For Chimene Schwach, giving back is not a casual hobby. It’s a way of life.    

Her interest in activism began in high school and grew as a student at Johns Hopkins University, where she volunteered with a number of social justice organizations, including the ACLU. Since then, Schwach has supported a number of causes that defend the constitutional rights  – especially reproductive and abortion rights.

Schwach mainly works as a lobby day team captain, organizing and coordinating the ACLU’s annual visit to Jefferson City to advocate for civil liberties.

We sat down with Chimene to learn more about her experiences as an ACLU volunteer and to get her take on the state of constitutional rights in Missouri.

How did you first get involved with the ACLU?

At Johns Hopkins, they had this day where freshmen could go and sign up for clubs. I’m a joiner, so I signed up and started volunteering with all these different groups, including South American Solidarity, Planned Parenthood and the ACLU. But I also happened to be the nanny for the ACLU’s lawyer in Baltimore, and back then there were a lot of lawsuits going on related to parental consent and abortion. I was really interested in those issues, so it just happened by chance.

You’ve done a lot of work on reproductive issues. Are there any other ACLU-related issues you’re passionate about?

I would say that reproductive rights and abortion are the issues I’ve worked on the most. But I also got involved with the anti-shackling law and other things that, for me, piggybacked on reproductive rights. I care deeply about parental consent, sex education, the right to privacy and the right to work – I live in a red state, so there’s no end to all of the things that I would like to see shut down.

What is your favorite thing about being an ACLU volunteer?

The thing I like about the ACLU is that it’s nonpartisan. You have people from both sides of the aisle and people that are not interested in party politics, those who just care about social justice issues. Since I’m usually a lobby day team captain, I get to interact with a nice cross-section of people. You see senior citizens, college kids, and the occasional high school kid. You’ve got folks who are hippies and folks that are more buttoned-up, suit-wearing types who are very concerned about the letter of the law. Yet, all come together to talk about what’s important to them, the things that the ACLU is working on. 

When I’m volunteering for the ACLU, people are willing to talk to me. It’s not so polarizing, so it’s much easier to reach people and meet them where they’re at because they don’t necessarily have as many preconceived negative notions.