Natalie Ratzlaff was born in Worthington, Minnesota and grew up in a small town in Iowa called Lone Tee. She moved to Chicago to pursue her undergraduate degree at Loyola University. She earned a B.A. in Political Science, which included a semester studying abroad in Italy at Loyola University’s Rome Center. She also spent a summer working as a congressional intern through Marquette University’s Les Aspin Center. After graduation, Natalie spent a year volunteering with Americorps and had the opportunity to work with Chicago public high school students through a high school enrichment program at the University of Chicago. Natalie moved back to Minnesota to pursue her legal degree at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis. She pursued her passion for social justice in law school by volunteering with the Minnesota Justice Foundation. She also spent two years clerking with Central Minnesota Legal Services providing free legal services to low-income clients.
After law school, Natalie spent a year practicing family law in a small private firm. Since then, she has primarily practiced in the area of social security disability law. She volunteers with the Harriet Tubman Safety Project providing low-income clients with legal representation obtaining Orders for Protection and aiding clients with child support and child custody issues. Outside of her legal work, Natalie leads an extremely caffeinated existence thanks to Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts coffee. She enjoys traveling, cheering for the Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings, running along Chicago’s lakefront path, and spending time with family and friends.
Natalie is excited to be returning to the Chicago land area with Midwest Disability’s Oakbrook office. Practicing social security disability law has allowed Natalie to remain committed to the pursuit of social justice by helping client’s obtain much-needed disability benefits.
