At the HAE Fired Up Foundation, we believe that no one should carry the weight of trauma alone. Every story matters, and every voice deserves to be heard. Born from a desire to create lasting change, we are more than a foundation—we are a movement fueled by hope, healing, and empowerment.
Through these efforts, we’re creating a comprehensive network of care to help survivors reclaim their power and live their fullest lives.
The HAE Fired Up Foundation is deeply connected to the values and mission of our founder, Alreen Haeggquist. As a fierce advocate for justice, Alreen has dedicated her life to empowering survivors of sexual violence and helping them find their voices.
Having experienced trauma herself, Alreen knows firsthand the transformative power of speaking out.
Our work began as an extension of the principles that guide the HAE Law Firm. While the firm has long championed justice for survivors, the foundation focuses on an equally critical mission: providing the resources, tools, and healing opportunities survivors need to rebuild their lives and thrive.
We envision a world where survivors are empowered to rise, and silence no longer holds us back from healing or creating change.
When we speak out, we not only begin to heal—we make sexual violence less likely to happen in the first place.
Our long-term vision is a thriving, self-sustaining foundation that amplifies survivors’ voices, raises awareness, and provides the vital resources needed to break cycles of trauma.
By working hand-in-hand with shelters, counselors, and advocacy organizations, we aim to create a future where survivors find healing, communities become safer, and the ripple effect of courage and compassion transforms lives—one survivor, one story, one step at a time.
Alreen Haeggquist wakes up each day with a fervent passion to advocate for women who suffer from sexual abuse, harassment, or discrimination. As a lawyer with 21 years of experience, she has recovered millions of dollars for clients in cases involving sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination. Alreen has an unwavering commitment to not allow wealth, power, influence, or status to exempt anyone from the rules of society.
Alreen‘s father was a terrifying presence who subjected her to sexual, physical, and verbal abuse. Despite knowing, her mother remained silent. Darkness loomed within Alreen, leading to depression and multiple suicide attempts. She remained quiet out of fear and shame, never telling a soul. Typical victim behavior.
Motivated by the pains of her childhood, Alreen became a lawyer in order to stand up for victims of abuse. She founded her own firm, Haeggquist & Eck, LLP, in San Diego in 2008, which has helped hundreds of other women stand up for themselves. Alreen has challenged high-profile entities including The Salk Institute, Trader Joe’s, Kaiser Permanente, the San Diego Sheriff‘s Department, and a President-elect.
Alreen’s core message is that, as a society, we need to break the silence and help women stand up to their abusers. In 2023, she broke her own silence and published her story in the book, Fired Up: Fueling Triumph from Trauma.
Haeggquist & Eck partner and trial attorney Amber Eck is a tenacious advocate for employees, consumers and shareholders, and has been for the past 26 years. Amber has taken cases to trial in both state and federal court as lead trial attorney, and has recovered millions of dollars for her clients in settlements, including multiple six- and seven-figure settlements. Amber doesn’t shy away from high-profile defendants — a fact well-illustrated by her role as co-lead counsel in the well-publicized class action against President Donald Trump and Trump University, which settled for $25 million. For her work in the case, which spanned seven years, Amber and her partners took no fees. In 2016, the Trump University settlement was deemed one of California’s Top 50 Class Action Settlements.
Amber has represented plaintiffs in employment cases for wrongful termination, sexual harassment, unequal pay, and discrimination based on gender, race, religion, pregnancy, disability and age against such major corporations as Calpine, Trader Joe’s, LuLaRoe, Dollar Tree, Jollibee, Cheesecake Factory and Cemex.
Amber is dedicated to providing pro bono legal assistance to underserved populations. She is a current member of the Southern District of California’s Pro Bono Panel, and recently represented in indigent inmate in a jury trial in federal court for violation of his 8thAmendment rights. She is also a recognized by SuperLawyers as one of the top 25 women lawyers in San Diego and top 50 lawyers in San Diego. She and her firm have also been selected by U.S. News & World Reports as “Best Lawyers in America” and “Best Law Firm” for 2022.
