As I write this final President’s Message of 2020, I am filled with gratitude and optimism. This year, our community and profession faced many challenges as we adapted to new work environments, altered our home lives, found new ways to engage with one another, worked to support the courts and the justice system through COVID-19, undertook significant steps to be part of the movement for racial justice, navigated an election complicated by the pandemic, and worked to remain—at our core—an organization that connects lawyers and supports their success and fulfillment.
Through it all, I am grateful for the dedication of the highly talented volunteers who worked tirelessly to address the needs of the membership and our community. I specifically want to thank the Board of Directors for their collegiality, collaboration, and vision in creating a new Strategic Plan and Mission Statement and their work on significant policies and issues in this challenging year. Thank you in particular to the members who will complete their Board service at the end of 2020: Gary Barthel, Linh Lam, Lilys McCoy, Teodora Purcell, and Stephanie Sandler. Thank you also to the 2020 Board members who will return in 2021: Marissa Bejarano, Victor Bianchini, Roxy Carter, Warren Den, Nicholas Fox, Melissa Johnson, Brenda Lopez, David Majchrzak, Wilson Schooley, Khodadad Sharif, Renée N.G. Stackhouse, and Kimberly Swierenga.
Of course, also vital to the SDCBA’s productivity and success in 2020 were the 171 volunteers who served on our 22 Committees or represented the SDCBA in external capacities, all of whom did the hands-on work to advance our strategic goals and to support our members and the community at large. And, of course, the 118 leaders of our 26 Sections generated dozens and dozens of programs in 2020, educating and connecting our members in meaningful ways. We also thrived because of robust communication, support, and partnership with the leaders of the 47 other Law-Related Organizations in San Diego County. Finally, we had more than 100 lawyers volunteer in various SDCBA-related pro bono efforts, including our Wills for Heroes program, Bench-Bar Serving Seniors effort, newly-launched Guardian Ad Litem program, Civil Appellate Self-Help Workshop, and Access to Appellate Justice program. The SDCBA is a better place because of your hard work.
I also would like to thank our Executive Director, Jill Epstein, for her steadfast commitment to the Bar and her terrific leadership. She has led the SDCBA staff with strength and grace through this difficult year. And our Deputy Executive Director, Keith Fisher, has done a superb job supporting our member benefit partners and sponsors, who help us provide quality programming, events, and benefits to our members. They are joined on our staff by our Governance expert Olga Blankson; our Programs and Events team—Sarah Harris, Maribel Sanchez, and Nic Hagan; our Marketing and Outreach department—Ron Marcus, Attiba Royster, Sasha Feredoni, and Hailey Johnson; our Member Services team—Andrew Cave, Kayla Higgins, and Adriana Linares; our Public Services staff, which encompasses our Lawyer Referral and Information Service and Fee Arbitration Program—Michelle Chavez, Elizabeth Sorensen, Holly Thomas, Dawn Young, and Gloria Varela, and our newest team member, Perla Perez; our Finance and Operations department—Phil Schneider and Cynthia Davis; and finally, our Bar Center and Meeting Services team—Julie Marquardt and Aldrin Ring. If you haven’t before, you can find our highly talented staff here. It has been an honor to work with such an amazing group of volunteers and staff.
To learn more about what the Bar accomplished this year, read my final President’s Column, 2020: Reflecting on a Year of Challenges and Opportunities, in San Diego Lawyer Magazine. The digital edition of the November/December issue went live last week and centers on Diversity, featuring the fellows and employers from our 2020 Diversity Fellowship Program. In addition to wonderful pieces such as Latina Equal Pay Day and A Path to the Practice of Special Education Law, the issue includes our regular columns on ethics, tech, and much more. Read the full issue here.
As this year comes to a close, keep in mind our programming will be back up and running on January 8, 2021, at 8:30 a.m. with the Coffee & Conversation Roundtable: What Works Well in Employment Mediation. Then on January 11 at 5:30 p.m. we will host the Monthly Exchange on Equity Roundtable: Leading as a Community, where we will brainstorm ways we can partner and collaborate to overcome racism as a community. We will also continue our monthly Wellness Wednesday: Mindful Meditation Series on January 13 at noon. I hope you can tune in to these quality programs as we kick off 2021 at the SDCBA.
The SDCBA will be closed starting at noon on Wednesday through Friday for the Christmas holiday, as well as noon next Wednesday through Friday for the New Year’s holiday.
Thank you all for your membership and support this year—and, we hope you’ve renewed for 2021. We wish you and your families a healthy and peaceful holiday season. And, we look forward to seeing you in the new year!
Johanna Schiavoni
2020 SDCBA President