By Erin Overbey
As I write my first article as President of the KCBA, I am mindful of the summer celebrations and transitions. July brings opportunities to celebrate Independence day, recent graduations and summer weather and vacation. At the KCBA, we transition into our new membership year. Please join us in this transition by renewing your membership for another year. When you log in to the KCBA website, you will see the screen which will assist in a quick and easy renewal process.
July also brings the transition to the Board of Trustees. This year we have several members transitioning off our Board of Trustees and others joining. I want to thank the Board members who are leaving (with one exception) Board service: Robert Flennaugh II; Rory O’Sullivan; Hon. Richard F. McDermott, Ret.; Chalia Stallings-Ala’ilima; and outgoing President Karen Orehoski. Theresa Wang is transitioning out of her role on our Executive Committee, as our Treasurer, but has agreed to stay with us as a Board member. Thank you, Theresa, for giving even more of your time. Each of them brought their unique perspective to the Board and I appreciate their contributions, their insight, and their dedication to KCBA. Karen, the consummate professional in every way, is a tough act to follow as President. I have learned so much from her this past year and I will miss her quick wit and steady leadership. As we say goodbye to our parting trustees, please also join me in welcoming 2nd Vice President Mary Sakaguchi and new Trustees Neal Black (who is returning for a second term after a short break away), Colin Mieling, Lisa Ann Sharpe and Tommy Tobin.
The final transition I share with you is also cause for celebration. This year we begin the process of transitioning the Housing Justice Project (HJP) to an independent entity. This spin off is a testament to the dedication of our members and the excellence of the program’s service. What began in 1998 as part of KCBA’s pro bono services, staffed by volunteers, HJP has grown into a team of more than forty-three professionals working to promote housing stability and high-quality representation of community members facing eviction. Edmund Witter, HJP Senior Managing Attorney, and the HJP team have developed a well-respected and regionally recognized program. Indeed, the dedication and advocacy of our members resulting in a statewide right to counsel model and the effectiveness of the program means it is now most appropriate to spin-off into a new and independent, 501(c)(3) entity, with its own leadership and board.
This transition presents opportunities for both the KCBA and the new entity The KCBA is a membership organization dedicated to working with our membership and the judiciary to achieve excellence, equity, and accessibility in the administration of justice in our community. We will continue to focus on this mission by supporting the committees and sections of the KCBA and looking for new ways to bring value to our membership. KCBA will turn now from managing and supporting two related but separate work groups to managing and supporting one. This provides an opportunity to focus KCBA resources on KCBA membership and KCBA’s core mission.
The spin-off also supports the work of the HJP. During the last few years, the HJP has increased dramatically in size and the scope of the work it is able to perform. The HJP is equivalent of a full-size public interest law firm, with related, but not always identical goals of the KCBA. From my work on a joint task force to explore and support a spin-off, I know there is a strong desire among HJP staff members to explore a different leadership structure and to speak with their own voice on the issues that are important to their clients. This transition to a new and independent entity will provide the HJP with the space and ability to do that.
This is a transition that follows years of careful thought and discussion. Early this year, after receiving Board approval to explore a spinoff of the HJP, I began working with KCBA’s HJP Taskforce Chair Neal Black, KCBF Board member Scott Collins, HJP representatives Merf Ehman and Tye Reed, as well as Sara Robbins, the Executive Director of the Office of Civil Legal Aid (the primary funder of HJP), on a joint task force to lay the groundwork for a successful launch of HJP. Neal has chaired both task forces and has guided this process in a thoughtful and determined manner, driven by his strong personal commitment to access to housing. We talked about the general plans of the new HJP, how it would be structured and how the KCBA could continue to offer administrative support as that structure matures. We landed on the concept of using a “Transition Administrator” to support the transition and help get HJP ready to operate independently.
We also discussed who might be best suited to fill this important, but limited, role of Transition Administrator. The Transition Administrator will be working closely with both KCBA’s Executive Director, Christina Coad, and the leadership at HJP. We wanted to find someone with strong connections in our community, with experience in non-profit leadership, including promoting the work of legal professionals in a public interest law firm. Neal, Scott and I also felt it was imperative that our candidate be able to devote some significant time to this project — at least at the outset. I am happy to report that we found that person and she has accepted our offer. Lisa Stone will be the Transition Administrator for the HJP spinoff.
Lisa comes to us with many years of experience in non-profit legal advocacy work in our community. Most recently, Lisa served as the Executive Director for Legal Voice (formerly known as the Northwest Women’s Law Center). Legal Voice is dedicated to advancing women’s and LGBTQIA persons’ legal rights in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Lisa has also worked in the public sector, as counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and for the law firm Stole Rives. She is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Law, and the recipient of awards and honors from the Northwest Women’s Law Center, the University of Washington, and other local organizations. I appreciate her enthusiasm and willingness to jump into this role right away.
I want to thank the KCBF for its support of this transition. Both KCBF President Vanessa Power and Scott Collins have made clear the KCBF is also committed to success in this transition. Indeed, Scott took the laboring oar in reaching out and vetting potential candidates for Transition Administration in a way that makes me wonder how he found time for his day job.
The KCBA will continue to provide updates as this transition progresses. I anticipate this will happen over the remainder of this year and into 2025. It is important to our Board that we help launch the HJP in a way that provides a foundation for its ongoing success. We all benefit from the work and the support of the HJP, as champions of access to housing and we hope you will join us in celebrating the dedication, advocacy and shared commitment that brought us here.
