Jodi Emerson


Jodene Emerson is an American politician. In 2018, she was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly representing the 91st Assembly District.

Early life and family

Emerson was born and raised in Eau Claire, and graduated from Memorial High School. Emerson attended UW-River Falls for two years before starting a family. Emerson is married to Leader-Telegram reporter Julian Emerson and has two adult daughters. She has been a PTA president and Girl Scout troop leader.

Career

Emerson has been an adjunct instructor on human trafficking topics at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Emerson was a legal assistant in a law office and worked as the Director of Public Policy and Community Relations for Fierce Freedom, a nonprofit advocacy organization that worked to address human trafficking. Emerson has been an anti-trafficking advocate and author of a number of successful bipartisan pieces of legislation, including Senate Bill 344, Senate Bill 396, Senate Bill 618, Assembly Bill 16, Assembly Bill 186, Assembly Bill 435, and Act 367.
Emerson also developed a statewide program to train hotel workers to spot the signs of human trafficking and co-chaired the development of the statewide community response protocol on human trafficking. In 2015, Emerson was appointed to serve on Wisconsin's Anti Human Trafficking Task Force. Emerson has also been a member of the Wisconsin Anti-Trafficking Consortium and the Wisconsin Anti-Trafficking Advisory Council, serving as a frequent guest speaker and panelists at churches, schools and libraries across the midwest.

Wisconsin Assembly (2018-present)

In March 2018, Emerson announced her run for the Wisconsin State Assembly representing District 91, a seat currently held by Gubernatorial candidate Dana Wachs. Emerson was endorsed by EMILY's List, Fair Wisconsin, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, State Senator La Tonya Johnson, State Representative Jill Billings, former State Representative Kristen Dexter, and the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Organization for Women.
Emerson won an August 14th four-way primary with 37% of the vote and went on to win the November election with 67% of the vote.
For the Wisconsin State Assembly 2019-2021 session, Emerson was appointed to the committees on Aging and Long-Term Care, Colleges and Universities, Criminal Justice and Public Safety, Family Law, and International Affairs/Commerce.