While Debbie Liu has always known it’s important to protect the earth, in recent years she’s become passionate about the environment. In addition to taking everyday actions, like recycling and conserving water, she uses her legal expertise to fight climate change. As vice president and general counsel for The Wilderness Society, Liu ensures the organization’s […]
Features Nonprofit
Yun Kim – KOTRA Los Angeles
At an age when most children are begging their parents for a puppy, playing with dolls, or squealing with delight at birthday parties, Yun Kim of South Korea knew exactly what she wanted to do when she grew up: become an English-speaking attorney in the U.S. In 2008, with a law degree and work visa […]
Jose Antonio Rodriguez – Acacia Network Inc.
It’s a cycle that can be mentally taxing, Jose Antonio Rodriguez acknowledges. Chief legal officer and executive vice president of New York’s largest Hispanic-led nonprofit, Acacia Network Inc., he’s aided some of the most underserved communities statewide and beyond. “At least we know we’re making a dent,” he tells Vanguard in April from Acacia’s headquarters […]
Matthew Clarkson – Chugach Electric Association
The monthly utility bills in and around Anchorage, Alaska, have been at least a few dollars less since January, tangible proof that there can be cost savings when neighboring energy producers combine. That’s what happened last October, when Chugach Electric Association acquired a smaller, neighboring utility, Anchorage Municipal Light & Power. The nearly $1 billion […]
Mona Stone – Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona & Goodwill Industries of Monocacy Valley
Asked how she became the capable and determined attorney she is today, Mona Stone’s response is quick and unequivocal. “I’m a product of great mentorship,” she says. Without those early mentors, Stone says she likely wouldn’t have become the first Indian American attorney to scale the ranks at Locke Lord, a nationally recognized firm with […]
Stephen Kao – American Bible Society
The force will be with you—and in more ways than one—with the opening of the American Bible Society’s Faith and Liberty Discovery Center in Philadelphia in May 2021. From the moment visitors walk into its two floors of display in Independence Mall they will be handed a glowing lamp—akin to a Star Wars light saber—that […]
Lisa Gasbarre Black – Catholic Charities, Diocese of Cleveland
Being evicted, unemployed, or left hungry are what some Ohio residents faced in the wake of COVID-19. Here to combat the plight of the downtrodden, however, is Catholic Charities Diocese of Cleveland. Founded in 1912, the nonprofit charitable organization in recent times delivered more than 150 services at 60 locations to more than 400,000 individuals […]
Guy Billauer – American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
Guy Billauer isn’t the only attorney who gets calls at all hours of the day and night. It’s just that he gets them from more time zones, and that’s only part of his job as general counsel and chief compliance officer for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, which is better known by its JDC […]
Brett Dakin – Child Mind Institute
Depression. Post-traumatic stress disorder. Abuse. Anxiety. Under “normal” circumstances, many of today’s young people struggle with mental health and learning disorders. Now, add to the mix COVID-19, school closures, civil unrest. It’s a lot for a child to process, says Brett Dakin, general counsel for the Child Mind Institute, noting that the number of […]
Tim Phillips – American Cancer Society
Tim Phillips can’t emphasize it enough: The American Cancer Society’s mission is a lifesaving one. And while the Naval veteran and experienced attorney was attracted to this noble charge—as well as the unique, underlying legal challenges—he hadn’t been impacted by the insidious disease. That was, until 2009 when a close friend and fellow veteran was […]
