Jill Kehaulani Esch, Ombudsperson

Jill Kehaulani (Kay-HOW-La-Knee) Esch is Native Hawaiian and was born and raised in Hawaii. She is a graduate of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She and her husband moved from Hawaii to Minnesota in 2000 so that she could attend William Mitchell College of Law, now known as Mitchell Hamline School of Law. In 2020, she received the law school’s Outstanding Alumni Award.   In 2013, she was appointed the Ombudsperson for American Indian Families and then reappointed in 2021 when the Office of Ombudsperson for American Indian Families was created by the Minnesota Legislature.

Previously, she worked in a small Hawaii law firm for 24 years; after law school she was a judicial law clerk to Judge John Q. McShane and an associate attorney in Duluth for several years. She is an active member of the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA); in 2017, she received its Member of the Year Award. Since 2000, when she was in law school, she has been an active member of the Minnesota Native American Bar Association – MNABA – (formerly known as the Minnesota American Indian Bar Association). She is now serving her second term on the MNABA Board. 

In 2020, she was one of the recipients of the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare Change Maker Award. In 2021, she was one of the recipients who received the Diversity & Inclusion Award from the Minnesota Lawyer. From 2017 to 2025, she helped to chair the Children and Families Chapter for the United States Ombudsman Association (USOA) and was an Ex Officio Member of the Board during that time. She now co-chairs the USOA Children and Families ICWA Circle. In 2025, she received the USOA first Member of the Year Award.

Natalie Goodman, Investigator

Natalie Goodman was born and raised in Minnesota. She is a graduate of Metropolitan State University and earned her Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Cyber Crimes from Walden University.

Natalie joined the Office of Ombudsperson for American Indian Families in February 2025 and is the Office Investigator. She is a member of the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) and the United States Ombudsman Association (USOA) Children and Families Chapter.

Previously, she worked in the criminal justice field with a focus on reentry. She has also volunteered with Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA), a community-based program that supports individuals returning from incarceration, and with WATCH Court Monitoring, an organization dedicated to making the justice system more transparent and accountable.

As a member of the Queer Community, Natalie is dedicated to advancing justice, accountability, and equity for children and families in Minnesota.