Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid names Alsaidi and Brelie to leadership posts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: (St. Cloud, Willmar and Minneapolis, Minn.) – Yasin Alsaidi and Brenna Brelie are slated to join the leadership team at Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid this month.

Alsaidi is set to step into the role of Deputy Director, Monday, Nov. 4, overseeing the organization’s justice mission in St. Cloud and Willmar. He will do so having been on staff at these locations as housing attorney, clinic attorney and attorney with the senior law project since 2020. He has concurrently been in private practice since 2023, specializing in estate planning, immigration, family law and housing law. He earned his law degree from Vermont Law School; his Master of Public Affairs from the University of Minnesota. He is also an alum of the Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Policy. Prior to his career in law, Alsaidi held management posts in higher education and served as Dean of Admissions at New England College

Ann Cofell, Deputy Director for 44 years, and Alsaidi’s predecessor, offers, “Yasin Alsaidi brings a wealth of experience in administration which will serve MMLA well. This experience combined with the dedication, legal skills and compassion for the entire staff in St. Cloud and Willmar means the office and the community are in very good hands.”  With a nod to the shoes he will fill, Alsaidi reflected, “Central Minnesota has been blessed by the work of Ann Cofell. She has set the path. I’m simply hoping to carry the load.”  He added that his motivation for justice comes from early experiences, “Even as a law student, I discovered how sacred it is to help even one person. That’s what got me hooked on Legal Aid. I wanted to have an impact.” Alsaidi is a resident of Sauk Rapids. He honors his commitment to community in affiliations with Central Minnesota United Way, the Sauk Rapids Lions Club and St. Cloud Rotary.

Brelie will step into the functional oversight role at Legal Aid as Director of Operations, Nov. 18. In this capacity, she is set to provide structural integrity to the justice organization’s human resources, finance and information technology systems, backed by 9 years of leadership experience at Pillsbury United Communities. As she departs Pillsbury United, Brelie will bring experience from her post as Chief Operations Officer, as well as skills honed as interim president and CEO for the organization, and as its Chief of Staff. Her resume also showcases lead roles at a slew of arts, PR and nonprofit organizations including Grassroots Solutions, Goodwill-Easter Seals and Make-A-Wish with an early career start at Fallon ad agency.

A graduate of the University of Minnesota with a degree in Cultural Anthropology and Archaeology, Brelie says she was drawn to MMLA because of its reputation in our community. From the outside looking in, she says she is proud of Legal Aid’s work and mission, “I’ve held agency purview roles and when I saw this opportunity, I thought this was a perfect match. I am excited to bring my experience creating systems-level uniformity and efficiency to an organization I respect that has a long history of social justice work I really admire.” Brelie lives in Minneapolis.

Executive Director Milo Mumgaard says Brelie is up for the challenge of maximizing systems efficiency at Legal Aid, “Brenna brings to MMLA enviable management experience that we will put to very quick and good use, greatly benefiting not only our staff and operations but making our work for justice that much more effective. Plus, her long involvement with the Twin Cities non-profit and advocacy community is a tremendous additional asset – Brenna knows the people and the issues and will be a wonderful contributor to our work.”

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Media Contact:
Lisa Ramirez
Communications Manager
Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid
lramirez@mylegalaid.org
612.746-3641

Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid is a 501 (C) (3) nonprofit law firm. We provide free legal help to people with limited resources and people marginalized due to disability or age. Our practice areas include Consumer, Disability, Family, Housing, Immigration, Public Benefits, Senior, Tax and Youth law. We also connect Minnesotans to affordable health coverage. Our Legal Services Advocacy Project champions the rights of lowest-income and marginalized constituents.