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2023 Human Rights Day
FIRESIDE CHAT, 12/7/2023:
Event Recording, Details, and Links Below
Meet the Presenters
Sufyan Sohel
Chair, Cook County Commission on Human Rights
Sufyan Sohel is a nonprofit executive and civil rights attorney whose career has focused on combatting hate and advocating for many of our most marginalized communities. He is Chair of the Cook County Commission on Human Rights, co-chair of the DePaul Law Diversity Council, and sits on the Board of Directors for the ACLU-IL where he serves as the organization’s Affiliate Equity Officer. Sufyan also hosts Change Agents, a weekly talk show on CANTV that highlights challenges facing Chicagoans and uplifts the voices and work of nonprofit leaders working to bring positive change to their communities and our city.
Jim Bennett
Director, Illinois Department of Human Rights
James (Jim) Bennett, was appointed Illinois Department of Human Rights Director (IDHR) by Governor JB Pritzker in January 2019. As Director, he is responsible for overseeing the agency's primary goals to prohibit discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, military service or unfavorable discharge in connection with employment opportunities, housing and real estate transactions, access to financial credit and the availability of public services and public accommodations. In addition, the IDHR oversees charges of sexual harassment.
Prior to his role in IDHR, Bennett served as the Midwest Regional Director at Lambda Legal, the nation's largest legal organization dedicated to securing the full civil rights of the LGBTQ community and people with HIV. During his 12-year career there, Bennett was a lead strategist in Lambda Legal Illinois and Iowa marriage campaigns and successfully fought Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act and their discriminatory 'religious refusal' laws. In 2013, he chaired Illinois Unites for Marriage, the statewide coalition that led the successful effort to win marriage equality in Illinois. As a result of his leadership, Illinois led the way in recognizing the freedom to marry for same-sex couples, and in standing firm against efforts to roll back antidiscrimination laws. Jim's integrity and commitment to justice make him a perfect fit to lead the agency charged with enforcing Illinois' laws ensuring fair treatment for all.
Bennett was inducted into the City of Chicago's Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 2013, was the recipient of Equality Illinois' Freedom award in 2018 and was inducted into the Steve and Sandi Adams Legacy Hall of Fame at Illinois State University in 2015. He received his Bachelor of Science from Illinois State University and Master of Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Springfield.
Mona Noriega
Chair, Illinois Human Rights Commission
Mona Noriega was appointed to the Commission by Governor Pritzker in June 2021. Noriega previously served as the Commissioner and Board Chair of the City of Chicago's Commission on Human Relations. Civil rights protections under Noriega's guidance were expanded under the City of Chicago's anti-discrimination ordinances to include credit history and military status as protected categories and to include protections for gender non-conforming individuals when accessing public spaces that are private in nature. Noriega helped open the Midwest Regional Office of Lambda Legal Defense, which advances the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgendered, and people living with HIV/AIDS, and later served as its Midwest Regional Director. A seasoned community activist, Noriega was Comptroller Mendoza's 2020 LGBTQ PRIDE Honoree. Noriega earned a Bachelor of Arts from Northeastern Illinois University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Master of Arts from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Joyce Tucker
Inaugural Director, Illinois Department of Human Rights
Joyce Tucker is an experienced advocate of equal-opportunity employment. In 1970, Tucker was also hired as a mental health specialist at Tinley Park Mental Health Center. Four years later, she served as coordinator of the Illinois Department of Mental Health’s equal employment opportunity and affirmative action (EEO/AA) programs. Tucker was then promoted to chief of the EEO/AA Title VI program at the Illinois Department of Mental Health. She received her J.D. degree from the John Marshall Law School in 1978 before becoming acting director for the Illinois Department of Equal Employment Opportunity. In 1980, Tucker was hired as director for the Illinois Department of Human Rights and was the first black woman to serve in the Governor’s cabinet.
In 1990, Tucker was appointed to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by President George H.W. Bush and in 2001 President George W. Bush appointed Joyce to the White House Initiative Advisory Board for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Tucker began her own EEO management company Tucker Spearman & Associates in 1997. Since 2002, she has been vice president of Global Diversity and Employee Rights for the Boeing Company.
Tucker has been named a “Diversity Leader” by Women of Color magazine and was the keynote speaker at the Executive Symposium for Women Business Leaders in 2006. She has also received the Legacy of Opportunity Award, awarded by the Black Law Students Association at the John Marshall Law School.