Brooklyn Law School Celebrates a Legacy of African American Achievement
Since the Law School’s founding in 1901, African American graduates have been trailblazers and leaders in the law and in a remarkable range of fields. As the nation celebrates Black History Month, meet some of our accomplished alumni whose careers continue to have a powerful impact and influence on the law and society in New York City and beyond.
Advocate for African American Lawyers
Sumner H. Lark was born in Hamburg, South Carolina, in 1874. His father had been a slave. He attended school in Augusta, Georgia, and in 1897, graduated from Howard University. He returned to Georgia, and taught physics and chemistry at the Haines Normal and Industrial Institute in Augusta.
In 1900, he moved to Brooklyn, where he opened his printing business and established a weekly newspaper for the black community called “The Eye.” In 1913, at age 39, he applied to Brooklyn Law School. While still a law student, in 1915, he wrote in an essay in the souvenir program to accompany a national exhibition commemorating the achievements of African Americans in the 50 years since the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation that for black people to enjoy the full measure of citizenship, some needed to become lawyers. He wrote, “He who would have liberty, must be vigilant; he who would get his rights, must have a lawyer.”
In 1922, he became only the second African American Assistant District Attorney in Kings County. He worked there until 1924, when he returned to private practice.
Read more about Sumner H. Lark here.
Legal Pioneer
Florence Lucas was one of the few African-American women to attend Brooklyn Law School in the late 1930s. A life-long New Yorker, Lucas established a solo practice in Queens early in her career, specializing in real estate, landlord/tenant and civil rights. She also was an attorney in the federal government's Office of Price Administration for two years during World War II.
Lucas was the first African-American woman admitted to the Queens County Women's Bar Association. However, she found it difficult to participate in the bar's business since its meetings were generally conducted at restaurants that barred black people. Undeterred by such obstacles, she ran for the City Council in 1957 on the Republican ticket, the first time an African-American was nominated in Queens for elective office. She lost the election but remained active in the Republican Party. In 1966, Governor Nelson Rockefeller appointed her special assistant to the commissioner of the State Commission Against Discrimination (which later became the state Division of Human Rights), and she became a deputy commissioner six years later. During her tenure, she helped draft a new human rights law for the state and developed a hearing process for complaints.
Lucas left government service in 1975, working as a consultant on affirmative action programs. In 1982, she established her own firm consulting with banks in New York, Connecticut, and Ohio. Lucas served as the president of the Jamaica NAACP and was prominent in an array of religious, community, and business organizations. She was the first African- American woman elected to the Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church, its highest governing body. She was a great booster of black-owned businesses, including Ebony Oil Company, the first black-owned oil company in New York. She was a member of the board of trustees of Marymount Manhattan College, and the school awarded her an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 1986, a year before she died.
Distinguished Public Servant
William Thompson Sr. had a long and distinguished career as an elected official and judge. He was elected to the New York State Senate in 1965—the first state senator from Brooklyn, where he served as chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Child Care Needs. Judge Thompson served on the New York City Council from 1969 to 1973. He was elected a Justice of the Supreme Court in 1974, and the same year he was designated an Associate Justice of the Appellate Term, 2nd and 11th Districts (Kings, Richmond, and Queens Counties). In 1978, he was appointed Assistant Administrative Judge in charge of the Supreme Court for Brooklyn and Staten Island. In 1980, he was appointed by Governor Hugh Carey as an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Department. As an Appellate Division Judge for more than 20 years, he has analyzed more than 24,000 cases, encompassing all types of litigation. He retired in 2001 and serves as counsel to the firm of Ross and Hill and as a mediator. He died December 24, 2018.
Trailblazing Mayor of New York
David N. Dinkins served as the 106th Mayor of the City of New York from 1990 to 1993. He began his long career in public service in 1966 in the New York State Assembly and later served as President of the New York City Board of Elections, City Clerk and President of the Borough of Manhattan. Early in his career, he maintained a private law practice.
