LCCRSF's 36th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Awards Program Booklet

FEBRUARY 16, 2023

HYATT REGENCY SAN FRANCISCO

LCCRSF Board of Directors

OFFICERS

Stacey Wexler, Chair

Suzette J. Barnes, Chair-Elect Morgan Stanley

DIRECTORS

Hilarie Atkisson Fenwick & West LLP

Colleen Bal Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

María Blanco

Krystal N. Bowen Block, Inc.

John L. Burris Law Offices of John L. Burris

Sara Finigan Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP

Barry Goldstein Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho

Christin J. Hill Morrison & Foerster LLP

Alyssa Koo Pacific Gas and Electric Company

David A. Lowe Rudy, Exelrod, Zieff & Lowe LLP

Thomas McInerney Ogletree Deakins

Bernida Reagan Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services

Priya S. Sanger Chime

Rohit K. Singla Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP

Jacob R. Sorensen Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Tirien Steinbach Stanford Law School

Khari J. Tillery Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP

Amy Tovar San Francisco Giants

Jason Yu Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Dear Friends,

We are overjoyed to come together in person to celebrate the power of service and support for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCRSF).

Every day, LCCRSF works to dismantle the many manifestations of institutionalized racism and oppression of Black communities and people of color through programs in racial, economic and immigrant justice. We employ all strategies — direct services, policy advocacy, impact litigation, media, data and reports, and enlisting new generations of attorneys — to build a more just world.

Tonight, we gather in person for the first time in three years to celebrate our courageous clients, the incredible staff, tremendous pro bono partnership, and our collective work.

We come together to ground in a vision of a world where individuals are recognized for their diverse and overlapping identities and in which those at the crossroads of these systems are safe, celebrated and thriving. We come together in reflection of how to sustain the urgent need to eradicate racism at its roots and to leverage collective consciousness into individual action. As we try to heal from the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are battling the ever more entrenched racial wealth gap, and we cannot forget the historic uprisings against systemic racism and racist violence, as U.S. police killings hit an all-time high in 2022.

2023 marks the 40th anniversary of LCCRSF’s Asylum Program. Over the last four decades, this incredible program has been a pillar, making a life-saving impact on clients’ lives and serving as catalyst for pro bono asylum work in the Bay Area and beyond. Today, though asylum law is increasingly complex, the asylum program has more staff and more cases than ever before.

We hope you have a wonderful evening re-connecting and celebrating all we have accomplished to date, and all that we can do together moving forward.

Thank you for your partnership and for making LCCRSF an enduring institution for change.

In community,

Elica Vafaie

Elisa Della-Piana Interim Executive Director Legal and Deputy Director

We are deeply grateful to our Sponsors

HONORARY CIRCLE

LEADERSHIP CIRCLE

David Lowe & Stephen Murphy

Rohit Singla

Jacob R. Sorensen & E. Anne Hawkins

VISIONARIES

CHAMPIONS

Adobe

Arnold & Porter

Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP

Compass Lexecon

Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP

Covington & Burling LLP

DLA Piper LLP (US)

FTI Consulting

Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP

King & Spalding

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

NERA Economic Consulting

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

Perkins Coie LLP

Ropes & Gray LLP

Khari J. Tillery

Uber

Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger

Stacey Wexler & Michael Page

PARTNERS

Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis LLP

Alston & Bird

Analysis Group, Inc.

APTMetrics

Barg Coffin Lewis & Trapp, LLP

Bird & Bird

Raymond Cardozo & Latika Malkani

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP

Cornerstone Research

Duane Morris LLP

eBay Foundation

FRIENDS

Ackermann & Tilajef, P.C.

Ankura

Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP

María Blanco

The Brandi Law Firm

The Law Offices of John L. Burris

Crowell & Moring LLP

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Dechert LLP

Dolby Laboratories, Inc.

