota, advocates for public policy that results in greater economic security and safety for women and their families, and invests in organizations and leaders to build the field and achieve gender and racial justice – including distributing more than 54 million through community investments. 

Gloria became one of the country’s leading experts in reducing poverty as President & CEO of Jeremiah Program, a national nonprofit whose proven, holistic approach transforms families’ economic security two generations at a time. She has more than 25 years of experience across sectors, ranging from small business to for-profit corporations to nonprofit human service organizations. As an Ascend Fellow at the Aspen Institute, Gloria is working with other national leaders to drive innovative ideas and proven strategies to help families achieve educational success and economic security. She serves on the board of directors for the Ciresi Walburn Foundation, Esperanza United, Macalester College, and the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation. 

Adam Born is a forward-thinking executive with more than two decades of leadership experience across sales strategy, customer experience, and business transformation. Known for building high-performing teams and delivering bold, customer-centric strategies, Adam is committed to creating meaningful experiences that drive both business results and long-term loyalty. 

Currently serving as Vice President of Sales Enablement at Best Buy, Adam leads Best Buy’s selling and engagement strategies, premium design experiences, and retail programs across the company’s physical and digital platforms. His work is rooted in a belief that understanding people – both customers and employees – is the key to sustainable growth. 

Adam began his career on the retail floor and quickly rose through leadership roles across multiple markets, including store operations and multi-unit leadership. Known for his ability to simplify complex strategies and turn ideas into action, Adam leads with a mix of curiosity, accountability, and a clear focus on impact. His leadership style emphasizes listening, adapting, and delivering experiences that evolve with the needs of the communities he serves. 

Adam holds an MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. He lives in Minnesota with his wife, Anna, and their three daughters. 

Caroline Bettinger-López is a Professor of Law, Faculty Chair of the Human Rights Program, and Director of the Human Rights Clinic at University of Miami School of Law, which she founded in 2011. From 2022-2024, she served as a Senior Advisor on Gender and Equality at the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime, where she helped to lead the development of the first-ever U.S. National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence. In Fall 2021, she served as a Special Advisor to the White House Gender Policy Council. From 2015-2017, she served in the Obama-Biden Administration as the White House Advisor on Violence Against Women, Senior Advisor to Vice President Joe Biden, and member of the White House Council on Women and Girls. 

Over the past two decades, Caroline has engaged in advocacy before domestic and international law and policy forums to address gender-based violence, racial justice, and immigrants’ rights. From 2017-2021, she served as an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, in addition to her teaching responsibilities. She has taught at University of Chicago School of Law and Columbia Law School; and was a Skadden Fellow at the ACLU Women’s Rights Project and federal law clerk.  

She is a Commissioner on the Lancet Commission on Gender-Based Violence and Maltreatment of Young People. She is the recipient of a Roddenberry Fellowship (COURAGE in Policing Project, focused on police response to domestic violence and sexual assault) and a TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund grant (Voces Unidas Project, to support low-wage immigrant women workers).