As Mayor, Dinkins established numerous widely heralded cultural staples such as Fashion Week, Restaurant Week, and Broadway on Broadway. His administration also initiated the revitalization of Times Square and secured an unprecedented deal to keep the U.S. Open Tennis Championships in New York for the next 99 years, which generates more annual financial benefits for the city than the Yankees, Mets, Knicks, and Rangers combined. In addition, Dinkins instituted “Safe Streets, Safe City: Cops and Kids,” a comprehensive criminal justice plan to reduce crime and expand opportunities for the children of New York.
Dinkins is on the faculty of the Columbia University School of International & Public Affairs, and he hosts its Annual Dinkins Leadership & Public Policy Forum. In 2003, the David N. Dinkins Professorship Chair in the Practice of Urban & Public Affairs was established at Columbia University.
Throughout his professional life, Dinkins has been active with many civic and charitable organizations; he currently serves on the boards of the Association to Benefit Children, Children’s Health Fund, Coalition for the Homeless, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, New York City Global Partners, and Posse Foundation. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the National Advisory Board of the International African American Museum and is on the steering committee of the Association for a Better New York and the New York Urban League’s Advisory Council. Dinkins is a founding member of the Black & Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus of New York State and One Hundred Black Men. His memoir, A Mayor’s Life: Governing New York’s Gorgeous Mosaic (Public Affairs, 2013), chronicles his inspiring work.
Dinkins received his B.S. in mathematics from Howard University and his LL.B. from Brooklyn Law School. He also served as a Montford Point Marine in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II for which he received the Congressional Gold Medal for his service.
In June 2015, Dinkins was honored as an Icon of Brooklyn Law School at a gala on Ellis Island.
First Black New York City Police Commissioner
Benjamin Ward served as the first black commissioner of the New York City Police Department and was known for being one of the nation’s first promoters of community policing. He passed away in 2002, at the age of 75.
According to his New York Times obituary, “Ward, whose booming voice and strong sense of self made him seem even taller than his 6 feet 1 inch, was a lifelong study in focused ambition. The son of a cleaning woman, he earned degree after degree while working at full-time jobs. He served as city traffic commissioner, as corrections commissioner for both state and city, and as chief of the city housing police before becoming New York's top police official. In more than five years as police commissioner, from 1983 to 1989, he commanded the city's war against the scourge of crack and the addicts desperately in need of money for their habit. It was a wild period of heightened crime, when many people put signs on their parked cars declaring no radio was inside.”
Ward was born and raised in Brooklyn, one of 11 children. He graduated from the Brooklyn High School of Automotive Trades in 1944, and was drafted into the Army. He served two years in Europe as a military police officer and worked as a truck driver, among other jobs. When he returned to civilian life, his first job offer came from the Sanitation Department. He took the police test in 1951 and placed third among 78,000 applicants. After seven years on the beat, he went back to school—earning his associate, bachelor's and law degrees from Brooklyn College and Brooklyn Law School—and then rapidly advanced through the police ranks. After his retirement, Ward served on the board of Medallion Funding Corporation and remained active in humanitarian and professional organizations.
Senior United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York
Sterling Johnson Jr. presides over federal civil and criminal cases in the Eastern District of New York. Prior to his appointment, Judge Johnson served as an attorney for 30 years, specializing in drug enforcement and the prosecution of narcotics cases. As the special narcotics prosecutor for the City of New York, he supervised assistant district attorneys and investigators responsible for the preparation and prosecution of more than 7,000 criminal cases. He has been a guest lecturer at many U.S. universities and law schools, as well as in various countries throughout the world. Before becoming a lawyer, Judge Johnson was a U.S. Marine and an officer with the New York Police Department for more than a decade. Born in Brooklyn, Judge Johnson received his B.A. from Brooklyn College.
Judge Johnson took part in Brooklyn Law School's EDNY Day in October 2019. Read more.
