Elissa Mautner is an energetic, dedicated, and passionate volunteer with the Great North Innocence Project. She supports our work in numerous ways as an administrative and events volunteer including fielding inquiries about our work, checking and logging Great North mail, keeping tabs on innocence-related news stories, and providing event support before and during the Benefit for Innocence.
We sat down with Elissa to learn more about why and how she got involved with the Great North Innocence Project.
Great North Innocence Project: Tell us about yourself. Where are you from and what’s your background?
Elissa Mautner: I am originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., but I have lived in Minneapolis since 1980. I graduated from Smith College and the University of Wisconsin Law School. As a practicing attorney, I worked at a private law firm in St. Paul when I was first out of law school. Following that, I worked (in succession, not all at once!) at the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Minnesota Commerce Department, and finally back to the Justice Department’s Immigration and Naturalization Service (which is now Homeland Security).
GN-IP: When did you begin volunteering with us?
EM: I started volunteering at GNIP in July of 2022.
GN-IP: How did you learn about GN-IP and why did you want to volunteer with the organization?
EM: I had a lot of time during the pandemic to consider wrongful convictions. I watched the HBO special about Adnan Syed and, even though I came away thinking the evidence in that case was murky, that murkiness was certainly concerning. I eventually Googled the Innocence Project to see what was happening on that front in Minnesota.
GN-IP: What about GNIP’s mission and work speaks to you?
EM: I can think of few things worse than losing a loved one, and then being convicted of harming that person. Instead of being allowed to grieve the loss, wrongfully accused people have to fight for their own survival. It’s an awful situation that can happen to anyone.
GN-IP: What has been most meaningful about volunteering with GN-IP?
EM: Where to start? I have been so impressed with GNIP. It is a small but mighty organization. The office operates at the highest level of professionalism. I answer the phone as part of my service, so I know that people get frustrated with the slow speed at which things proceed, but that is because of the intensive investigation that goes into considering the cases. To protect the integrity of the office, a determination must be made that the applicant is in fact innocent. It is a painstaking process. GNIP is not a criminal defense operation and, frankly, that is not where my interests lie. But helping people who truly did not do what they have been incarcerated for, that’s a high calling and has my utmost respect.
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