Equal Justice Works Welcomes Five New Members to the Alumni Advisory Council

Equal Justice Works, the nation’s largest facilitator of opportunities in public interest law, today announced the newest members of the Equal Justice Works Alumni Advisory Council.

The Alumni Advisory Council (AAC) is a non-fiduciary advisory board comprising a diverse group of 15 Equal Justice Works alumni who provide advice and counsel in support of the organization’s alumni engagement initiatives. AAC members work in partnership with the director of alumni relations to build lifelong relationships between Equal Justice Works, its Fellowship alumni, and current Fellows through programming, communication, and volunteerism. The AAC works to advance and promote the mission of Equal Justice Works and our programs while representing the interests and concerns of alumni to Equal Justice Works, and the interests of Equal Justice Works to its alumni.

AAC members are appointed to serve three-year staggered terms and may be reappointed for one additional consecutive three-year term. Members are reflective of the diverse strengths, Fellowship programs, geographic distribution, professional accomplishments, and public interest disciplines of the Equal Justice Works alumni community. Recently, the AAC welcomed five new members.

“We are excited to welcome these new members to our Alumni Advisory Council,” said Lynbea Toombs, the Director of Alumni Relations at Equal Justice Works. “Each new member has a lot to contribute to the AAC through their insights, perspectives, and ideas.”

The new members of the Alumni Advisory Council include:

Dana Dohn, 2016 Fellow

During Dana’s Equal Justice Works Fellowship at the Children’s Law Center, she worked to address the legal, policy, and service gaps that children affected by broken adoptions face. After her Fellowship. Dana spent years representing children in abuse, neglect, guardianship, child support, and PINS cases. Dana now works at the Legal Aid Society, where she is a staff attorney. As a staff attorney, Dana continues to represent youth who have experienced broken adoptions, advocate for legislative adoption subsidy reform, and educate the community on issues related to adoption.

Kyla Moore, 2016 Fellow

Kyla’s Fellowship with Start Small Think Big built a novel pro bono civil legal services clinic that was held across New York City for big law attorneys to aid under-resourced micro-entrepreneurs, primarily servicing women of color. Kyla is now a Pro Bono Manager at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. In this role, Kyla develops and manages pro bono initiatives for the firm’s three offices in Indiana while also collaborating on firmwide pro bono initiatives. Kyla’s pro bono involvement extends to managing pro bono trainings, events, opportunities, and resources.

Antoinette Naddour, 2012 Fellow

Antoinette provided civil legal aid to veterans through her Fellowship with Veteran’s Justice Project at the Public Law Center. The Veteran’s Justice Project provided veterans with legal services such as expungement, discharge upgrades, access to veterans benefits, and general civil services. Antoinette also presented on veterans’ legal issues and operations at conferences on the local and national level. After the Fellowship, Antoinette co-founded the Veterans Legal Institute, where she is currently continuing her work aiding veterans as the Executive Director. In this role, Antoinette leads the overall strategic direction and management of the organization by managing partnerships, facilitating development projects, and collaborating with the Board of Directors to develop strategies and meet the organization’s goals.

Robin Runge, 1997 Fellow

Robin’s Fellowship at the Employment Law Center for the Legal Aid Society of San Francisco (now Legal Aid at Work) advocated for the employment rights of survivors of domestic violence. After her Equal Justice Works Fellowship, Robin continued her career as an assistant professor at the University of North Dakota School of Law, a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar studying the legal system response to violence against women in China, director of the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence, and the Deputy Director and Coordinator of the Program on Women’s Employment Rights (POWER) at the DC Employment Justice Center. Currently, Robin is a Distinguished Professorial Lecturer in Law and a Consultant for the George Washington University Law School and the Women’s Bureau of the United States Department of Labor.

Verjine Adanalian, 2018 Fellow

During her Equal Justice Works Fellowship at the Ohio Justice & Policy Center, Verjine offered free legal services to help survivors of human trafficking overcome criminal records-based barriers and expand their rights across the state of Ohio. After the Fellowship, Verjine continued her work at the Ohio Justice and Policy Center as the Director of the Second Chance Project. In this role, she expanded her approach to include policy work, training of other legal professionals, and representing clients that are not only struggling in the community but also currently incarcerated.

“It is my honor to chair the Equal Justice Works Alumni Advisory Council this year and I’m delighted to welcome our new AAC members,” said Alumni Advisory Council Chair, Claire Johnson Raba. “This year, the AAC looks forward to working with Equal Justice Works to build community among alumni and Fellows, and supporting the racial justice and DEI priorities of Equal Justice Works.”

To learn more about the Alumni Advisory Council, visit here.