Former Senior Vice President, Office of Internal Governance, the Boeing Company, and Vice Chair, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Board of Trustees
Wanda Denson-Low retired from her position as the Senior Vice President of the Office of Internal Governance for The Boeing Company, the world’s leading aerospace company in 2014. She was a member of the company's Executive Council, a direct report to the CEO, and Denson-Low was named to that position in May 2007. She was responsible for the management and oversight of global compliance; internal audit; enterprise risk management; ethics and business conduct; and global trade controls, which includes all import and export activities for the entire Boeing Company.
Founder and Partner, Johnson Liebman, LLP
Robert E. Johnson is a founder of Johnson Liebman, LLP, a civil practice firm committed to providing quality legal services to corporations and individuals in the New York Metropolitan area. Johnson is a civil litigation attorney with extensive litigation and transactional experience. He has worked on behalf of numerous insurance companies, Risk Retention Groups and self-insured businesses and clients. He has successfully defended corporations, trucking companies, supermarkets, retail businesses, large and small, as well as individuals in a variety of civil litigation matters. Robert has also handled complex assignments involving insurance coverage issues and Declaratory Judgment actions.
Administrative Law Judge, New York State Department of Labor
When Jean Bell was in elementary school in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, her older brother started a girls’ track team and invited Bell, her sister, and their friends to join. Running gave her a sense of freedom, a feeling of speed—she was hooked.
Decades later, she’s still running—and a recent Netflix documentary is sharing her story with the world. The film, Sisters on Track, follows Brooke, Rainn, and Tai Sheppard, who are members of Jeuness Track Club, an all-girls team founded and coached by Bell. The teenage sisters gained national attention after participating in the 2016 Junior Olympics and being named Sports Illustrated’s SportsKids of the Year, leading to a dinner with LeBron James, Michael Phelps, Jay-Z, and Beyoncé, and appearances on The View.
Bell founded Jeuness two years after graduating from Brooklyn Law School. The club’s name—evoking the French term for “young lady”—is a nod to her goal of not only training athletes, but also supporting them academically and encouraging them to pursue college.
“I grew up very poor. We lived in a low-income housing project while I was in law school and college,” she said. “These girls come from similar backgrounds… I try to show the girls that now colleges have funds for you to run track, and they’ll pay for you to go to the college.”
The early years of Jeuness Track Club coincided with the launch of Bell’s legal career. She started at a small personal injury firm before working as an attorney for several New York City agencies. In 1993, she was appointed to serve as a senior administrative law judge at the New York State Department of Labor, where she worked until transitioning to the state’s Workers Compensation Board in the summer of 2021.
“I liked the idea that I could control the proceedings,” Bell said about the move from attorney to judge. “It seemed like a position that I could really master.”
In the early days of the club, she juggled her new legal career with buying uniforms, renting vans, and paying competition entry fees for her first 10 athletes. Over time, the team grew, and she enlisted the help of other coaches, including some past team members who would return to coach the next generation of runners.
“We all come from the same neighborhood,” said Bell. “We understand where the girls are coming from and what their experiences are. There’s nothing the girls are going through that we haven’t already been through.”
Nearly 40 years later, Bell and the Jeuness Track Club have become a Bed-Stuy institution. Team members routinely medal in highly competitive track meets, such as the Colgate Women’s Games and the national Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympic Games. Some standout team members have earned spots on the USA Track and Field Junior National Team and competed in the World Junior Championships. One member, Yvonne Harrison, even competed in the Olympic Games.
Beyond the athletic accolades, Bell and Jeuness are known for nurturing the girls in their club. She stresses the importance of personal responsibility, reading, and learning about how to keep their bodies healthy.
“I never miss an opportunity to give a lesson, but it doesn’t always come across as a lesson,” said Bell. “It’s just the coach talking.”
Corporate Vice President, New York Life Insurance Company
Winston A. McLaughlin ’84 has led a career in regulatory compliance for national banks and life insurance companies since graduating from Brooklyn Law School. He currently serves as Corporate Vice President responsible for compliance at New York Life, having joined in 2011. Winston’s career began at the Bank of New York, where he served as an attorney and audit officer for securities from 1984 to 1994. He then became a vice president for compliance at Bank of America from 1994 to 1999, before moving on to the Mellon Financial Corporation (1999 to 2004) and Morgan Stanley (2004 to 2007) to serve as their compliance officer for investment and broker-dealer activities. Winston transitioned into life insurance in 2008 when he moved to The Hartford as its Director of Securities Compliance until 2011, when he assumed his current role. Winston was also called on to serve on the membership committee of FINRA, the self-regulating body of dealers and brokers, from 2014 to 2017.
