NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Today the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee announced that Stella Yarbrough, former ACLU-TN staff attorney, has stepped into the role of legal director. Yarbrough will lead the organization’s legal work by building ACLU-TN’s impact litigation docket to advance ACLU-TN’s strategic priorities, supervising litigation teams, collaborating with state and national partners, responding to threats against civil liberties, and more.
“I am delighted to see Stella step into this role,” said Hedy Weinberg, ACLU of Tennessee executive director. “I am inspired by Stella’s commitment to our mission and values, her vision and tenacity, and her ability to embrace of our integrative advocacy model. I am confident that she is the right person to lead ACLU-TN’s legal department.”
Yarbrough’s relationship with ACLU-TN began in 2011 as an intern, while she was studying law at Vanderbilt University. She also has a master’s from the Vanderbilt Divinity School and is a graduate of Gideon’s Promise CORE 101 program, a three-year intensive trial-skills training for public defenders.
Prior to joining ACLU-TN as a staff attorney in January 2020, she was a staff attorney in the Office of Civil Rights at the Tennessee Department of Education. She previously served as an assistant public defender in the Davidson County Public Defender’s Office.
“I am looking forward to building a proactive and responsive legal team that will fight for constitutional bail-setting and pretrial detention practices across the state, defend and advance LBGTQ rights in Tennessee, protect the First Amendment rights of students – and, now more than ever, protect people’s ability to have control over their own bodies,” said Yarbrough. “It is certainly a lot do, but I look forward to undertaking this important work.”
To further grow and develop its legal team, ACLU-TN is currently looking to hire a staff attorney and a transgender justice staff attorney. More information on these positions can be found at: https://www.aclu-tn.org/jobs/