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
Sarah Blair
Director of Pro Bono & Training
Bob Glaves
Executive Director
Sang Yup Lee
Director of Development
Jess Lingle
Director of Finance & Operations
Melanie MacBride
Chief Grants & Operations Officer
Roya Samarghandi
Chief Advocacy & Innovation Officer
Merci Sugai
Manager of the Justice Entrepreneurs Project (JEP)
Jessica Uwamusi
Senior Program Manager for Illinois JusticeCorps
Emme Veenbaas
Director of Communications & Events
Brandon Williams
Director of Programs
Davida Yalley
Administrative & Program Coordinator
Board of Directors
Officers
1st Vice President
Elizabeth P. Lewis
McDermott Will & Schulte
Secretary
Ian H. Morrison
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
2nd Vice President
Greta Weathersby
WEC Energy Group, Inc.
Immediate Past President
Sang-yul Lee
K&L Gates LLP
Directors
Paul Bateman, Jr.
Sperling Kenny Nachwalter
Daniel Berkowitz
Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston & Zimet, LLP
Jason Bradford
Jenner & Block LLP
Hon. Alison C. Conlon
Circuit Court of Cook County
Vida Cruz (ret.)
Arboretum Wealth & Trust Management
Jennifer Crespo
State of Illinois Torture Inquiry & Relief Commission
Kareem Dale
Capital One
Jennifer DePriest
Reed Smith LLP
Megan Devaney
Winston Taylor
Naderh Elrabadi
Elrabadi Law
David A. Gordon
Sidley Austin LLP
Hon. LaShonda Hunt
U.S. District Court for Northern District of Illinois
Chad Husnick
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Colby Anne Kingsbury
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Jennifer Kobayashi
Aon
Jennifer Kratochvil
Mayer Brown LLP
Michael Lehrman
Baker McKenzie
Marcie Lape
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Kathryn C. Liss
DePaul University School of Law
Elizabeth V. Lopez
United Airlines, Inc.
Francine Lynch
American Dental Association
Kenneth Mathieu
Berkeley Research Group, LLC
Kenneth Matuszewski
Bamert Regan PLLC
Evan Meyers
McGuire Law, P.C.
Jon Milonas
CBRE
Lisa Montez
Builders Vision
Hon. Nichole C. Patton
Circuit Court of Cook County
Trisha Rich
Holland & Knight LLP
Hon. Michael Slade
U.S. Bankruptcy Court
Hon. Amy St. Eve
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Colleen Strasser
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Susan Valentine
Valentine Austriaco & Bueschel, P.C.
Sandra Yamate
Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession
Counsel
Norah L. Jones
C3 Legal
Young Professionals Board
Officers
President
Rebecca K. Bryant
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois
1st Vice President
Jin To
K&L Gates LLP
2nd Vice President
Kacie Brinkman
Norton Rose Fulbright
Board Members
Batul Ather
Troutman Pepper Locke
Brielle Berndston
Latham & Watkins LLP
Julia Blum
Circuit Court of Cook County
Leigh Brissenden
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
Kristen Chang
McGuireWoods LLP
Rachel Cheng
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
John Clucas
Monahan Law Group, LLC
Haley Dow
McDermott Will & Schulte
Constance Du
DLA Piper LLP (US)
Mark Gaspar
Chicago IP Studio, LLC
Shannon C. Gross
Meitheal Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Mariam Jaffery
Robbins Schwartz
Kelly Bershader Leyens
Harvey
Kenneth Matuszewski
Bamert Regan PLLC
Sharon Moraes
Jenner & Block LLP
Corina Oprea
Mondelēz International, Inc.
CBF Board Liaison
Kernisha Padilla
Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC
Chair, CBA Young Lawyers Section
Aleksandra Petrovic
Damisch & Damisch, Ltd
Nora Reilly
Salesforce
Katie Rinkus
The Prinz Law Firm
Ashley Rodriguez
Second Chance Law LLC
Rick Ruffing
Stout
Eirene Salvi
Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C.
Eric Scharphorn
Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Allison Siebeneck
ACLU of Illinois
Deepa Singh
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Vlad Torishnyak
FTI Consulting, Inc.
Christi Uminski
Charles River Associates