Aisha Elmquist will be the next director of the Minnesota Olmstead Implementation Office [OIO]. She has an extensive history of serving people with disabilities, most recently as the deputy Ombudsman for Long-Term Care. She has also worked as an attorney for the law firm of Fox Rothschild LLP, clerked for U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim, and served as a staff attorney at Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid. 

She has a long history of fighting for the civil rights of people with disabilities, including rights under Olmstead v. L.C. She is experienced with leading large-scale, collaborative efforts. Her hiring comes at the time as the state is starting to develop the next Olmstead Plan, bringing the work of ensuring that people with disabilities live, learn, work and enjoy life in the most integrated setting to a whole new level. 

She is a graduate of Carleton College and the University of Michigan Law School and a recent Policy Fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. 

She took on her new duties at OIO at the end of August.