THE
CHANGE NOVEMBER 2023 ISSUE
MAKER
MAGA ZINE
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CALIFORNIA CHANGEL AW YERS STAFF (LEFT TO RIGHT): CARLOS AGUIL AR, CHRIS PUNONGBAYAN, JASJIT SINGH, STACI L. YOUNG, BROOKE CANNELL A.
W
elcome to the final issue of The Change Maker! Named after you, our supporters, who help make change happen in our communities, the legal profession and the lives of our ChangeLawyers scholars, fellows, alumni and extended family. As a reminder, The Change Maker comes exclusively to ChangeLawyers supporters and alumni every three months.
In 2023, we brought you issues in February, May, August, and now November. Each issue features key updates, articles, news and information about the work and stories of California ChangeLawyers. We hope you enjoy reading through this year's stories. Welcome to The Change Maker!
TABLE OF CONTENTS 4
Letter from Executive Director
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Staff at Unity Summit
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Listen4Good Survey Results
12
Scholar Directory
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Announcing the 1L NextGen Scholarship Cohort
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NextGen Fall Reception & Mixers
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Thank you to the ChangeCatalyst
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A LETTER FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR F
or those of you who don’t know, I’m not originally from California. Just before I moved here 22 years ago to start law school, I lived in New York City. I actually arrived in California in August 2001, just weeks before the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Shortly after those horrible events, I witnessed how our great state and country retreated from the promises of our multiracial democracy. The rise of Islamophobia and xenophobia was palpable. I also saw how courageous lawyers and legal
organizations stood up to fight for inclusion and belonging for all. Today, it appears that a version of that history is repeating itself. Islamophobia is on the rise in the United States. Anti-semitism also is on the rise. Polarization is becoming more and more pronounced across so many aspects of our society, including in the legal community. And the time has again come for courageous individuals and organizations to stand up and fight to end discrimination and hate in all its forms.
I’m moved by a recent writing from the Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley. “We believe all people are of equal dignity and worth, and that all people belong. This is what our future demands.” There is no hierarchy of human value. These are teachings that we would do well not to forget. What is here in the present will show up in the future. Can we eradicate othering and exclusion today so that tomorrow will be a future where all truly feel they belong here in
our state and country? This is hard work. I don’t pretend to know all of the details and certainly don’t have all of the answers. But, I know that our North Star is inclusion and belonging for Californians of all backgrounds. I will keep looking up until we are all there. In partnership,
Chris Punongbayan CHRIS PUNONGBAYAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 5
DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS, JASJIT SINGH WAS FEATURED IN UNIT Y SUMMIT'S DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS
STAFF AT UNITY SUMMIT 2023 THE GOALS OF THE SUMMIT: •
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ast month from Oct 16-19th, ChangeLawyers staff attended the Change Philanthropy's 2023 Unity Summit. We attended both inperson in Los Angeles and virtually and met philanthropy professionals from all over the US. We were able to hear from industry experts and changemakers as well as add to discussions around how we can collectively make change within our field and for our communities.
•
•
Highlight how to integrate diversity, equity and inclusion towards liberation into philanthropic practice. Amplify racially equitable philanthropic practices that address structural and institutional change. Magnify our partners' community priorities with an intersectional approach.
We look forward to using to bringing this insight and knowledge to the work we are doing at ChangeLawyers! 7
LISTEN4GOOD A C
hangeLawyers recently partnered with Listen4Good, an organization that gives nonprofits the tools to collect feedback from the people they help. In our case, we decided to ask our Scholars and Fellows (over 1200 of them!) to tell us what they need to succeed as first generation lawyers. Nearly 70% of respondents are under the age of 44, and 50% of them are either recent graduates or students. THERE IS A CLEAR AND OVERWHELMING DESIRE TO BECOME INDUSTRY LEADERS. Over 60% want to become law firm partners, business owners, or nonprofit executives, and over 50% want to join the bench or run for office.
But becoming leaders isn’t easy, and we asked our alumni what kind of resources they value. 60% are extremely or very likely to attend skills workshops, with legal skills and financial literacy training taking the top spots. Just as importantly, a majority of respondents asked for access to influential lawyer networks, mentorship programs, and community building events. These results are invaluable, and will help guide how ChangeLawyers evolves to provide the most needed help. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED!
ALUMNI SURVEY MORE THAN
60%
of ChangeLawyers alumni want to become law firm partners, business owners, or nonprofit executives
MORE THAN
50%
of ChangeLawyers alumni want to join the bench or run for office
SU RV E Y CO N T I N U E D
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WHAT CAN CHANGELAWYERS BRING TO YOU OR DO TO HELP YOU SUCCEED AS FIRST GENERATION LAWYERS? “ChangeLawyers is an incredible community that I was and am so honored to join. ChangeLawyers is good at creating a place of belonging.”
“Providing quality trainings and being a progressive front in the field.”
“Panels, resources, fast disbursement of scholarships, and online events.”
“An alumni group can bring exclusive programming and support networks.”
“Focus on how we can thrive as BIPOC and/or first generation professionals.”
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DID YOU KNOW CHANGELAWYERS HAS A SCHOLAR AND FELLOW DATABASE?
Every year, ChangeLawyers awards over 70 scholarships and public interest fellowships to future changemakers. To pay tribute to each of our scholars and fellows, we recently created a dynamic, responsive database to house profiles for all past and present ChangeLawyers scholars and fellows. Please watch the above screen recording to help you search, filter, and find the profiles in our database.