East Bay Community Foundation

Epiq

ADVOCATES

ACLU Foundation of Northern California

Altshuler Berzon LLP

Anonymous

Hilarie Atkisson

Colleen Bal & Alexander Terry

Morris J. Baller & Christine Brigagliano

Suzette & Clifton Barnes

SPECIAL THANKS

Kathy Downey, Hands-On Fundraising

Deirdre Hallman, Deirdre Hallman Events

Farella Braun + Martel LLP

Sara Finigan

Folger Levin LLP

Barry & Sandy Goldstein HP, Inc.

Keller Benvenutti Kim

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP

Mayer Brown LLP

Tom & Julie McInerney

Nixon Peabody LLP

Ogletree Deakins

Genentech, Inc.

Golden State Warriors

Goodwin Procter LLP

Google LLC

Hanson Bridgett LLP

Jenner & Block LLP

Kieve Law Offices

Alyssa Koo

Anahaita Koval & Zubeen Shroff

Lowenstein Sandler LLP

Shauna Marshall & Robert Hirsch

O’Melveny & Myers LLP

California Rural Legal Assistance Inc.

Darin & Mark Conley-Buchsieb

Bret Dickey & Marcie Gutierrez

Foley & Lardner LLP

Corey & Christin Hill

PG&E

Bernida Reagan & James Head

Reed Smith LLP

Rogers Joseph O’Donnell, PC

Rudy, Exelrod, Zieff & Lowe, LLP

Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky Wotkyns LLP

Shartsis Friese LLP

Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P

Sidley Austin LLP

Amy Tovar

Wells Fargo

Oppenheimer Investigations Group LLP

Outten & Golden LLP

PayPal

Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP

San Francisco Giants

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Bill & Renée Sherer

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Van Der Hout, LLP

Jason Yu & Breann Robowski

Iranian American Bar Association - Northern California Chapter

Christine Kurek

Lawless, Lawless & McGrath

Mason Tillman Associates, Ltd.

Priya Sanger

Tirien Angela Steinbach

The Sturdevant Law Firm

Jesse Handsher, Bywater Films

Annabelle Ison & Stuart Chan, Ison Design

(as of January 30, 2023)

LCCRSF Development Committee and Board Members

Isaac Pingree, Lagoonside Pictures

Black National Anthem

LIFT EVERY VOICE AND SING

Music by J. Rosamond Johnson

Lyrics by James Weldon Johnson

Lift every voice and sing, till earth and heaven ring, Ring with the harmonies of Liberty; Let our rejoicing rise, high as the Listening skies, Let it resound Loud as the rolling sea.

Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us; Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, Let us march on till victory is won.

Stony the road we trod, bitter the chastening rod, Felt in the days when hope unborn had died; Yet with a steady beat, have not our weary feet. Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?

We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered; Out from the gloomy past, till now we stand at last Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears. Thou Who hast brought us thus far on the way;

Thou Who hast by Thy might, led us into the light. Keep us forever in the path, we pray.

Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee. Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee. Shadowed beneath Thy hand, may we forever stand, True to our God, true to our native Land.

This Evening’s Program

WELCOME

Renel Brooks-Moon

Program Host

Black National Anthem: “Lift Every Voice and Sing”

Select Ensemble, Oakland School for the Arts

Sólás Burke-Lalgee, Director

Stacey Wexler

Chair, Board of Directors

DINNER BREAK

2023 DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. PRO BONO AWARDS

Arnold & Porter LLP, Father Cuchulain Moriarty Award

La Clínica de La Raza, Anthony F. Logan Award

Fenwick & West LLP, Keta Taylor Colby Award

Seven Hills Law Firm, James T. Caleshu Award

Meg White, Jack W. Londen Award

Presented by Elica Vafaie, Interim Executive Director

THURGOOD MARSHALL FELLOWSHIP APPEAL

Khari J. Tillery

Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP

Former Chair, Board of Directors, and Fellowship Alumnus

LIVING THE DREAM AWARD

Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw

Co-Founder & Executive Director, African American Policy Forum

Professor, UCLA Law & Columbia Law School

Presented by Elisa Della-Piana, Legal and Deputy Director

CLOSING

Renel Brooks-Moon

Renel Brooks-Moon Program Host

Renel Brooks-Moon is a Bay Area native, entering her 24th season as PA Announcer for the San Francisco Giants. She spent 35 years as a local radio and television broadcaster, including stints at 106 KMEL, 98.1 KISS-FM and CBS-5. Renel was recognized by the Baseball Hall of Fame as the first woman to Public Address Announce a world championship game in any professional sport, following Game 3 of the 2002 World Series.

