TCDIP and WILD Staff
Summra Mohammadee Shariff
Executive Director and President
In 2004, Summra Shariff learned the true meaning of the word “cold” when she moved from Los Angeles to Minneapolis, excited to start law school. She was amazed to learn that humans can live, thrive, and have fun in temperatures well below zero. She also learned that to survive in Minnesota, you have to wear layers, find community, and make friends.
When she is not walking on frozen lakes, cooking spicy food, and spoiling her niece, Summra serves as the Executive Director and President of Twin Cities Diversity in Practice (TCDIP) and the Wanton Injustice Legal Detail (WILD). Since taking on the position in 2018, Summra has built on the TCDIP’s past successes by re-energizing and revamping programming at all levels to maximize TCDIP’s ability to attract, recruit, advance, and retain attorneys of color in the Twin Cities. For example, she restructured the Emerging Leaders Group (ELG) to better reflect its mission to create a stronger community of early-career diverse lawyers. The renewed ELG provides rising lawyers of color with expanded opportunities for business development, mentorship, networking, and leadership positions. Summra has worked with the Board and all the committees to review and refresh TCDIP programs, initiatives, operations, and relationships among stakeholders at all levels of the organization. She looks forward to continuing to strengthen TCDIP’s work and relationships in the community. As the Executive Director for the WILD, Summra adds an additional layer of mission alignment and connectivity between WILD and TCDIP. Since its formation in 2020, Summra has grown WILD into a 501(c)(3) organization that has reached hundreds of community members in the Minnesota.
Prior to her work with TCDIP and WILD, Summra worked with underrepresented groups, including with communities of color. For close to five years, she served as Diversity and Inclusion and Pro Bono Coordinator for a national law firm. She is a former long-term member of the Minnesota Justice Foundation’s Board and Executive Committee and a former board member for the Housing Justice Center. She also formerly held a leadership role with the Minnesota Asian Pacific American Bar Association. Summra continues to be active in the legal community by serving as Vice-Chair for The National Association for Law Placement (NALP) Diversity and Inclusion Section and by serving on the board of Gender Justice and on the Minnesota Supreme Court’s Legal Services Advisory Committee.
Liz Niemer
Programs and Communications Manager
Liz Niemer began her program development and communications career by organizing workshop weekends in the lindy hop/swing dancing scene. She brings this enthusiasm for planning and executing events to her work at TCDIP. Liz started with TCDIP in November 2018 as the Programs and Communications Coordinator. In addition to her role with TCDIP, Liz is a pillar of support for WILD. Through her events and communications expertise, Liz provides program assistance and communications support for WILD. Prior to TCDIP and WILD, she worked for a national law firm and gained an understanding of the internal workings of the legal industry and the challenges attorneys face.
To stay up-to-date on developments and trends in the legal industry, she is also involved with the Minnesota chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) and the Minnesota Legal Career Professionals (MnLCP) group. Liz enjoys developing TCDIP events that build a community with deep roots and real connections. She appreciates being a part of and supporting the TCDIP community where she sees so many people truly dedicated to creating a more vibrant and diverse legal profession. Outside of TCDIP, Liz also supports various local organizations dedicated to social justice work, including Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en la Lucha (CTUL), , Our Justice, Grease Rag Ride & Wrench, and Resource Generation. Liz’s favorite way to see the Twin Cities is on two wheels – riding on a tandem or her all-weather light-up “party bicycle,” or zipping by on her road bike.
LaLinda Xiong
WILD Program Manager
LaLinda Xiong is the youngest of nine children, was raised in an intergenerational, multi-lingual home. Daughter to Hmong refugees, she was one of the two children born in the United States. It was growing up in a full household with beds packed like sardines, where she learned the meaning of community. Her family may not have had a lot, but when they banded their resources together, they were able to live a full and meaningful life. Although immigrating to the US meant a host of new opportunities for the Xiong family, it was also met with commensurate challenges. Systemic racism plagued the institutions that provided support to refugees and families of lower socioeconomic classes. However, this experience was not specific to the Xiong family. Growing up in an over-policed, under-funded community in the Southside of Milwaukee taught LaLinda that collective action was the basis for combatting institutionalized racism. This firsthand experience brings LaLinda to public policy and to now the Twin Cities Diversity in Practice (TCDIP) to lead the new anti-racism initiative, Wanton Injustice Legal Detail (WILD).
