In January 2019, Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan appointed Rebecca Lucero to serve as the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. She was reappointed in November 2022.
Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Rebecca, a proud Chicana, has spent her life fighting to create a more just and joyful world while working to end systemic inequality and oppression. She strives to lead her life with an intersectional lens, honoring complex identities.
During her tenure, Commissioner Lucero has led a team to transform the Minnesota Department of Human Rights into a strategic civil rights enforcement agency. This includes securing a consent decree with the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department to address race-based policing and strengthen public safety; settling discrimination cases that resulted in workplaces, schools, and public places having and enforcing stronger policies to prevent discrimination; and making schools safer and more welcoming for transgender and non-binary students.
Before her appointment as Commissioner, Rebecca worked in public policy and civil rights law, working to create a more just and joyous world. She worked at the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, and for U.S. Congressman Keith Ellison to change the law, systems, and structures that cause institutional inequities. As an attorney, she worked as a civil rights lawyer in private practice, as an administrative law judge, and for the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis.
Rebecca earned her Bachelor’s degree from Grinnell College, and her law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School with a focus in employment law.
If you would like to request a meeting with Commissioner Lucero, please email scheduling.mdhr@state.mn.us. When requesting a meeting, please include the purpose of the meeting and be as detailed as possible.
Please note that meeting availability will depend on their schedules and the relevance of your request. We will make every effort to respond to your request and assist you if we can.
