The Equal Justice Society is proud to announce the promotions of Ginger Johnson to Executive Assistant and Christina Alvernaz to Senior Attorney.
Ginger Johnson has been promoted to Executive Assistant, having previously served as Equal Justice Society’s Administrative Assistant since 2006. Ginger brings enthusiasm and a wealth of institutional memory and knowledge to our organization. Her impact on our sustainability has been invaluable, and her contributions have touched every part of our organization. From fund development to supporting our program and legal staff members, to serving as our in-house historian, Ginger’s contributions and talents are beyond measure. Over the last few years, her role has evolved to more directly support EJS’s President, and she will continue to provide general support to the organization.
Christina Alvernaz has been promoted to Senior Attorney, having previously served as EJS’s Constance Baker Motley Fellow beginning in 2020, followed by a promotion to Staff Attorney.
As our Motley Fellow, Christina distinguished herself in her amicus advocacy. In a domestic violence/child custody case, Christina was the lead author of an amicus brief filed on behalf of a group of California community organizations that serve women of color experiencing domestic violence. The brief explained how implicit and structural bias in the court system operate against Black women survivors of domestic violence and women litigants in general. The brief contributed to a safe outcome for the Petitioner and her minor child and served as a template for advocates representing women litigants of color around the state and country.
Christina also contributed significantly to the amicus brief EJS and ChangeLawyers submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in the SFFA v. Harvard/UNC affirmative action cases, which EJS filed with Change Lawyers on behalf of 25 California bar associations and affinity groups.
The brief, which Justice Sonia Sotomayor cited in her dissent, served as a rebuke to the corrosive narrative that California’s regressive Prop 209 regime is the template the nation should follow.
From her time as a fellow to the present, Christina has played a critical role in EJS’s litigation to hold school districts and the state of California to their legal obligation to provide fair, non-discriminatory education for Black and Latinx students and students with disabilities.
In R.W. v. Thurmond, a case filed by EJS and partners on behalf of parents, students, and a community organization to compel the California Department of Education to monitor and address the disproportionate discipline of Black students, Christina’s litigation work defeated dismissal of the case, enabling plaintiffs to have their day in court this April, armed with a legal briefing she co-authored.
Christina plays a pivotal role in EJS’s policy work to repair the historic and present harm that the state and other actors have inflicted and perpetuated against Black Californians by coordinating critical policy research projects in coalition with the Alliance for Reparations, Reconciliation and Truth and students and faculty at Howard and Harvard law schools.
As the lead in the recruitment and selection process for EJS’s HBCU and Racial Justice Summer law Interns, Christina brings highly talented students into EJS’s work and advocacy and helps sustain a pipeline of progressive lawyers, judicial officers, community leaders, and legal scholars.
Congratulations to Ginger and Christina! Join us in congratulating them on their new leadership roles!