Our Founding
The Minnesota Hispanic Bar Association (MHBA) was founded in 1991 to organize Hispanic attorneys, judges, law students and other concerned members of the Hispanic community into a force for professional and community benefit.
Our Mission
The MHBA mission is to unify and organize all members of the Hispanic legal community, to promote legal professionals, and to serve as an advocate for the Hispanic community in Minnesota. The MHBA strives to promote professional growth and opportunity for Latino law students and attorneys, to provide community service and to ensure access to justice for all.
Our Endowment Fund
In 1993, the MHBA began a scholarship fund with contributions from members and a matching gift from Mr. Cliff Whitehall, former President of the General Mills Foundation. In 1998, the MHBA established an endowment fund in partnership with El Fondo de Nuestra Comunidad and under the administration of The St. Paul Foundation. The MHBA Endowment Fund serves as a source of funding for law student interns working at non-profit organizations serving the Latino/a community. Each year MHBA hosts a fundraising gala event to continue to grow the fund to benefit the Latino/a community.
Our Mentoring Program
In 2004, the MHBA began its Law Student Mentorship Program to mentor the next generation of attorneys in Minnesota. Every year the program kicks off with a reception, where law students are matched with attorneys to provide guidance and an introduction into the legal community in Minnesota.
Today
Today, the MHBA has approximately 400 members representing all sectors of the legal community. MHBA’s members are leaders in the state judiciary, local and state government, private law firms, multinational corporations, public interest organizations and more. In addition, some of MHBA’s members are active on the Board of the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) based in Washington, DC, which serves as the national voice of the Hispanic legal community, representing the interests of more than 100,000 Hispanic attorneys, judges, law professors, legal assistants, and law students in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. territories. The MHBA is also affiliated with the HNBA, and has voting representation on the HNBA Board of Directors.
2024-2025 Board of Directors
Kelvin Collado - President
Andrea is a commercial litigation attorney at Sapientia Law Group, who also advises her clients on corporate, commercial, and transactional matters. She is licensed in Colombia and Minnesota.
Andrea Mejia - President-Elect
Delmar is a Mexican-Argentine immigrant, growing up in Texas, California and Illinois. She attended the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and received her law degree from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. Delmar and her husband relocated to Minnesota in 2013.
Delmar is a partner at Fiddler Osband Flynn LLC, a small powerhouse firm litigating adoption and family law at the trial court and appellate levels and even advocating for children’s best interests before the Supreme Court of the United States. Delmar enjoys advocating for families and children and is humbled to serve Spanish speaking families in their native language – it is the most rewarding!
Delmar is Vice President of the MHBA board and has served as a Director since 2020. She has also co-chaired the Community Outreach Committee since 2021.
Delmar Flynn -Vice President
Eder Castillo leads the Immigrant Justice Program at the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. When he’s not working, he enjoys watching live theater with his wife, Nayely.
Eder Castillo - Treasurer
Paola Maldonado is an Associate Attorney at Ogletree Deakins practicing labor and employment defense. She is originally from Chihuahua, Mexico but now calls Minnesota home.
In addition to serving as the MHBA Secretary, Paola co-chairs the Public Relations Committee.
Outside of the law, Paola enjoys traveling, baseball, and spending time with her family.
Paola K. Maldonado - Secretary
Braynell currently serves as an Attorney at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Braynell provides legal advice on matters impacting the Federal Reserve's internal business and is responsible for drafting and negotiating contracts to minimize legal exposure and promote compliance. Prior to this role, he served as Associate Counsel at Best Buy.
Braynell is originally from Nicaragua (where he is also a licensed attorney). Outside of the law, Braynell enjoys playing soccer, reading books, cooking, and volunteering.
Bryanell Estrada - Immediate Past President
Yastril Nañez - Director
Bibeane ("Bibi") Metsch-Garcia is a litigator at Ciresi Conlin LLP where she practices in the business litigation group and represents plaintiffs in mass tort and class action matters. Bibi was previously a criminal Assistant United States Attorney at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Before becoming a federal prosecutor, she served as a law clerk to the Honorable Cathy Seibel of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. She is licensed to practice in Minnesota, New York, and the District of Columbia.
Bibi Metsch-Garcia - Director
Marina is a recent graduate of the University of Saint Thomas.
Marina Cruz - Director
Jaime Wing is a senior associate on the Product Liability and Consumer Disputes team of Norton Rose Fulbright. Based in Minneapolis, he focuses on defending Fortune 500 manufacturers of consumer goods, medical devices, and industrial equipment. He has also successfully pursued affirmative recoveries for clients in diverse sectors ranging from health care to food and beverage. His experience spans the breadth of civil litigation, including investigation, pleadings, fact and expert discovery, dispositive motions, jury trials, and appeals. Additionally, Jaime has acted as pro bono counsel for clients in immigration and criminal expungement proceedings.
Before practicing law, Jaime served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army. Born in Panama and raised in California, Jaime and his family have made Minnesota their home since 2013.
Jaime Wing - Director
Reen recently graduated from Mitchell Hamline School of Law.
At Mitchell Hamline, Reen earned a certificate in the study of Native American Law and Sovereignty.
Reen Reinhardt - Director
Originating from Montana, Joshua is a rising 2L at the University of Minnesota. Prior to law school, Joshua was a music education major at Concordia College, in Moorhead, Minnesota. During that time, Joshua sang in The Concordia Choir, under Dr. Rene Clausen. He is focused on contract law and business law but enjoys studying as much as possible and exploring new fields. He is currently a board member for the Latinx Law Student Association at the University of Minnesota and made an appearance in last year’s TORT (Theatre of the Relatively Talentless) production of Tortanic as Captain Ahab. He also helped conduct the pit and orchestrate pieces for the show. Joshua is currently a law clerk for ASK LLP, where he works in the bankruptcy preferences department. When not focusing on all things law, Joshua loves to cook. He is an avid gamer, notoriously putting in long hours on the weekends to various games, enjoys spending time with friends, and being in the outdoors.
Joshua Fuller - Student Representative
Lili is rising 3L at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. She is Colombian-American and originally from South Florida.
Currently, Lili serves as an in-house law clerk at Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions. She is also an Avanza Intern at the Hispanic National Bar Association and the President of St. Thomas's Latinx Law Student Association. Before law school, Lili was a paralegal for over seven years.
In her free time, Lili enjoys shopping and spending time with friends and family.
Liliana Garrido - Student Representative
Alexis is a rising 2L at Mitchell-Hamline School of Law. He is originally from Los Angeles, California.
Before law school, Alexis attended San Francisco State University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science ('20). He also participated in Moot Court which sparked his interests in constitutional, election, criminal, and cannabis law. Alexis has served as MH's Latine Law Student Association's 1L Representative and is the Vice-President Elect for the 2024-2025 academic year.