Renel has received numerous awards, including honors from American Women in Radio and Television, Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame, 100 Black Women, Bay Area Black Journalists Association, Girl Scouts of NorCal, and Girls, Inc. Renel was a founding member of Friends of Faith, a non-profit that served low-income Bay Area breast cancer patients.

March 18, 2005, was proclaimed “Renel Brooks-Moon Day” in San Francisco by Mayor Gavin Newsom. In 2014, Renel was profiled in O, The Oprah Winfrey Magazine, as “The Woman Who’s Changing Baseball.” In 2008, she received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, Mills College, and in 2018 she received an honorary doctorate from the University of San Francisco and delivered the commencement address. In 2017, Renel was honored to MC the inauguration of San Francisco’s first African American female mayor, London Breed.

Renel is a 2019 Emmy Award winner as host of the television series “Forever Giants,” and was featured on a limited edition 2020 TOPPS baseball card.

Renel is a graduate of Woodside High School, and received a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Mills College.

Living the Dream Award

Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw Co-Founder & Executive Director, African American Policy Forum Professor, UCLA Law & Columbia Law School

Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, co-founder and executive director of African American Policy Forum and bicoastal professor of law at both UCLA and Columbia, is a pioneering scholar and writer on civil rights, critical race theory, Black feminist legal theory, race, racism, and the law. Crenshaw’s work has been foundational in critical race theory and in intersectionality, both terms she coined.

Professor Crenshaw serves on the Committee on Law and Justice of the National Academies of Science and on the board of the Sundance Institute. Crenshaw has received achievement awards from Planned Parenthood, the National ERA Coalition, and the Outstanding Scholar Award from The Fellows of the American Bar Association (ABF). She was voted one of the ten most important thinkers in the world by Prospect Magazine. She received the 2021 Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lifetime Achievement Award by the Women’s Section of the Association of American Law Schools. Most recently, Professor Crenshaw was named the recipient of the 2021 AALS Triennial Award for Lifetime Service to Legal Education and to the Legal Profession. She is a senior non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institute, and an inductee to The American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Political and Social Science.

2023 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Pro Bono Awards

James T. Caleshu Award

For extraordinary pro bono contribution to the Legal Services for Entrepreneurs (LSE) program, which provides free business legal services to low-income individuals starting or developing forprofit businesses, and to businesses committed to underserved communities

Seven Hills Law Firm

Anuar Ramirez-Medina is a San Franciscobased attorney. His law practice is focused on business and immigration law. He founded Seven Hills Law Firm on a philosophy of providing people-focused legal representation with integrity, proficiency, and creativity. Before law school, he had a short career in public service where he realized that government was not the best catalyst for progress. It is diverse and socially conscious businesses that have the greatest potential to advance society.

Anuar is particularly motivated to bridge the inequality gap that exists today. His small team at Seven Hills Law Firm provides immigrants with sliding scale legal services and also assists them to realize their business goals.

Anuar lives in San Francisco with his wife Melissa and son Gael. When he’s not practicing law he’s building something out of wood or planning his next mountaineering trip to the Eastern Sierras.

Anuar Ramirez-Medina

Jack Londen Award

For protecting and advancing the civil rights of marginalized communities

Meg White

From an early age Meg White was drawn to community building. What started with collecting cans for donations and volunteering with those in need as a child turned into a passion for community organizing as she got older. As a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault, police brutality and corruption, Meg found herself compelled to fight for the underdog, as a means of preservation for herself and protection for those to come after her.

Meg White

Whenever she’s asked about why, she chuckles as she thinks back to an iconic scene in the cartoon Boondocks, between a grandfather and his grandson:

Huey: “What do you do when there’s nothing you can do, but you can’t do nothing?”

