Heather R. Van Zee, J.D., brings more than eleven years of courtroom experience to her classroom, including having worked as both an Assistant County Attorney and an Assistant Public Defender. Heather has handled all types of juvenile and adult criminal cases and worked closely with judges, attorneys, law enforcement, probation officers, and social workers as part of a multi-disciplinary team. She specialized in DWIs, controlled substance crimes, and violent person crime cases. Heather has completed training in trial advocacy, MN sentencing guidelines, and CornerHouse Forensic Interviewing. She also coordinated a driving diversion program and taught an anti-bullying program for juveniles. She was licensed to appear in tribal court, where she represented individuals in family law and child protection cases. Under her leadership, UNW’s Law Enforcement Professional Peace Officer Education (PPOE) program was officially recertified by the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) on January 27, 2022.

Kala Horgan teaches Social Studies Methods for Elementary Education at Northwestern. She taught 4th grade for 6 years and more recently has done supervision of students in the education program at North Central University and writing curriculum for a non-profit, Athletes Committed to Educating Students. Horgan has a M. Ed in Integrated Curriculum from American college of Education and a B.A in Elementary Education from Bethel University. In her free time, you can find her spending time with her husband and two sons or baking sourdough bread!