Founder and Senior Partner, Jacqueline McMickens & Associates, PLLC
Jacqueline McMickens is the founder of Jacqueline McMickens & Associates, a practice specializing in matrimonial and family law, discrimination and civil rights litigation, real estate law, trusts and estates, legal services for faith based organizations, and criminal law. She also is a consultant for correctional systems and has worked as a special master for the State of Connecticut under the Connecticut District Federal Court. In 1984, Mayor Edward Koch named her Commissioner of the Department of Correction, making her the first female correction officer in the United States to become Commissioner of a major correctional agency. She also attended Brooklyn Law School while serving as commissioner.
Executive Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, NCAA
Stan Wilcox is executive vice president of regulatory affairs at the NCAA. Previously, he was Florida State University’s director of athletics, the first African-American and the 15th person in the school’s history to hold the title. A former basketball star at Notre Dame, Wilcox worked for his alma mater, the Big East Conference, and the NCAA before joining Duke University as senior deputy athletic director in 2008 before moving to FSU. He was also the president of the Black Coaches Association from 2003 to 2005 and spent 11 years on the organization’s board of directors. FSU has claimed nine ACC Coach of the Year honors, won 13 ACC titles, a Heisman Trophy, and many other notes of distinction under Wilcox’s tenure. Originally from North Babylon, N.Y., Wilcox holds a B.A. from Notre Dame.
Managing Director, Morgan Stanley
Alphonzo Grant Jr. is a Managing Director of Morgan Stanley and currently serves as the Head of the Global Litigation Group’s Special Investigation Unit for Institutional Securities and Investment Management (“SIU”). SIU is responsible for conducting internal investigations of employee business conduct violations across the Firm’s several business units and support areas. He also oversees investigations of institutional customer complaints in the Americas and represents the Firm in various regulatory and criminal matters. He joined Morgan Stanley in 2011.
Since 2012, he has been an Adjunct Professor at Cardozo School of Law, teaching trial advocacy.
From 2011 to 2014, he was a Commissioner of the NYC CCRB, appointed by Mayor Bloomberg. The CCRB investigates, makes findings and recommends disciplinary action regarding civilian complaints of excessive or unnecessary force, abuse of authority, discourtesy and offensive language by NYPD officers.
From 2006-2011, he was a Litigation Special Counsel and Director of Diversity Initiatives at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. As a litigator, he was a member of S&C's Criminal Defense and Investigation Group and represented clients in criminal, regulatory and civil matters involving securities fraud, money laundering, OFAC sanctions, insider trading, tax fraud, employment and antitrust law.
As Director of Diversity, he was responsible for counseling and guiding S&C’s leadership regarding the Firm’s D&I efforts and for S&C's Diversity Management Depart., which was charged with developing, implementing, monitoring and assessing the Firm’s D&I initiatives, programs and policies.
From 2002-2005, he was an Assistant United States Attorney for the EDNY, prosecuting money laundering, corruption, fraud, foreign bribery, terrorism, racketeering, narcotics, violent crimes, immigration and tax offenses.
From 1999-2002, he was a litigation associate at S&C, and from 1998-1999, Law Clerk to the Hon. Edward R. Korman, U.S. Dist. Ct. Judge, EDNY.
Senior Managing Director, Ankura Consulting Group LLC
Shawn Miles is a Senior Managing Director at Ankura Consulting Group LLC based in New York. He began his career with Mastercard as an intern in college and built a multifaceted career in the areas of public policy, law and business, eventually progressing to the level of Executive Vice President of Public Policy. In this role, he was responsible for all public policy and community engagement matters across the globe.
