Welcome to the 2024 editions of The Change Maker — California ChangeLawyers digital magazine made specifically for our community of supporters and alumni.
The Change Maker is named after you, the readers, who help make change happen within the legal sector, legal professions and the lives of our ChangeLawyers scholars, fellows, alumni and extended family.
As a reminder, The Change Maker magazine is quarterly and 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. Let us know if you have any feedback or want to hear other stories from us.
Welcome to The Change Maker.
CALIFORNIA CHANGELAWYERS STAFF (LEFT TO RIGHT): CARLOS AGUILAR, CHRIS PUNONGBAYAN, JASJIT SINGH, STACI L. YOUNG, BROOKE CANNELLA.
A LETTER FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
A YEAR OF TRANSFORMATION AT CHANGELAWYERS
This year has been a pivotal one for ChangeLawyers, one marked by deep reflection, bold visioning, and important strides toward our future. We are excited to share with you the culmination of a year-long process: our 2024-2026 Strategic Directions and our firstever Theory of Change. The development of our Theory of Change has been a collaborative effort, with input from both our board and staff over six months. This work was essential in refining our mission for modern times and sharpening our focus on the path forward.
At the heart of our new Theory of Change is an articulation of our organizational vision:
“We envision a fullyinclusive democracy led by vigilant changemakers who safeguard the humanity of all.”
This vision underscores our core belief that a strong, inclusive democracy depends on a well-functioning, representative legal system. Furthermore, our legal institutions must serve all people fairly and equitably. When the public loses trust in the legal system itself, it weakens the very foundation of our democracy.
In our new Theory of Change, we acknowledge that racism and class inequality are deeply embedded in our laws and legal institutions. These realities create barriers to opportunity for marginalized communities and have contributed to a growing mistrust in the legal system.
Now, in addition to our longstanding focus on increasing access to justice for indigent Californians, our philanthropic work actively supports individuals and organizations fighting to transform unfair laws and policies.
This shift in approach is both an evolution and a reflection of the challenges we face in creating a truly just society. As we move into the next phase of our work, we are more committed than ever to strengthening the legal system to ensure a healthy democracy.
We couldn’t do this work without you—your support is vital to catalyzing our vision into reality. Thank you for standing with us as we continue to advance our mission of building a better justice system for all Californians.
With gratitude,
Chris Punongbayan
CHRIS PUNONGBAYAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & 2003 CHANGELAWYERS SCHOLAR
STAFF HIGHLIGHTS
CHRIS ON THE MOVE
ChangeLawyers Executive Director, Chris Punongbayan, spoke at 3 convenings in late October. The first was moderating a panel at the biannual conference of Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, held in Detroit. The panel, Investing with Purpose in Legal Strategies to Advance Migrant Justice, offered an opportunity to address funders across the country about the importance of immigration legal fellowships. The second was a keynote presentation at the Pathways to Justice conference on Becoming
a Resilient Public Interest Lawyer, which introduced attendees to the practice of mindfulness. The last was at UC Davis Law School for Filipino Law Student Association's Culture Week, where he served on a panel with the Honorable Judge Danette Brown, the first Filipino American judge in the 159 year history of Yolo County Superior Court.
CARLOS: A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin
WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING, READING, OR LISTENING TO?
BROOKE: Rewatching Gilmore Girls!
STACI: Morning Becomes Eclectic on KCRW
JASJIT: How to Listen by Thich Nhat Hanh
CHRIS: Lovely One by Ketanji Brown Jackson
BOARD NEWS
Thank you and farewell to our Board Members, Rasha Gerges Shields and Mark Selwyn, who have been monumental in our growth and vision.
Outgoing Board President, Rasha Gerges Shields, partner at Jones Day in Los Angeles, with board service from 2017-2024, including Secretary in 2022.
Outgoing Board Secretary, Mark Selwyn, partner at WilmerHale in Palo Alto, with board service from 20162024, including 2019-2022 as Vice President.
Alexis Amezcua, partner at Morrison Foerster in San Francisco, will be our Board President for the 2024-2025 term. We look forward to celebrating our 35th year as an organization next year under Alexis' leadership.
Thursday, April 10, 2025
5:00-7:30pm
Freight & Salvage
Berkeley, CA
INTRODUCING OUR 2024-2026 STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS
2024-2026
As we're nearing our 35th year of existence, ChangeLawyers did some deep thinking and reflection of the importance and impact of our work, and we set ambitious goals for ourselves for the next 24 months.
We are proud to share our 20242026 Strategic Directions.
Thanks to the hard work of our current board and staff, we have developed our first-ever "Theory of Change," which is the What, Why, and How of our work. We have also created four internal and external goals for ChangeLawyers, which articulate the impact we seek to have on the California legal community, from law students to non-profit organizations to our supporters like all of you.
Please take a look and come with us on this journey in our new strategic directions.
READ OUR NEW STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS
GRANTEE PARTNER
ChangeLawyers exist to be in service of our community— to listen and respond to their needs and objectives. That is why this past summer, we conducted a Survey of all Legal Empowerment Fund grantees. This feedback will shape our future grant making.
We are honored to report that our grantees feel very positively about their relationship with us—90% see ChangeLawyers trusted partner. In the last few years, we have made an effort to go “beyond the dollar” by providing grantees with capacity-building trainings and convening spaces, and over 60% of grantees have benefited from this holistic approach and would like to see more.