LaLinda began her policy career at the Wisconsin Policy Forum where she co-authored A Fresh Start – Wisconsin’s Atypical Expungement Law and Options for Reform. This analysis of Wisconsin’s outdated and inaccessible expungement laws helped introduce Wisconsin’s 2021 Assembly Bill 69. Turning large data sets into digestible charts and policy analysis then brought LaLinda to graduate school. Although reluctant to leave her family, LaLinda took the lonely five hour drive from Milwaukee to Minneapolis to attend the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School for Public Affairs. Moving to Minneapolis gave LaLinda the opportunity to work in the newly established Division of Race & Equity for the City of Minneapolis. Through this role, LaLinda facilitated a youth participatory budgeting process, oversaw the City’s Strategic Racial Equity Action Plan, and supported community engagement at George Floyd Square. This work then led LaLinda to continue her passion fighting for equity and combatting anti-Black racism with WILD.
Although the fight to end systemic racism never ceases, LaLinda manages to find balance by cooking large pots of khao poon and making pâte à choux to share with her loved ones. Breaking bread and sharing a warm and spicy bowl of soup helps fill her cup to fight another day. When spare time is found, LaLinda volunteers for values-based campaigns and teaches children how to ride bikes at the nearby elementary school. She also participates in programming set by organizations of the Coalition of Asian American Leaders and the Southeast Asian Diaspora Project. You can find LaLinda zipping through the city on her fixed gear bike or at the Minneapolis Bouldering Project, where she pretends to know how to climb. LaLinda will always be a Milwaukeean at heart, but has grown to love Minneapolis, no matter how terrible the Timberwolves are, BUCKS IN SIX.
Leniya Morrow
Programs and Communications Coordinator
Leniya Morrow is a dedicated advocate for fairness, equity, and justice. From her formative years, she harbored a passion for these principles, which naturally drove her to creative spaces. These spaces not only allowed her to develop her own creative voice, but they also helped her to become a voice for the underrepresented and marginalized. Leniya is a jack of many trades, blending professionalism and strategy with an artistic flair and creative prowess.
Her academic pursuits led her to obtain a bachelor’s degree in New Media with a concentration in promotional communications, complemented by a background in graphic design. This path allowed her to use her creative skills in a structured and professional matter. Leniya’s educational path was enriched by her experience at a Spanish immersion school, which instilled in her a multicultural perspective that she carries forward in her work. Her experiences have deepened her understanding of societal power structures and fueled her commitment to advocating for diversity and inclusive representation in media and technology.
Before joining TCDIP, Leniya immersed herself in various organizations, including the Neighborhood Development Center, Bridgemakers MN, and Cooperation Cannon River. Notably, she helped start the Young People’s Creative Outlet (YPCO), a platform dedicated to showcasing local BIPOC artists and fostering community within the Twin Cities.
Leniya has honed her skills in communications and graphic design, evident in her impactful contributions to initiatives like Give to the Max Day and NDC’s 30-year celebration. Her leadership shines through projects like the Midsummer Block Party, where she orchestrated a strategic partnership between YPCO and Bridgemakers MN. This collaboration culminated in a successful community event celebrating youth voice and creativity, demonstrating her proficiency in project coordination and collaborative teamwork.
Outside of her professional endeavors, Leniya finds joy in working out, cooking and creating music. To keep up with her design skills, she continues to create graphics for local artists, events and projects. She also has heavy involvement with Black Fashion Week MN, where she contributes to social media graphics and assists with fashion shows and model calls.
Sofía Leyva
WILD Program Assistant
Sofía Leyva comes to WILD with a background in philanthropy and community-centered event planning. She is excited to transfer her skills to support the racial equity efforts within the legal community. Working with WILD, Sofía brings a passion for community centered relationship building. She believes that our communities hold the knowledge and power to create systemic change, and she is honored to be able to advocate for them through WILD’s work.
Sofía graduated from the University of St. Thomas with a degree in Justice and Peace Studies and Nonprofit Management. She started her career at Headwaters Foundation for Justice working closely with their Giving Project grants. Her work was focused on investing in the power of community and the importance of addressing systemic change. Sofía later brought this passion into the realm of community-centered event planning with Claim Our Space.
Alongside her work at WILD, Sofía also works as a part-time receptionist at a hair salon in St. Louis Park. To her pleasant surprise, Sofía found that the world of hair and color is fascinating and fun. She enjoys learning about the intricacies of hair care and complexities of hair color through her exposure to the world of fashion.
Sofía grew up just south of St. Paul’s Battle Creek neighborhood and is a St. Paul devotee at heart. She has fond memories of learning to ride her bike along the Mississippi and going to the Farmer’s Market on Saturdays with her mom. Now living in Northeast, Sofía can be found walking to breweries, camping, and spending time with her partner and their one-eyed cat, Maisy.