To our friends and supporters, we cannot thank you enough for coming out to join us in person this past Saturday at our 22nd Anniversary Gala, new President Lisa Holder’s inauguration, and most importantly, Eva Paterson’s Retirement Dance Party!
Despite the inclement weather, you arrived at the UC Theatre in Berkeley with your party outfits and dancing shoes on to celebrate our organization’s anniversary and to honor and recognize Eva’s more than four decades as a civil rights champion and community leader.
Welcome by EJS President Lisa Holder
It was an incredible evening full of dancing, music, and all-around good cheer. This event was our first year back to an in-person gathering since 2019 and we couldn’t be happier to have had the opportunity to reconnect and be in each other’s presence.
Invocation by Rev. Diana McDaniel
We owe a debt of gratitude to the many people who helped make our evening possible. Big thanks to Leftwich Event Specialists, our former colleague and event emcee Chris Bridges, the Coolerators, and to our extraordinary staff members working behind the scenes – Anna Basallaje, Ginger Johnson, and Keith Kamisugi. And thank you to Bob Hsiang for the photos from the evening.
Finally, thank you so much to our Champions of Justice awardees, our Host Committee, and our amazing sponsors!
Wishing everyone a safe and wonderful holiday season. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2023!
Dancing to the Coolerators!
Thank You to Our Sponsors
Visionary ($50,000)
Kelly Dermody and Billie Mizell
Shero ($25,000)
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation
Kelly McCreary and Pete Chatmon
Brava ($10,000)
Elizabeth Cabraser
Jack W. Londen
San Francisco Human Rights Commission
Advocate ($5,000)
Sara Sanderson
Equal Justice Initiative
Leftwich Event Specialists
UBICA Strategy
Thomas Given
Alexander, Morrison + Fehr LLP
San Francisco Black Firefighters Association
NorthStarr Media Group
Arthur and Mary Jo Shartsis
Arlene Mayerson
Wonderwoman ($2,500)
Outten & Golden LLP
Neyhart, Anderson, Flynn & Grosboll
Marjorie Randolph
Michael Harris
Rev. Diana McDaniel and George McDaniel
Raymond C. Marshall
Onward ($1,250)
Adler & Colvin
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California
Brown Neri Smith & Khan, LLP
Cheryl and Charles Ward
Esta Soler and Futures Without Violence
The Garcia González Family Fund
Michael Dorado and Linda Li
The San Francisco Giants
Barbara J. Parker, Oakland City Attorney
Bob and Willie Demmons
Douglas Young
Earthjustice
East Bay Community Law Center
Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Jamienne Studley and Gary Smith
John Burris
L. Norwood & Associates
Lake Research Partners
Othering and Belonging Institute
Paula and Chuck Collins
Rudy, Exelrod, Zieff & Lowe, LLP
Steven Dinkelspiel
Bryan Schwartz Law
Joan Graff
California ChangeLawyers
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
Paul Garrison
Public Advocates
Take Back The Courts Foundation
The Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE)
Special guest emcee, former EJS Program Manager Chris Bridges of the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights
Thank You to Our Host Committee
Susan Baronoff
Elizabeth Cabraser
Paula & Chuck Collins
Audrey Daniel
Quinn Delaney
Bob Demmons
Dorothy M. Ehrlich
Allison Elgart
Elaine Elinson and Rene CiriaCruz
Nicholas Espiritu
Alfred Fraijo Jr.
Miguel Gavaldón
Thomas Layton and Gyöngy Laky
Henry L. Hecht
Judge Thelton Henderson
Bill Hing
Dolores Huerta
Sara Jackson
Paul Logan III
Guillermo Mayer
Arlene Mayerson
Rev. Diana McDaniel and George McDaniel
Priscilla Ocen
Margaret M. Russell
David Salniker
Abdi Soltani
Jayashri Srikantiah
Gloria Steinem
Cheryl A. Stevens
Anthony Thigpen
EJS Honors Champions of Justice
The Equal Justice Society was proud to honor Quinn Delaney and Wayne Jordan, Elizabeth Cabraser, and Henry L. Hecht with Champions of Justice awards at our annual gala, presented by EJS Board Chair Michael Harris.
EJS Board of Directors Chair Michael Harris (left) presents the award to Wayne Jordan (middle) and Quinn Delaney (right).
Quinn Delaney and Wayne Jordan are philanthropists and founders of the Akonadi Foundation. When we founded EJS more than 20 years ago, Quinn and Wayne committed to fund us for three years. That provided us with financial security and gave us the confidence to move forward. They have continued to generously support EJS consistently through the years. Without Quinn and Wayne, we would not have been able to accomplish many aspects of our broad and ambitious agenda.
Elizabeth J. Cabraser, a Partner at Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP. She was a critical donor to the Reclaiming Progressive Justice summit in 2001, the first major project by EJS. In 2018, Ms. Cabraser provided us with another generous gift to help EJS reactivate its Judge Constance Baker Motley Civil Rights Fellowship. Elizabeth’s support for the fellowship means that EJS can play an even stronger role in fighting back against the growing oppression and cruelty that are threatening the fabric of our country and indeed the world.
Professor Henry L. Hecht is the Herma Hill Kay Lecturer in Residence at Berkeley Law. He has provided significant support for a new staff attorney position, for several implicit bias conferences, and was instrumental in funding the full-length “Remembering 1619” video, which captured the captivating and illuminating artistic performance marking the suffering and triumph, sorrows, and joy of Black people during the past four centuries. Henry provided a gift for our 2022 gala matching dollar for dollar every new sponsorship up to $100,000.