Among other accomplishments, Shawn transformed Mastercard’s public policy department from a U.S.-focused team to a global organization. He expanded the public policy function beyond government relations to a broader set of stakeholders and has operated at the forefront of all major policies involving electronic payments since the financial crisis in 2008. He frequently speaks on panels and at forums on topics related to electronic payments and economic policy.
Shawn has also led litigation and regulatory strategy efforts, holding roles of increasing responsibility in the law department. As an attorney for Mastercard he managed various legal teams and provided counsel to business units. He negotiated major commercial deals with financial institutions, retailers, sports associations, and other marketing and sponsorship organizations. Shawn also brings experience from past work in several business units including pricing, reporting, operations, marketing, and finance.
Senior Vice President, Privacy Initiatives, BBB National Programs
Dona J. Fraser is a leading privacy expert with a passion for building creative solutions to business problems. As the Senior Vice President, Privacy Initiatives for BBB National Programs, Ms. Fraser oversees the strategic development, implementation, and ongoing efforts of the organization’s privacy programs, activities, and services. Ms. Fraser provides a deep understanding of the complexities of privacy issues and the marketplace challenges facing advertisers and brings extensive experience in the self-regulation space with a track record of helping companies do the right thing.
Since joining BBB National Programs in 2017, Ms. Fraser has been instrumental in driving progress forward in a variety of organizational programs and initiatives, including leading the organization’s first ever PrivacyCollective Roundtable, an event that brought together privacy experts to discuss current privacy issues facing the marketplace and craft solutions. She has also overhauled and expanded services provided by BBB National Programs’ Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU), growing membership and nearly doubling participant numbers for the CARU COPPA Safe Harbor program — the first FTC-approved Safe Harbor program.
Senior Vice President of Membership, ASCAP and Executive Director of The ASCAP Foundation
Billboard magazine named Nicole George-Middleton ’01 one of the most powerful executives in the music industry, and it’s easy to see why. As senior vice president of membership at the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), George-Middleton has worked with some of the group’s top talent, including Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Jay Z, and Usher. She advocates for the musicians’ interests, develops creative partnerships, puts songwriters together with producers, hosts workshops and events, and connects emerging artists with mentors.
“My job is to promote and nurture everyone in our organization, from developing songwriters to accomplished composers like Ne-Yo,” she said.
George-Middleton has spearheaded a number of initiatives for ASCAP’s more than half a million members, including a lunch series called “Break Bread” that invites songwriters to participate in jam sessions at its offices in New York City, Los Angeles, and Atlanta.
“We were hearing that our members want to spend time with other artists,” she said. “They come here to have fun and just vibe and play and eat lunch. It’s been amazing.”
My job is to promote and nurture everyone in our organization, from developing songwriters to accomplished composers."
She and her team are also responsible for creating ASCAP’s annual “Women Behind the Music” event, which celebrates women in music during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, and “Check It Out” events, where the organization rents space for songwriters to play their music in front of studio heads and industry heavyweights. The idea is to give ASCAP members more opportunities to get their music in front of important audiences. Even if it doesn’t result in a strategic partnership, the writer receives helpful feedback and benefits from having a broader network of contacts.
George-Middleton, who holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, began thinking in on negotiations with artists and to help draft their contracts. After graduating, she joined what was then known as Woods & Middleton, a small boutique entertainment firm (now the Middleton Law Group), where she spent seven years representing talent like DMX, Kelly Price, and Foxy Brown. “The work allowed me to form strong relationships in the entertainment industry and build my knowledge of copyright law and issues facing songwriters and artists,” she said.
Returning to the label side, she joined the RCA Label Group’s Jive Records in house as director of business and legal affairs. For three years, she negotiated recording agreements and music publishing agreements. Then in 2008, ASCAP recruited her to join its urban rhythm and soul department, largely because of her legal training and the strong relationships she had built in the music industry.
“Music is the soundtrack to life,” she said. “At ASCAP, we want people to enjoy it, and we want to make sure that writers and musicians are properly compensated for it.”