90% of Legal Empowerment Fund grantees see ChangeLawyers as a trusted partner
“ChangeLawyers
funds cutting edge issues and help movement lawyers push for real
change.”
PARTNER SURVEY
“ChangeLawyers also works as an advocate, not just a funder.”
“The application process is straightforward, understandable, and not time-intensive.”
MORE THAN
60%
of Legal Empowerment Fund grantees have benefited from ChangeLawyers' holistic approach and would like to see more
“They communicate directly with their grantees, and offer our staff offer trainings and capacity building opportunities.”
“Flexible, goal-oriented funding.”
MONSERRAT ALVARADO (she/her/hers)
UCLA SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by WilmerHale LLP
BERENICE BARAJAS (she/her/hers)
UCLA SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by Morrison & Foerster Foundation
ANGELICA GREEN (she/her/hers)
UC DAVIS SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by AirBnB
HADEEL AMIR (she/her/hers)
BERKELEY LAW sponsored by Morrison & Foerster LLP
SABRINA COOK (she/her/hers)
UC DAVIS SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP
SANDRA HERRERA (she/her/hers)
CALIFORNIA WESTERN SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by Klinedinst PC
ANGEL ANENE (she/her/hers)
COLUMBIA LAW SCHOOL sponsored by Morrison & Foerster LLP
NIMSI NAIN GARCIA SANDOVAL (she/her/hers)
UC LAW SAN FRANCISCO (FORMERLY UC HASTINGS) sponsored by WilmerHale LLP
DREW JONES (she/her/hers)
YALE LAW SCHOOL sponsored by Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
RACHEL KENNARD (she/her/hers)
UC DAVIS SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by PG&E Foundation
GENESIS LEWIS (she/her/hers)
PEPPERDINE CARUSO SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by Kirkland & Ellis LLP
ANGELENE VILLANUEVA OBEDOZA (she/her/hers)
UC DAVIS SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by Keesal Young & Logan LLP
TEJA KIM (she/her/hers)
UCLA SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
RODRIGO MARTINEZ (he/him/his)
UC IRVINE SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by AirBnB
ESTRELLA RAMOS (she/her/hers)
UC IRVINE SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by WilmerHale LLP
ANDY LE (he/him/his)
SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
CHRISTIAN MEYER (he/him/his)
STANFORD LAW SCHOOL sponsored by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation
INES RODRIGUEZ (she/her/hers)
UCLA SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by WilmerHale LLP
MAYA SALAMEH (she/her/hers and they/them/theirs)
UCLA SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by WilmerHale LLP
SIDNEY WRIGHT (she/her/hers)
BERKELEY LAW sponsored by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation
KHUE TRAN (she/her/hers)
BERKELEY LAW sponsored by Morrison & Foerster Foundation
CHERLY VALDEZ (she/her/hers)
UCLA SCHOOL OF LAW sponsored by Anjan Memorial Scholarship, Funded by Family, Friends and Partners of MTO and MTO Foundation
NEXTGEN FALL RECEPTION
On October 16th, ChangeLawyers hosted our fall NextGen Scholarship Reception at the MoFo offices in San Francisco. Thank you to Morrison Foerster for hosting us this year.
We were able to host around 80 people including our cohort of 22 1L scholars and their families and friends, representatives from sponsoring firms and companies and ChangeLawyers staff and board members. We enjoyed delicious eats while mingling and communing. And for the highlight of the event, we invited each scholar to share their social justice story and vision for the future.
We, along with their families and friends, are so proud of this year's cohort of 1L Scholars and are excited to welcome them into the ChangeLawyers community.
As a reminder, ChangeLawyers matches sponsors with deserving scholars for a $7,500 scholarship award and Next Gen leaders programming.
This year, we are proud to launch a new mentorship program for scholars which features a cohort model of mentorship. Scholars are divided into small groups to meet with and learn from a ChangeLawyer legal changemaker in the interest area of their choice. We want to give a special thank you to our current mentors, Chris Punongbayan, Bennie Mackey II, Cecilia Chen, Corin Korenga, Judge Carlos Dominguez, Rasha Gerges Shields and Teresa Beck.
Let’s send good luck and well wishes to this amazing group of changemakers as they continue their first year of studies.
THANK YOU SPONSORS!
ILFP CONVENING
CHANGELAWYERS IS PROUD TO BE A KEY PARTNER IN THE 20232026 CALIFORNIA IMMIGRATION LEGAL FELLOWSHIP (ILFP).
This program trains the next generation of deportation defense fellows for the highlyunderserved regions of the Inland Empire, Central Valley, and Central Coast of California. More information about the program can be found here.
On November 21st and 22nd, ChangeLawyers convened stakeholders in Riverside to celebrate the first full year of the cohort and review the work that was done in 2024. Led by Emily Scivoletto from UC Davis Law School, the fellows, mentors, and host organizations shared successes of the past year’s work, as well as thoughts on how they can move forward in 2025.
OUR WORK IS JUST GETTING STARTED.
2025 will be a momentous year, in more ways than one. Making a donation helps us prepare for the work ahead. Consider making a yearend gift to California ChangeLawyers!