Grandad: “You do what you can.”

During the day Meg is a fitness trainer. She owns a virtual and in-person fitness studio focused on decolonizing fitness and uplifting the need for a true focus on self-care through health and mindfulness. After the murder of George Floyd, Meg co-founded a grass roots group called Justice Unites Individuals and Communities Everywhere, or J.U.I.C.E., geared towards bringing the community together to demand equitable changes in the government. Today, Meg focuses on mutual aid, community organizing, and survivors’ rights. She believes the road to equity depends on empowering community members to be self-sufficient. You can get in touch with her at @JUICESacramento or @ActionFitnessCommunity.

Anthony F. Logan Award

Presented to a community partner who has made an outstanding contribution to public interest law and our client communities.

Ms. Jane García is the Chief Executive Officer of La Clínica de La Raza, a federally qualified health center headquartered in Oakland, California. In her 40 years as CEO, Ms. García has grown La Clínica from a $2 million project to an over $145 million organization, employing over 1,200 people. Nearly 80,000 patients are served across 40 sites in Alameda, Contra Costa and Solano Counties. La Clínica is one of the largest community health clinics in the State of California. Ms. García is a community advocate and an activist with a passion for preserving community health care for all residents without regard to income or immigration status.

The mission of La Clínica is to improve the quality of life of the diverse communities it serves by providing culturally appropriate, accessible, and high-quality health care for all. The Health Center provides the full gamut of primary care services, dental, behavioral health, and optometry. Her commitment to community health care has been recognized on numerous occasions.

Ms. García has been recognized as one of “16 Women Who Changed Public Health,” was selected as the 2019 Alumna of the Year by UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health, and is the recipient of their “Public Health Hero-Organizational Hero Award.” Ms. García has also been recognized by the San Francisco Business Times as a Healthcare Hero. Ms. García serves on various boards, including as a founding member of the California Primary Care Association. She serves on the Alameda Health Consortium and the Redwood Community Health Coalition. She has served on The California Endowment Board including serving as its Board Chair.

Ms. García received a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University and a Master’s in Public Health from the University of California at Berkeley.

Jane García

Father Cuchulain Moriarty Award

For advancing immigrant justice through outstanding pro bono legal services

David Barnes concentrates his practice on consumer product and environmental litigation and compliance. He also maintains an active spro bono practice. In conjunction with LCCRSF, he obtained a grant of asylum for his client and her five children in a contested merits hearing. He also represents a class of individuals in lawsuits alleging that certain municipalities engage in unconstitutional debtors’ prison practices.

Zachary Fayne concentrates his practice on environmental litigation and enforcement matters and regulatory counseling. He also maintains an active pro bono practice. In addition to his recent work with LCCRSF to obtain a grant of asylum for a client in San Francisco Immigration Court, he also represents a class of individuals in a series of lawsuits challenging municipal debtors’ prison practices.

Deborah Fishman is a trial attorney who focuses her practice on intellectual property and commercial litigation for life sciences companies. Deborah is registered to practice before the USPTO and has an active practice in post-grant contentious proceedings before the PTAB, district courts, and on appeal to the Federal Circuit. She is also committed to pro bono work and, in particular, asylum work. Before the pandemic, she spent a week at the Mexico-Texas border interviewing detainees for potential pro bono representation and was able to successfully advocate for asylum for a number of her clients.

Rica Santos’s practice comprises a range of civil litigation matters in state and federal courts with a focus on complex commercial litigation. She also devotes time to pro bono efforts including those relating to immigration, workers’ rights, and benefits counseling.

Zachary Fayne

Deborah Fishman

David Barnes

Rica Santos

Keta Taylor Colby Award

Presented to attorneys who provide outstanding representation to underrepresented members of our community, particularly communities of color, through his/her/their involvement in LCCRSF clinics

Eric Ball’s collaborative approach and astute business instincts help both startups and established companies protect, control, and build their most important asset— their name, trademark or brand. Eric maintains an active pro bono practice, seeking out clients who are involved in supporting gender equality issues.

