Social, environmental causes
Maccabee's social and environmental interests have allowed her to work with numerous organizations dedicated to a wide variety of issues. "Most of my work is environmental help and environmental protection," said Maccabee. She is currently working in conjunction with The Sierra Club and Excel Energy, her local energy provider, to coordinate the largest proposed voluntary cleanup of coal plants. "We are working with three coal plants, two of which we are hoping to convert to natural gas, and we are trying to get the best available pollution technology control for the third," Maccabee enthused.
She is also working with the Ecology Center to pass legislation which would require the removal of mercury switches from cars prior to their disposal. "The way it works now, most cars have mercury switches. If switches are not recycled, mercury is released into the air, mercury gets into water and then gets into the food chain," she explained. If passed, the legislation would reduce air, water and food contamination drastically. Maccabee's work with the coal plants would also reduce the possible contamination and damage resulting from mercury.
Maccabee attributes her involvement with environmental pollution to the health problems of members of her family. "My mother had breast cancer, and just as she was recovering from her cancer, her younger sister died from cancer," Maccabee said. "At that same time, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency released a report saying chemicals were above acceptable levels in Minnesota. I thought it would be a fitting memorial to my aunt to reduce pollution that is toxic to human beings." Although Maccabee had been interested in environmental issues since law school, her family's struggles provided a new context for the pressing issue.
An early college education
Maccabee's work in social justice government affairs started in college. In recent years, Maccabee has served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of St. Thomas, as a city council member and as a Special Assistant Minnesota Attorney General. From 1997 through 1999, Maccabee taught at St. Thomas University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
After starting her college career at Macalaster College in Minnesota, Maccabee applied to transfer, deciding at the last minute to apply to Amherst because her then-boyfriend and now-husband was transferring to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. In 1975, Maccabee began at Amherst as a political science and psychology double major.
As one of the first female students at Amherst, Maccabee encountered antipathy from some male students. Although dealing with this hostility was difficult, she believes overcoming this obstacle helped her in her career. "As a woman going into the field of law, a field I imagined as being dominated by men, it was the perfect situation, to go to a school that was all men and was ambivalent about women joining the student body," she said.
The time Maccabee spent with Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science Austin Sarat writing her honors thesis was incredibly rewarding as well. "Writing my honors thesis was the most intellectually stimulating thing I have ever done," she said. "It changed the way I was able to think." Professor Sarat remembers Maccabee for her vigor and desire to help people. "She was from the outset a genuine intellectual, passionate about ideas, eager to share her thoughts. There was, then, as there is now, a deep and humane commitment to using her knowledge to make her world more decent, more just. It was a privilege to have been one of her teachers."
Going into politics
Maccabee's spirit and determination were crucial in helping her be elected to the city council. A state senator approached Maccabee about running for a seat on the council. The senator viewed Maccabee as merely a stand-in representative for the Democrats as no other Democrat was willing to enter the race. Maccabee agreed to join the race; she did not, however, view herself as a stand-in. "If I am going to run, I am going to win," Maccabee said, describing her attitude upon entering the race. She won the election.
Her position as special assistant Minnesota attorney general enabled her to make significant improvements in the lives of Minnesotans.
The accomplishment she considers her most important action as a city council member is the gay rights ordinance she assisted in passing. "It was wonderful to be able to pass laws for gay rights," Maccabee said. The passing of gay rights laws by the Saint Paul City Council led to the state of Minnesota passing a law to prevent discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Around the same time that Maccabee began working in the attorney general's office, two women were raped and murdered in the Minneapolis area. In response, Maccabee formed a task force on the prevention of sexual violence against women. She was particularly happy to be involved in this because it provided a rare opportunity to be involved in an issue that transcended typically oppositionist groups. Feminists, law enforcement, prosecutors and anti-crime advocates worked together to improve the way in which those types of crimes were handled by the system. Maccabee and the task force were successful in doubling the sentencing guidelines for rape, and also increasing the use of DNA evidence.
For the last 15 years, Maccabee has been working in the public sector, but her career began in private law practice. Maccabee worked in two Minnesota law firms for a total of five years, as well as having had her own law practice.
Maccabee will no doubt continue her environmental and social work. She will also stay connected to her Amherst roots through her daughter Leora, a junior at the College, and through continued involvement.