The Equal Justice Society welcomes Fernando Gaytan and Pamela Perkins-Dwyer to our Board of Directors, Carlie Jones and Julie Mendoza as our summer law interns, Amalee Beattie as a Berkeley Law Public Interest Fellow, and Anoosh Ali as a civil rights summer intern. We also say goodbye and thank you to Alfred Fraijo Jr. on his departure from our board. And congratulations to our board chair Michael Harris on his retirement.
But first we want to congratulate EJS co-founder and past president Eva Paterson on receiving the Judge D. Lowell and Barbara Jensen Public Service Award last month at the Berkeley Law Alumni Awards & Donor Celebration. The Jensen Public Service Award is given to a prominent Berkeley Law graduate who has demonstrated outstanding dedication to public service in the legal profession. This award was incorporated into the Alumni Awards Celebration in 2019. Eva is a 1975 graduate of Berkeley Law.
New board member Fernando Gaytan is a senior attorney at Earthjustice focusing on Right to Zero advocacy out of the organization’s Los Angeles office. Fernando has over 18 years of litigation and policy experience working on issues ranging from affordable housing preservation, defending the civil rights of people experiencing homelessness, and protecting worker rights. Fernando joined the EJS board in late 2022.
New board member Pamela Perkins-Dwyer is the Major Gifts Officer at Los Angeles Master Chorale. Pamela has more than 20 years of experience as a fundraising and development executive primarily centered around music and the arts. She is also a new board member of the AFP U.S. Foundation for Philanthropy, which advances philanthropic investment and impact in the nonprofit sector. Pamela joined the EJS board earlier this year.
As we welcome Fernando and Pamela to our board, we say goodbye to Alfred Fraijo Jr. who departed from our board earlier this year after serving for almost a decade. In March, Alfred launched a new company, The SOMOS Group, as its founder and CEO to spearhead innovative projects for his clients that depend on partnerships and a broad range of disciplines to reimagine urban placemaking. Alfred was previously a partner at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP. Thank you, Alfred, for your service as an incredible EJS board member!
Congratulations to EJS board chair Michael Harris who retired last month as Senior Director, Legal Advocacy & Juvenile Justice, at the National Center for Youth Law. We’re fortunate that Michael is remaining as our board chair and working together with EJS President Lisa Holder to lead our organization.
At the staff level, we welcomed Carlie Jones and Julie Mendoza as our summer law interns.
Carlie is a rising 3L at Golden Gate University School of Law. While an undergrad at UC Berkeley, she was invited to attend the 2016 Academy Awards for her grassroots community-based activism. In 2021, the Philanthropic Ventures Foundation honored Carlie with a Women of Courage award for her continued leadership in civic activism.
Julie is a rising 2L at University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. She has an MA in Urban Education, Policy and Administration and was a long-time educator in the Oakland public schools and lead organizer for the Oakland Education Association in the fight against school closures. Julie was honored with the Tony Patiño Merit Award, one of only two in her class.
Amalee Beattie is returning to EJS as a Berkeley Law Public Interest Fellow under a program that funds recent graduates to do substantial legal work with a non-profit for a year following graduation. Amalee clerked with us in 2020 as a 1L at Berkeley Law and we’re thrilled she’s rejoining us as a newly minted JD.
Finally, we’re grateful that Anoosh Ali is continuing to work with us as a civil rights summer intern. Anoosh just graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science and government from UC Berkeley. She worked with us the past few months to cover for Ginger Johnson who was on a much-deserved sabbatical.