Namita Dhawan focuses her practice on patent litigation, primarily in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries.

Deena Feit represents technology and life sciences clients at all stages of litigation. Deena has successfully represented asylum seekers, and assisted clients with housing, immigration and criminal matters.

Katherine Marshall represents clients in the technology and life sciences industries in litigation matters. In her active pro bono practice, Katherine has filed direct criminal appeals in state court and represented a victim of domestic violence.

Claire Mena’s experience includes representing clients in securities fraud, digital currency and cryptocurrency, and cybersecurity matters. She maintains an active pro bono practice, representing clients in family custody and visitation hearings.

Sam Sahagian advises technology clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to blockchain and Web3 startups on a broad spectrum of issues. He maintains an active pro bono practice, working regularly with nonprofit partners.

Jedediah Wakefield chairs Fenwick’s litigation group and regularly handles high-stakes intellectual property cases for technology and life sciences companies. He has been named an IP Star by Managing Intellectual Property and as one of the top 100 attorneys in Northern California by Super Lawyers. The Daily Journal has honored Jed as a top IP litigation attorney and The Legal 500 has recognized him for trademark litigation.

Jedediah Wakefield

Eric Ball

Katherine Marshall

Sam Sahagian

Namita Dhawan

Deena Feit

Claire Mena

Your Donation Tonight Funds the Thurgood Marshall Fellowship

“The fellowship gave me an unmatched opportunity to develop my leadership skills on cases and projects designed to challenge systems of oppression, particularly racist policing. It allowed me to develop important relationships with visionaries in social justice spaces, as well as have an opportunity to mentor law students and younger attorneys who I deeply admire. I’m proud to carry on this work as part of the fellowship alumni community, and hope many others will be welcomed into this work as future fellows.”

Launched in 1993 with first fellow Van Jones, this distinguished multi-year fellowship provides an opportunity for early-career attorneys to develop legal advocacy skills and champion the civil rights of marginalized communities in the Bay Area and California. Named after legendary Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the Fellowship enables us to add another full-time attorney to our staff and helps us continue its tradition of training young lawyers to be civil rights warriors.

Thurgood Marshall fellows fiercely advocate alongside clients and lead precedent-setting work for racial and social justice: ending police violence, stopping the criminal justice system’s wealth extraction from communities of color, and building more economically inclusive communities.

Each fellows litigate challenges to unconstitutional actions of public agencies and law enforcement, develop policies at the local and state level, draft ground-breaking analytical reports, make extensive media appearances, and collaborate with clients and other community partners for sustained remedies to systemic harms. The Thurgood Marshall Fellowship is a core pillar with a deep legacy of impact over decades, and is urgent to sustain.

Please text FELLOW to 44321 from your cell phone, or give online at lccrsf.org/donate

— Tifanei Moyer, Senior Staff Attorney, Racial Justice & Thurgood Marshall Fellow (2019-2021)

About LCCRSF

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCRSF) is a historic west-coast civil rights institution with a 50+-year track record of dismantling systems of oppression and racism and building a more just and equitable society. Each year, the organization leads more than 30 impact litigation cases and issue campaigns and provides free legal services to more than 1,500 individuals, small businesses, and organizations.

LCCRSF is widely recognized for protecting and advancing the legal rights of communities of color, low-income individuals and families, immigrants, and refugees. LCCRSF’s work is made possible by our generous donors and a network of legal fellows and more than 1,000 pro bono volunteers.

Get Involved — Pro Bono and Volunteer Opportunities

ECONOMIC JUSTICE

LCCRSF is committed to closing the racial wealth gap and empowering communities of color by increasing economic opportunities for individuals to be in control of their livelihoods. We know that a strong economy fuels a community and, without it, disparities can last for generations.

Our signature direct services program, Legal Services for Entrepreneurs (LSE), works with small businesses and entrepreneurs who are starting or have existing businesses. Through our network of pro bono attorneys, we provide a range of free legal services to small businesses and entrepreneurs on leasing, contracts, employment, bankruptcy and more. Pro bono attorneys can provide 1-hour consults, or limited-scope representation. Most services are conducted remotely.