Anti-Money Laundering and Economic Sanctions Practice Leader at Deloitte, and Member of the Brooklyn Law School Board of Trustees
Frederick Curry, who is based in the Washington, D.C. metro area, drives the practice that helps organizations around the globe detect and prevent money laundering and other financial crimes. He began his long career in anti-money laundering at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as a lead AML bank examiner and subsequently at the law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, advising large financial institutions on economic sanctions compliance. He serves often as a consultant and expert witness for major banks in cases involving allegations of money laundering and financial fraud.
Partner, Bradford Edwards & Varlack
Camille Joseph Varlack, is a Founding partner and the chief operating officer of Bradford Edwards & Varlack. With over 16 years of hands-on experience in public and private sector legal and operational leadership, she has built her career and reputation on bringing a calm and disciplined approach to risk management and is an expert at solving complex organizational problems.
Varlack has expertise in managing risk in large organizations and is known for her ability to successfully navigate large scale crises. In summer 2020, the request of the Governor’s Office, she served as a member of the New York State COVID-19 Task Force.
She served in the New York State Executive Chamber as Deputy Director of State Operations, Chief Risk Officer and Special Counsel. She was in charge of leading teams through statewide crises including natural disasters, storm response, potential terrorist activities and cyber attacks, as well as responding to a multitude of public health crises. She worked hand in hand with local and federal law enforcement officials, press teams, and conducted internal investigations on a range of subjects including governance, financial compliance and employment/HR matters.
As Chief Risk Officer she was responsible for managing audit, compliance and internal control issues for state agencies and was instrumental in the development and implementation of the first statewide enterprise risk management system.
Her clients include representing an officer of an Essence Communications subsidiary in several legal actions, a senior executive in the negotiation of a severance package, and the manager of a Manhattan-based medical practice in an employment litigation in the S.D.N.Y.
Varlick advises businesses on risk, legal crisis management, employment litigation and the resolution of related complex business matters including organizational change management, crisis response, and internal and governmental investigations.
Vice President, Legal, WeWork
Before attending Brooklyn Law School, Andrea Anderson had a thriving career as a corporate trainer at State Farm Insurance Company. Her field of study as an undergraduate at Temple University involved mathematics, and she graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in actuarial science and risk management. On the job, Anderson interacted frequently with the company’s attorneys, which piqued her interest in the law. “In analyzing contracts, I thought, this would be a challenging and interesting path,” she said.
Today, Anderson is vice president, real estate, special counsel, global, at WeWork, the nine-year-old startup that defined the coworking industry. WeWork turned the business of coworking—leasing large office spaces and converting them to hip, attractive work areas that are, in turn, rented out to professionals and companies—into an area of rapid growth. WeWork is the single largest private tenant in Manhattan.
“This is an exciting company that is changing the way people work, and I want to be part of that change,” said Anderson. In her role, which she assumed earlier this year, Anderson is responsible for supporting mission-critical initiatives and global transactions.
Anderson credits her father-in-law, Burnside Anderson III ’76, a retired senior corporate counsel, legal division, at Pfizer, and a member emeritus of Brooklyn Law School’s Board of Trustees, for his influence and support in her decision to pursue a J.D. She enrolled in the Law School’s four-year program, which allowed her to attend school at night and work during the day. “My father-in-law told me Brooklyn would give me excellent training to become a practicing lawyer,” she said, “and he was right.”
As a law student, Anderson worked with Professor Debra Bechtel at the Corporate and Real Estate Clinic. The clinic provides free, nonlitigation legal assistance for low-income cooperatives, also known as Housing Development Fund Corporations (HDFCs), where many of New York City’s affordable units are found. “I found the work rewarding, and it helped me develop a good palette of practical skills in addition to my work experience,” said Anderson, who, along with other clinic students, assisted the HDFCs with loan closings, corporate governance, shareholder meetings, unit closings, and other matters on behalf of the co-op boards.
Her passion for this area of law was further fueled at Proskauer Rose, where she worked for two summers during law school, joining the firm as an associate after graduation. “I fell in love with real estate there,” she said. “Unlike litigation, real estate is tangible. It’s an asset you can walk by and see.”
