Monica Hopkins

Monica Hopkins

Pronouns: she, her, hers

Executive Director

Bio

Monica Hopkins is the executive director of the ACLU of the District of Columbia (ACLU-DC). She took the helm of the D.C. affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union in 2014.

Prior to joining the ACLU-DC Monica served as the executive director of the ACLU of Idaho from 2008–2014 during which time she oversaw sweeping statewide victories, particularly in the areas of criminal justice reform, LGBTQIA equality, immigrants’ rights and upholding the First Amendment. Prior to joining the ACLU, Monica had a held several executive and development positions in the nonprofit sector.

Under Monica’s leadership, the ACLU-DC has grown its capacity and reach allowing the organization to become a resource for all District residents. As executive director, Monica oversees substantive programmatic and advocacy efforts to defend and advance the ACLU-DC’s work on civil rights and civil liberties for the over 700,000 residents of the District of Columbia.

As the organization’s principal spokesperson she helps increase public awareness of the ACLU-DC’s work. Monica has been quoted by national radio, television, and print media outlets, including the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Atlantic Monthly, Al-Jazeera, Politico, and NPR.

Monica is a graduate of Boise State University. She is also a 2012–2013 Rockwood Institute LGBT Advocacy Fellow and currently serves on the board of the National Reentry Network for Returning Citizens.

Featured Work

News & Commentary
A stylized graphic with a dark blue background featuring three overlapping red-tinted panels. The left panel shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch. The center panel displays a handwritten sign that reads “DEMOCRACY STANDS” and “THE CONSTITUTION STANDS.” The right panel includes an image of Donald Trump.
  • Criminal Justice Reform|
  • +6 Issues

A Year of Resistance in the Nation’s Capital: How D.C. Resisted the First Year of the Second Trump Administration

2025 has brought one emergency after another. But in this crisis, residents across D.C. fought for their rights and showed why the urgency of self-governance in D.C. is more important than ever.
News & Commentary
National Guard members in fatigues walking in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

We Must All Defend Democracy: Three Lessons from Occupied D.C.

People and organizations from across the country and the political spectrum must be prepared to defend democracy.