In response to COVID-19’s devastating impact on small businesses, the LSE program is in particular need of additional pro bono assistance. We seek volunteers to help small businesses recover from the pandemic, including muchneeded commercial lease advising and eviction defense.

IMMIGRANT JUSTICE

Since 2016, historically marginalized immigrants have faced an increasingly punitive Immigrants have faced an increasingly punitive immigration system, and unfortunately, the Biden administration has not de-escalated many of the Trump-era harms. Our Immigrant Justice Program works for fair treatment and civic engagement of our immigrant communities. We challenge illegal and immoral immigrant detention and unjust systemic processes. Guiding all our advocacy is our connection to asylum seekers, and our collective work to ensure that they and their families can vindicate their legal rights and remain safe in the United States.

Now celebrating its 40th year, our Asylum Program places asylum seekers with pro bono counsel to represent them in their affirmative asylum applications or in removal proceedings before the San Francisco Immigration Court. Legal status changes lives. The program provides comprehensive trainings and resources, technical assistance, and robust mentorship for the duration of each case so that attorneys are well equipped to handle the complexities of legal representation involved in these highly rewarding cases.

RACIAL JUSTICE

For the past 50+ years, LCCRSF has fought to dismantle the many manifestations of institutionalized white supremacy and the oppression of Black communities and other people of color. We believe, and are working to manifest, that no one should be kept out of school, harassed in public, policed or punished as a result of their race, ethnicity, or poverty. Our mission is ever-urgent amid ongoing police violence against Black and Brown people. We are litigating and advocating to stop this violence, and provide remedy for those who experience intimidation and abuse while protesting racist state violence.

Our GLIDE Unconditional Legal Clinic provides free services and information for any type of legal question to clients in San Francisco’s Tenderloin, many who are unhoused. Pro Bono attorneys with the Clinic provide legal advice and limited help, as well as referrals to other legal centers and organizations for more specialized help. We provide training and resources to attorneys participating in the Clinic. Clinics are Monday and Thursday afternoons and pro bono attorneys can provide assistance remotely.

The People’s Clinic seeks recompense for individuals harmed by law enforcement, and collects first person accounts and support for impact litigation and policy change. In particular, the virtual clinic helps those who were harmed but not enough to obtain a personal injury attorney, with administrative claims and small claims assistance. We raise up the needs and claims of Black and Latinx people with disabilities, who are often targeted, disproportionately harmed, and ignored in policing reforms.

INTERPRETERS

We have an on-going need for Spanish-speaking volunteers to translate documents and interpret at client-attorney meetings and in court.

IMPACT ADVOCACY & LITIGATION

We often seek pro bono counsel in impact litigation across all our programs, for amicus brief or for legal research.

To sign up to volunteer, visit lccrsf.org/get-involved or email volunteer@lccrsf.org

If you or your company or firm has additional ideas for partnership, please contact Chriselle Raguro, Pro Bono & Strategic Partnerships Director, at craguro@lccrsf.org to discuss.

LCCRSF Members

Our members are dedicated social justice advocates and allies committed to working together to further the civil rights movement here in the Bay Area, statewide, and beyond. We aim for membership that is inclusive and representative of this diverse movement, and to provide meaningful engagement opportunities to foster connections among members and communities. Our members include, among others, pro bono volunteer attorneys, former clients, organizers, civil rights leaders and individuals committed to fighting racism and oppression, dismantling inequities and building a society that values every person equally.

Members are critical to achieving our mission. They help us raise LCCRSF’s profile in the community, contribute and mobilize resources, participate in our Racial, Economic, and/or Immigrant Justice programs by providing pro bono assistance to clinics and litigation, and encourage others to volunteer, support and get involved. Members gather each fall for an annual meeting to renew commitment and resolve to the movement for civil rights and social justice.

