Candidate Responses:

Please summarize the reasons you are submitting this nomination

I am nominating myself because I am incredibly impressed by the work of the Partnership. I have worked with their advocates on legislation and attended events put on by the Partnership. I think the work that the Partnership does is incredibly important, and even more valuable now, considering the attacks on the communities that the Partnership and its member organizations serve. I spent many years working with low-income individuals to resolve their legal issues. I know that the work that the Partnership does is necessary and impactful. We worked closely with domestic
violence shelters to assist survivors with their legal needs, and I saw how those organizations were able to rely on the Partnership and connect with other similarly situated organizations to address the issues their clients were seeing. In my current role, I work with legal services organizations across California on nonprofit governance and management. There are more challenges now than ever before, and I believe that my legal education and passion for the work of the partnership could be
very beneficial in ensuring the Partnership is managing risks to itself, to its members, and to the client communities that it serves.

How does this person’s values align with the Partnership, including centering underrepresented voices?

I am an attorney who has worked in public interest my whole career. In law school I worked for the Cancer Legal Resource Center, the California Women’s Law Center, and the Children’s Law Center. After graduating, I spent 14 years at the Public Law
Center, which is a nonprofit legal services organization providing free civil legal assistance to low-income individuals in Orange County. Most of my career was spent in consumer law, working with low-income individuals on bankruptcy, debt collection defense, student loans, homeownership fraud, and other areas. In that work I represented individuals who did not speak English as their primary language, who were immigrants to this country, and who were survivors of intimate partner violence, elder abuse, and other crimes. I used to view my role as speaking for people who
could not speak for themselves, but as I grew, I understood that my role was to offer an opportunity for my clients to use their voice. Sometimes they spoke through me, depending on their circumstances, but no matter what, the goal at the end of their
representation was for them to feel more empowered, to feel that they had a role in resolving their legal issue – not that I “fixed” it for them.

Describe your participation in the Partnership’s regional networks, policy committees, peer learning circles and other components of our Membership community.

Most of my experience with the Partnership has been with the advocacy team. I worked closely with Krista and her team to (eventually) pass legislation that provided a tool that survivors can use to challenge coerced debt. The bill took 2+ years to pass, and had some bumps along the way, but through the process, I gained a better understanding of the work the Partnership does in the state, but also on a national level in connecting with coalitions in other states. I subscribe to the Partnership’s emails and have attended some webinars by the Partnership, but otherwise have not had the opportunity to work closely with the Partnership in other ways.

Describe your skills, experience or interests that can benefit, strengthen or increase capacity of the Board.

My background in the law overall I believe will be helpful to the Partnership. I have an understanding of the challenges facing the Partnership’s members, as well as the client communities that the members serve. I have held leadership roles in nonprofit
organizations, so I have an understanding of nonprofit governance and management. I have attended many trainings and provided trainings on supervision, staff/board relations, and other aspects of nonprofit management and leadership. I believe that I can bring an overall perspective of best practices in governance, while also recognizing the unique nature of each nonprofit board and organization, and the role(s) that the board members play with those organization(s). In my current role I
spend a lot of time working with legal services organizations that are currently facing innumerable threats – to funding, to DEI work, to their ability to exist. While I don’t think anyone has the answers, I have been keeping up with the issues and believe that
I can at least provide information, and hopefully some guidance, to the Partnership and its members.

What does leadership mean to you? How do you demonstrate leadership?

Describe how your relationships can enhance the work of the Partnership and the Board (for example, with policy-makers, media outlets, culturally specific communities, and the broader community). Tell us how you intend to cultivate those relationships on behalf of the Partnership.

As I have mentioned, I currently work with legal services organizations across the state of California on nonprofit governance and management, pro bono volunteer recruitment and retention, and other aspects of nonprofit sustainability. I believe that those connections will be beneficial, as many of those organizations are either members of the Partnership or work with organizations that are members. I also have relationships with a lobbyist in Sacramento and with staffers and legislators that I believe I can utilize to benefit the Partnership in advocacy efforts. We do some federal policy work in my current role, and I have some relationships (although not nearly as strong) with federal legislative staff as well. If I come across other relationships that would benefit the Partnership, I am happy to utilize them to lift up the work of the Partnership.

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