Who We Are
Our Guiding Principle
Our common cause as a legal community is to improve access to justice for people in need and to make the legal system fair, equitable, and effective for people of all backgrounds and incomes.
The CBF’S Two-Pronged Approach
Using a mix of grants, advocacy, pro bono and partnerships, the CBF pursues a two-pronged strategy to accomplish our goals:
Invest In Proven Solutions For Today
Spearhead Innovative Initiatives and Legal Reforms for the Long Term
Our Values
01
Effective and equitable access to justice for all
02
The special responsibility of lawyers to uphold the value of effective and equitable justice for all
03
The collective influence of the legal community as a powerful force
04
Working together to serve the community and ensuring the inclusion of diverse perspectives in all we do
05
A culture of innovation, adaptation, and continuous improvement in all aspects of how we work and serve
Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI)
The CBF firmly believes that JEDI and the values it reflects are an integral part of reaching our vision of a justice system that is fair, equitable, and accessible for everyone in our community. We are committed to incorporating JEDI into all aspects of our work.
Our History
With thousands of veterans having recently returned from World War II and O’Hare Airport soon to open, the Chicago area in 1948 was about to embark on an era of unprecedented growth. It was then that a small but prominent group of lawyer members of the Chicago Bar Association (CBA) came together united in the belief that by pooling their charitable efforts, the members of the Association collectively could make substantial improvements for both their profession and their community. Their vision soon became The Chicago Bar Foundation (CBF), which over the past 70+ years has evolved into a major charitable force in the community focused on improving access to justice for people in need.
Meet Our Team
Stephanie Bello
Administrative and Communications Coordinator
Mercedes Boykin
Program Manager for Illinois JusticeCorps
Bob Glaves
Executive Director
Sang Yup Lee
Director of Development
Jess Lingle
Director of Finance & Operations
Melanie MacBride
Associate Director of Grants & COO
Cortney Redman
Director of Court Advocacy
Roya Samarghandi
Associate Director of Advocacy, Innovation, & Training
Elise Tincher
Associate Director of Pro Bono & Programs
Sunitha Vallinayagam
Administrative & Program Coordinator
Emme Veenbaas
Manager of Development & Communications
Samoane Williams
Director of The JEP
Board of Directors
Officers
President
Greg Boyle
Jenner & Block LLP
Treasurer
Nancy S. Gerrie (Ret.)
Winston & Strawn LLP
1st Vice President
Kenya A. Jenkins-Wright
Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission
Secretary
Greta Weathersby
WEC Energy Group, Inc.
2nd Vice President
Sang-yul Lee
K&L Gates LLP
Immediate Past President
Cynthia Photos Abbott
Chicago Public Media
Directors
Tracy A. Brammeier
Clifford Law Offices
Rachel M. Cannon
Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Hon. Alison C. Conlon
Circuit Court of Cook County
Vida Cruz
Arboretum Wealth & Trust Management
Kareem Dale
Discover Financial Services
Megan Devaney
Winston & Strawn LLP
Christopher J. Esbrook
Esbrook Law LLC
Randall R. Fearnow
Quarles & Brady LLP
David A. Gordon
Sidley Austin LLP
Anne Geraghty Helms
DLA Piper LLP (US)
Melissa B. Hirst
Inspire11
Robert T. Howell, III
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Hon. LaShonda Hunt
U.S. Bankruptcy Court
Jennifer J. C. Kelly
Preferred Capital Funding
Colby Anne Kingsbury
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Ray J. Koenig, III
Clark Hill PLC
Michael Lehrman
Baker McKenzie
Elizabeth P. Lewis
McDermott Will & Emery
Elizabeth V. Lopez
United Airlines, Inc.
Amy B. Manning
McGuireWoods LLP
Kenneth Mathieu
Charles River Associates
Ian H. Morrison
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Thomas V. Panoff
Mayer Brown LLP
Hon. Nichole C. Patton
Circuit Court of Cook County
Kevin Robinson
Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative
Colleen Strasser
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Timothy Tomasik
Tomasik Kotin Kasserman, LLC
Susan Valentine
Valentine Austriaco & Bueschel, P.C.
Brent W. Vincent
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP
Sandra Yamate
Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession
Counsel
Norah L. Jones
C3 Legal
Young Professionals Board
Officers
President
Caitlin Kolb Poirier
Crowe LLP
President-Elect
Paul E. Bateman Jr.
Sperling & Slater, LLC
Vice President
Allison Siebeneck
Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP
Board Members
Mallory Abel
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Joan Akalaonu
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Chair, CBA Young Lawyers Section
Daniel Berkowitz
Aronberg Goldgehn Davis & Garmisa
Kenyatta Beverly
Davey Tree Expert Company
Jason Bradford
Jenner & Block LLP
Kacie Brinkman
Ropes & Gray LLP
Rebecca K. Bryant
Dearborn Group
Leah Casto
Tropicana Brands Group
Rachel Cheng
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Robert C. Collins
Latham & Watkins LLP
Kalia Coleman
Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP
Matthew Colman
Syntellis Performance Solutions
Sarah Crocker
Northern District of Illinois
Svetlana Gitman
American Arbitration Association
Shannon C. Gross
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
Patrick Heery
Cook County, Labor Relations
Chelsea Herring
Herring Legal Solutions, LLC
John Klinker
Locke Lord LLP
Jennifer Kratochvil
Mayer Brown
Cara Lawson
Steptoe & Johnson LLP
CBF Board Liaison
Michael Lehrman
Baker McKenzie
Joanna Long
Campbell Long, LLC
Kenneth Matuszewski
Goldberg Segalla
Trevor McClain-Duer
Caliber Advisors, Inc.
Jeffrey Moskowitz
J. Moskowitz Law LLC
Corina Oprea
Mondelez International
Kernisha Padilla
Latham & Watkins LLP
Seth Raebel
Attorney at Law
Katie Rinkus
Attorney at Law
Rick Ruffing
Stout
Eirene Salvi
Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C.
Jin To
K&L Gates LLP
YLS Staff Liaison
Emily Anderson
The Chicago Bar Association