CLASS NOTES SONIA GONZALES ’07
A Voice for the Voiceless The roots of social justice advocacy run deep for Sonia Gonzales ’07, executive director of the California Bar Foundation. Her paternal grandfather came to the United States in 1930 at age 13, undocumented and unaccompanied, to toil in the scorching fields of the Southwest as a migrant farmworker. Nearly two decades later—just before Brown v. Board of Education—Gonzales’ grandfather, Jose “Joe” Gonzales, and a few other Latino parents in Tolleson, Arizona, served as plaintiffs in a lawsuit that successfully challenged the local school district’s policy of racial segregation. “This story inspired me, emboldened me, and provided context for my view on advocacy, the justice system, and the world,” she says. After graduating from Berkeley Law, Gonzales spent two years as assistant director of the ACLU of Northern California. She then became managing director and interim executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area. Since taking the California Bar Foundation reins in 2012, Gonzales has deepened the organization’s commitment to making civil legal assistance accessible to low-income Californians, especially in rural areas. She also has prioritized making the legal profession better reflect state demographics. While nonHispanic whites make up about 39 percent of California’s population, its legal practitioners are more than 80 percent white. As a child in a working-class neighborhood of Glendale, Arizona, Gonzales was acutely aware of the selfperpetuating cycle of socioeconomic inequality. “Growing up, I didn’t have professionals in my family,” she says. “I didn’t have family who had graduated from a university, and I certainly didn’t know any lawyers.” After earning a political science degree from Stanford in 1999, Gonzales turned to politics. She served as presidential candidate John Edwards’ 2004 regional political director, among other high-profile campaign and congressional staff positions. Enrolling in law school after buzzing around the center of national politics took some adjustment. “I started at Berkeley Law with my head half in and half out,” she admits. “Fortunately, I found there were many others who felt as passionately as I do about issues and events outside the classroom.” During law school, Gonzales was inspired to “provide a voice for the voiceless.” The California Bar Foundation has enabled her to do just that. After President Obama’s 2012 executive order establishing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, for example, the foundation provided special grants to legal service organizations assisting the influx of young applicants. “The foundation has been at the table,” she says, “providing thought leadership and resources to address the most critical challenges and opportunities facing the legal services community.” —Wendy Witherspoon 70
| TRANSCRIPT | SPRING 2015
Lawyers’ Board of Governors, and on the board of the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Justice & Diversity Center.
2004
Carolyn Boies Nitta, an
assistant city attorney in Seattle, and her husband, Keith, welcomed their daughter, Claire Fumiko, into their lives in October 2010. Carolyn focuses her practice on public sector employment litigation and counseling, including traditional labor issues. Jordan Cunningham
announced his candidacy for California State Assembly in the 35th Assembly District, which covers San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. He has worked in private practice, as a federal law clerk, and as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. Jordan then returned to his home region, became a deputy district attorney in San Luis Obispo County, and prosecuted a wide range of crimes—including fraud, assault, domestic violence, and environmental violations. A trustee for the Templeton Unified School District, Jordan is president of the Central Coast Taxpayers Association, a nonprofit dedicated to taxpayer education and advocacy. You can learn more about Jordan’s candidacy at JordanCunningham.org.