M E E T O U R N E W E S T SC H O L A R S A N D DO N' T FORGET TO VISIT THEIR PROFILES IN THE DIRECTORY
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This is What ChangeLawyers Look Like INTRODUCING THE 2023 1L NEXTGEN SCHOLARS!
ADAM DEAN (he/him/his)
UC BERKELEY SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by Keesal Young & Logan
ALEJANDRA ZAMORA (she/her/hers)
UC BERKELEY SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation
ARIANNA VALENCIA (she/her/hers)
SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW Apple scholar, sponsored by Morrison & Foerster LLP
BLAKE KRAWL (he/him/his)
CESAR LEDESMA (he/him/his)
CHELSEA GONZALEZ (she/her/hers)
CHRIS ADAMS (he/him/his)
CLEO ADEBIYI (she/her/hers)
CYNTHIA MENDOZA (she/her/hers)
ESPERANZA ALONSO (she/her/hers)
ESTEFANIA PACHECO (she/her/hers)
EUGENE KIM (he/him/his)
UCLA SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by Manatt
MCGEORGE SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by Dolan Law Firm
SOUTHWESTERN LAW SCHOOL sponsored by Klinedinst PC
UC DAVIS SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by Downey Brand
UC DAVIS SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by California Lawyers Foundation
UC LAW SAN FRANCISCO (FORMERLY UC HASTINGS) sponsored by The Morrison & Foerster Foundation
LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL LOS ANGELES sponsored by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation
RUTGERS LAW SCHOOL sponsored by Reed Smith LLP, in memory of Deborah Broyles
UC LAW SAN FRANCISCO (FORMERLY UC HASTINGS) sponsored by California Lawyers Foundation
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HANNAH BEAUCHAMP-POPE (she/her/hers)
JACOB RIVERA (he/him/his)
JESSICA WILLIAMS (she/her/hers)
JOHN DOVER (he/him/his)
JORDAN LYNNE FRAY (she/her/hers)
JOSE LOPEZ (he/him/his)
KARINA DAMIAN (she/her/hers)
KENNEDY COLEMAN (she/her/hers)
LIZET MAGAÑA (she/her/hers)
UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by WilmerHale
UCLA SCHOOL OF LAW Intel scholar, sponsored by WilmerHale LLP
LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL LOS ANGELES sponsored by Pillsbury
UC LAW SAN FRANCISCO (FORMERLY UC HASTINGS) sponsored by California Lawyers Foundation
USC GOULD SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by Kirkland & Ellis
USC GOULD SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by The Morrison & Foerster Foundation
LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL LOS ANGELES sponsored by Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
UC IRVINE SCHOOL OF LAW Roche & Genentech scholar, sponsored by WilmerHale LLP
LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL LOS ANGELES Apple scholar, sponsored by WilmerHale LLP
MIKE LI (he/him/his)
MOLIZABETH SIENG (she/her/hers)
NICOLE SUMMER SHARIFI (she/her/hers)
PATIENCE RANJANI MCHENRY (she/her/hers)
PAULINA RUIZ REYES (she/her/hers)
RUBEN PIÑUELAS (he/him/his)
RUTH HERNANDEZ (she/her/hers)
SALESHIA ELLIS (she/her/hers)
ZADIE ADAMS (they/them/theirs, she/her/hers)
CORNELL LAW SCHOOL sponsored by Cox, Castle & Nicholson
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA LAW SCHOOL Apple scholar, sponsored by WilmerHale LLP
UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by California Lawyers Foundation
UC LAW SAN FRANCISCO (FORMERLY UC HASTINGS) sponsored by LimNexus
SOUTHWESTERN LAW SCHOOL UPS scholar, sponsored by Morrison & Foerster LLP
UC DAVIS SCHOOL OF LAW Intel scholar, sponsored by WilmerHale LLP
SOUTHWESTERN LAW SCHOOL Roche & Genentech scholar, sponsored by WilmerHale LLP
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LAW SCHOOL Anjan Choudhury Memorial Scholarship Fund, made possible by MTO Foundation
UC BERKELEY SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by PG&E
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2023 NEXTGEN FALL RECEPTION & IN-PERSON MIXERS
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ast month, we welcomed 30 1L Scholars into the ChangeLawyers community and hosted them in a virtual reception with family, friends and scholarship sponsors. The virtual reception had over 70 attendees all excited and proud to congratulate our deserving NextGen scholars. MC of the night Michael Tate livened up the zoom and the chat as each of our 30 scholars gave impactful, passionate speeches. Afterwards, scholars were able to virtually meet
their sponsors and ChangeLawyers board members and engage in some networking. In addition to the virtual reception, we hosted two in-person mixers in Oakland and the Bay Area. These mixers allowed for scholars, sponsors, alumni and board members to meet and mingle as we congratulated our newest community members. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SUPPORTED, ATTENDED OR PARTICIPATED IN THESE CELEBRATORY EVENTS!
SCHOL ARS, ALUMNI, STAFF AND BOARD MEMBERS AT THE OAKL AND AND LOS ANGELES MIXERS.
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THANK YOU TO OUR SCHOLARSHIP SPONSORS
THANK YOU FOR MAKING OUR EVENTS POSSIBLE
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THANK YOU CHANGECATALYST Thank you for being the catalyst we need and thank you for sustaining your giving! Bennie Mackey II
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