Amber frequently speaks on employment and other legal issues. She spoke to the Public Interest Advocacy Collaborative on “Using a Victim Advocate to Strengthen Your Civil Case,” and served as a discussion facilitator at the Lawyers Club Solutions Summit on the topic of Eliminating Sexual Harassment, Sexism & Bullying in the Workplace. Amber was also a panelist discussing “The Law as a Tool” at the International Agro-Ecological & Environmental Conference in San Francisco, and was a panelist at the California Women Lawyers Conference on “Transitions to Leadership.” Amber has been a featured guest on ESPN’s Real Talk Downtown and a guest speaker on the topic of small law firms and solo practitioners at the Lawyers Club of San Diego’s annual symposium. She is a Master in the Welsh Inn of Court, a member of the California Employment Lawyers Association (“CELA”), Lawyers Club of San Diego, Federal Bar Association, and Consumer Attorneys of San Diego.
Outside the office, Amber enjoys playing pickleball, hiking, skiing, and scuba diving, exploring San Diego and spending time with her husband, Jeff, and teenage daughters, Jordyn and Kathryn.
Aaron M. Olsen is a partner in the employment law and complex consumer litigation departments of Haeggquist & Eck.
Aaron has resolved hundreds of individual labor and employment law cases on behalf of employees. He has recovered millions of dollars in damages. Notably, Aaron was on the trial team in a unique associational disability discrimination matter against Kaiser Permanente that resulted in one of the top 50 largest labor and employment verdicts in California in 2017 on TopVerdict.com.
Aaron has served as co-lead counsel prosecuting class action suits, including consumer fraud actions, product defect cases, wage and hour actions, and unfair competition and false advertising claims. He has successfully litigated against major corporations such as Apple, Sony, AT&T and UFC, and served as co-lead counsel on a team that negotiated a $25 million settlement on behalf of students who attended (now U.S. President) Donald Trump’s infamous Trump University.
Aaron is currently local counsel for two groups of immigrant parents and children separated at the Mexican border under the United States government’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy. He is also serving as local counsel in a case seeking to uphold The Information Quality Act to ensure government agencies properly disseminate information about immigrants. Aaron has also dedicated much of his time to charitable organizations throughout San Diego.
Aaron has been selected to the California Super Lawyers List every year since 2015, an accolade given to only a small percent of attorneys in Southern California, he was selected as a 2021 Leaders in the Law Awards Finalist in the San Diego Business Journal, and his written work has appeared in the California State Bar Litigation Review and San Diego Lawyer.
Aaron grew up alpine ski racing and competing in downhill mountain bike venues across the country. This competitive drive drew Aaron to triathlons, with him completing his first 140.6-mile Ironman triathlon in 2015. While he continues to enjoy the outdoors, Aaron’s true passion these days is spending time with his wife and two children.
Jenna Rangel is a partner with Haeggquist & Eck and represents employees in claims involving wrongful termination, discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, and wage and hour violations at work. Jenna also represents students who have faced discrimination and sexual harassment by their universities under Title IX.
To Jenna, every detail matters — and she prides herself on developing and nurturing open, trusting relationships with her clients. Jenna approaches every day as an opportunity to stand up for her clients, to help right the wrongs perpetrated by their employers or universities, and to provide closure to her clients so they can move forward with their lives.
Before joining HAE, Jenna worked at a small full-service firm where she focused primarily on employment litigation and counseled employers on a variety of compliance issues. She credits this invaluable experience with her ability to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the matters she now handles for employees.
She has represented clients against such employers as Herbalife, Wyndham, and the Grand Del Mar, as well as government entities like the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, the Orange County Fire Authority, and the County of San Diego. In 2021, together with HAE managing partner Alreen Haeggquist, Jenna successfully represented a San Diego Sheriff’s Department secretary at trial in a sexual harassment case against the department and its former assistant sheriff. In 2018, she and Haeggquist represented a female scientist in a well-publicized case against The Salk Institute that resulted in a confidential settlement.
A native San Diegan, Jenna graduated in 2010 from California Western School of Law, where her tireless dedication to public interest causes, including work for the California Women’s Law Center on matters relating to gender discrimination and for the County of San Diego’s Juvenile Dependency Division assisting in the representation of foster children in court, earned her a spot on the school’s Pro Bono Honor Society. Jenna holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from California State University-Chico and a paralegal certificate from the University of San Diego. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband and young kids.
Our founder shares how her childhood abuse inspired her to become a lawyer fighting for survivors and emphasizes the need for society to break the silence and support women in standing up to their abusers.
100% of proceeds support the HAE Fired Up Foundation, empowering survivors of sexual violence through grants, resources, and scholarships.