If you are interested in being considered for membership, please contact Mark Conley-Buchsieb at mconleybuchsieb@lccrsf.org.

Mark N. Aaronson

Fairuz Abdullah

David Abella

Eliot Adelson

Monty Agarwal

Simona Agnolucci

Banafsheh Akhlaghi

William F. Alderman

Paul Alexander

David Alfaro

Maureen Alger

Nick Aries

William M. Audet

Khaldoun A. Baghdadi

David Balabanian

Merri Baldwin

Morris J. Baller

Chambord BentonHayes

Peter J. Benvenutti

David Berger

William Bernstein

Richard Boswell

Alexander L. Brainerd

Harry B. Bremond

Suzanna Brickman

Brian P. Brosnahan

James J. Brosnahan

Donald W. Brown

George H. Brown

Thomas R. Burke

Darci E. Burrell

Elizabeth Cabraser

James T. Caleshu

Peter H. Carson

Eric S. Casher

Sirena Castillo

Eve Cervantez

Lin Chan

Renee G. Chantler

Jake Christensen

Susan B. Christian

Ty Clarke

Eugene Clark-Herrera

Peter Graham Cohn

Joseph W. Cotchett

Nora Cregan

Quinn Delaney

John Denvir

Kelly M. Dermody

Josh Dick

Pamela S. Duffy

Renée DuPree

Daralyn J. Durie

Christopher Edley

Jon B. Eisenberg

Kimberlei D. Evans

Brienne Fabela

Frank E. Farella

Simona A. Farrise

Farschad Farzan

Howard Fine

Nancy L. Fineman

Scott A. Fink

Sarah G. Flanagan

Jayne E. Fleming

Joshua R. Floum

Kevin M. Fong

Kendra Fox-Davis

Charles N. Freiberg

Robert T. Fries

David M. Furbush

David A. Gabianelli

Angel Garganta

Sonia Gonzales

Arturo J. Gonzalez

Blaine L. Green

Adam Gutride

Joan Haratani

Julianne Harper

Jimi Harris

Michael Harris

Nancy E. Harris

Nicole D. Harris

Robert L. Harris

Terry J. Helbush

Venessa Henlon

Joshua Hill

Laura Ho

Shari Hollis-Ross

Laura Hurtado

Hojoon Hwang

Susan Jamison

Edward E. Kallgren

Scott Karchmer

Pamela S. Karlan

Leslie Keil

John Keker

Loren Kieve

Leigh Kirmsse

William Kissinger

Tal Klement

Cassandra Knight

Celia Lee

Jack W. Lee

Jennifer C. Lee

Norene Lew

Jack Londen

Thomas V. Loran, III

Kay Lucas

Lindsay Lutz

Jim Lynch

James R. Madison

Lisa Mak

Raymond C. Marshall

Niall P. McCarthy

Robert A. McFarlane

William C. McNeill

Alisha Meyer

Erin Meyer

Julian Patrick Michael

Dale Minami

Catherine Moreno

Christophe Mosby

Melissa Murray

Karen Musalo

Megan Niedermeyer

Heather Nyong’o

Danielle Ochs

Neil H. O’Donnell

Ann O’Leary

Catherine Ongiri

Maria L. Ontiveros

David B. Oppenheimer

Marta Palacios

Beth H. Parker

Mark G. Parnes

Eva Paterson

Al Pfeiffer

James G. Potter

Kian Andrea

Humbertina PourKhorshid

Tracy Preston

Pamela Price

Kathi J. Pugh

Laurence F. Pulgram

Christopher Punongbayan

Drucilla Ramey

Robert G. Retana

Matthew Richards

Margaret Richardson

Mara E. Rosales

Michael Rubin

Michael Rugen

Vincent Ruiz

Connie Sardo

Jake Schatz

Hope Schmeltzer

Anthony P. Schoenberg

Aaron Schur

Allison C. Schutte

Amitai Schwartz

Kenneth M. Seeger

Rahael Seifu

Monique Sherman

Dane Shikman

Travis Silva

Shirin Sinnar

Howard A. Slavitt

Tirien A. Steinbach

Christine Sun

Ryan Takemoto

Lauren Thomas

Tiffany Thomas

Chris Tirrell

Michael Traynor

Rocky Tsai

Michael K. Ungar

Marc Van Der Hout

Rick Van Duzer

Cecillia Wang

Greg Washington

Rachel Williams

Jacq Wilson

Jacque Wilson

Julia Wilson

Bianca Sierra Wolff

Douglas R. Young

Tiseme Zegeye

In Memoriam

Nina Louise Frankel (1957-2021)