After eight years at Proskauer, Anderson joined the Rockefeller Group as senior counsel in 2013. The Rockefeller Group has a 90-year history and is known for pioneering large-scale urban mixed-use development in New York and nationwide. “When I started working in-house, it was a good synergy,” she said. “I could use my pre-law school experience, and I enjoyed working on all legal aspects of transactions, including intellectual property issues.”
Award-winning Journalist
Errol Louis is the political anchor of NY1 news, where he hosts "The Road to City Hall,” and director of Urban Reporting at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. He is a longtime CNN contributor and writes frequently for CNN.com. He writes a weekly column for the New York Daily News and previously served on the editorial board at the newspaper from 2004 to 2010. He is co-editor of Deadline Artists, a two-volume anthology of America’s greatest newspaper columns.
Louis has been recognized with numerous accolades for his influential political reporting. He was the featured speaker and honorary degree recipient at the Law School’s 2017 Commencement. Originally from Harlem, he holds a B.A. from Harvard, an M.A. from Yale University, and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.
Founding Partner and President, Turner Conoly Group
Builder. Creator. Advocate. Organizer.
Ashley Allison is an Obama-Biden Administration and Biden-Harris campaign and transition senior advisor with more than 15 years of experience building campaigns and strategies that lead to victory. As the National Coalitions Director for the Biden-Harris 2020 presidential campaign, she led nearly 500 staff to activate the most robust coalition of voters in modern history. The investment and strategy spearheaded by Ashley provided results with a historic increase in voter turnout in African Americans, young Americans, Latino, AAPI, Indigenous voters, progressives, seniors and many more. She was the Director of Outreach for the Biden-Harris Presidential Transition Team. She is now the founding partner of The Turner Conoly Group.
Ashley served as the Executive Vice President for The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights from 2017-2021. She reformed the 70+ year organization’s strategies on how to run campaigns and policy efforts. Her management resulted in the creation of the And Still I Vote campaign, which launched in Vogue and People magazine, and protected the right to vote for millions of Americans during the 2020 election cycle. She also created Census Counts, the national 2020 census campaign, helping to get the citizenship question removed from the 2020 census form.
Before joining The Leadership Conference, Ashley was the deputy director and senior policy advisor for the Obama White House Office of Public Engagement from 2014 to 2017. In this role she led the White House's efforts on criminal justice and policing reform. In 2012, she led African American engagement for President Obama in the most contested battleground state of Ohio. Her strategy led to a four percent increase in Black turnout from 2008 to 2012. She then joined Enroll America and helped enroll 1.5 million people in “Obamacare.”
Before entering politics, Ashley began her career as a high school special education teacher in Bedford Stuyvesant Brooklyn, New York and earned her master’s in education. She earned her law degree, with a specialty in public interest law focusing on housing rights, voting and democracy, and racial equity, from Brooklyn Law School, and her undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University. Ashley serves as the Chairwoman for the Color of Change PAC Board and is a member of the Free Press Action Fund Board. In her free time, she teaches yoga and meditation to women of color. She also is the former host of the Podcast Pod for Cause, and is a regular contributor on CNN and MSNBC. Ashley is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta, Sorority, Inc.
Associate, Simpson Thacher
Leanne Welds is an associate in the real estate practice at Simpson, Thatcher & Bartlett LLP. Originally from Jamaica, she grew up in Brooklyn and received her bachelor’s degree from Pomona College in 2010. She then graduated magna cum laude from Brooklyn Law School, after serving as the executive articles research editor for the Brooklyn Law Review and winning the William Payson Richardson Memorial Prize. In 2014, she was the first Brooklyn Law Student to win the national competition for a Brown Award by the Judge John R. Brown Scholarship Foundation, which awards a $10,000 stipend, for her paper “Giving Local Municipalities the Power to Affect the National Securities Market.”
During law school, Welds was a member of the Community Development Clinic taught by Professor David Reiss, and served as an extern with Enterprise Community Partners, an affordable housing firm. She also served as secretary of the Black Law Students Association.