Women’s History Month 2023- Tracy Shoberg
This month, in honor of Women's History Month, we are honoring Rising Stars and Mothers of the Movement.
By Patrice Tillery
This month, in honor of Women's History Month, we are honoring Rising Stars and Mothers of the Movement. Today, we are highlighting Rising Star, Tracy Shoberg.
Tracy Shoberg is the Deputy Director of the National Legal Center on Children and Domestic Violence with the Battered Women’s Justice Project. In this role, she has trained thousands of legal practitioners to enhance their practice surrounding domestic violence, including how to effectively use the SAFeR approach.
Tracy attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, receiving BAs in English and Gender Studies, and the University of Minnesota Law School. She committed herself to this work in 2012 when she began working at End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin. Tracy attributes her broadened view to her exposure to concepts and theories as a Gender Studies major. Concepts including critical race theory, intersectionality, and feminist movements, activated her understanding of how systems have been structured to perpetuate misogyny, racism, and poverty.
Tracy’s first job in the domestic violence (DV) field was as an intern at the Wisconsin Coalition for Domestic Violence, focusing on DV homicides. The realities and complexities of this experience shifted her entire career path and propelled her desire to pursue law. After graduating from law school, as the first lawyer in her extended family, Tracy knew she wanted to make a difference working directly with people – the big law, corporate track was never the right fit for her.
Before joining BWJP, Tracy was a Family Law staff attorney at Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS) serving low-income clients. She worked under the Office of Justice Programs grant representing victim-survivors in civil matters, including orders for protection, harassment restraining orders, custody, and divorce cases. While at SMRLS, Tracy assisted Goodhue County in drafting their first Safe Harbor Protocol as part of a countywide effort responding to the needs of human trafficking victim-survivors.
She is motivated to do this work every day because she is passionate about empowering survivors and being the voice for children when they aren’t able to speak for themselves.