LCCRSF wishes to recognize Nina L. Frankel’s contributions to our organization as a longtime dedicated Asylum Program volunteer interpreter, and expresses gratitude for Nina’s incredible generosity, including support in the form of a bequest. A native San Franciscan, Nina had a multi-decade career as a public health advocate, a campaigner for free and fair elections, and an outspoken defender of international justice, refugee safety, and human and civil rights. Nina will be dearly remembered for the joy and energy she brought to her volunteer work and to LCCRSF whenever she and her dog, Comet, came into the office. She made an indelible mark on everyone whose lives she touched as an interpreter with our asylum program.

Jack Donald Siebert (1943-2022)

LCCRSF wishes to recognize Jack D. Siebert’s contributions to our organization as a dedicated Asylum Program volunteer interpreter for over fifteen years. Originally from Wisconsin, Jack was a lifelong English as a Second Language teacher who spent countless hours volunteering with organizations supporting asylum seekers and the LBGTQIA community. Jack will be remembered as a passionate and informative interpreter who went above and beyond as a volunteer.

If you are interested in planned giving or making a legacy gift, please contact LCCRSF’s development director, Mark Conley-Buchsieb, at mconleybuchsieb@lccrsf.org.

LCCRSF Staff

Bréyon Austin

Pro Bono Manager

Bree Bernwanger

Senior Attorney, Immigrant Justice

Amanda Bhuket

Senior Attorney, Immigrant Justice

Lolita Brayman

Temporary Pro Bono Manager

Mark Conley-Buchsieb Development Director

Leo Cranney Program Associate, Pro Bono

Elisa Della-Piana Legal and Deputy Director

Deborah Escobedo Senior Attorney, Racial Justice

Lee Ann Felder-Heim Justice Catalyst Fellow

Bismah Jaffer Staff Attorney, Economic Justice

Ana Vargas Lau

Program Coordinator, Economic Justice

Crystal Lê Grants Coordinator

Yajaira Martinez

Temporary Asylum Program Assistant

Isha Mazumdar Legal Assistant, Immigrant Justice

Tifanei Moyer

Senior Attorney, Racial Justice

Katie O’Neill Executive Assistant

Jaime Pensabene

Receptionist and Operations Assistant

Flora Pereira

Staff Attorney, Immigrant Justice

Victoria Petty Immigrant Justice Fellow

Jassmin Poyaoan

Senior Attorney, Economic Justice

Chriselle Raguro

Director of Pro Bono and Strategic Partnerships

Hayden Rodarte Staff Attorney, Immigrant Justice

Neda Shahram Program Coordinator, Racial Justice

Hewot Shankute

Senior Attorney, Economic Justice

Nancy Shaw

Chief Operating Officer

Zal Shroff Staff Attorney, Racial Justice

Raya Steier Communications Manager

Bekah Stroik

Program Coordinator, Immigrant Justice

Nicole Ubinas Program Coordinator, Economic Justice

Elica Vafaie Interim Executive Director

Charlene Valentin

Human Resources and Operations Manager

Kurtis Wu

Communications & Development Associate

is a proud sponsor of LCCRSF’s 36th Annual MLK Awards Dinner

We honor LCCRSF Partners and Community for their

As one of the oldest civil rights institutions on the West Coast, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCRSF) works to dismantle systems of oppression and racism and build an equitable and just society. The annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Awards honor the outstanding contributions of pro bono attorneys, other volunteers, clients, and community partners for advancing the rights of those most impacted by systemic injustice.