Message from Advancing Justice-LA Board of Directors (12/18/19)

Dear Advancing Justice-LA Supporter,

As the end of the year approaches, we wanted to keep you apprised of happenings at Advancing Justice-LA, and to announce a leadership update.

Our contract with interim Executive Director Sylia Obagi ends this December 31, and she has accepted a position out-of-state starting in the new year. As you may also know, in 2020 we expect to welcome a new CEO. In the meantime, the Board announced at an all-employee meeting last week that Advancing Justice-LA Interim Vice Presidents Anthony Roh and Aileen Louie will serve as co-leads of the organization. This move will keep momentum going and our rebuilding efforts on track while the search for a CEO and CFO/COO continues. Both Anthony and Aileen are long-time, dedicated Advancing Justice-LA professionals who worked closely with Sylia during these past critical months. Anthony and Aileen have the strong support of the Board.

Aileen currently directs institutional giving for Advancing Justice-LA. As co-lead, Aileen will help guide Advancing Justice-LA’s fundraising strategy, oversee the organization’s policy programs and priorities (such as our census program), and actively facilitate our relationship with our national Advancing Justice affiliates. Through her more than two decades with our organization she has held high-level positions in program administration, fundraising, and leadership development. A UCLA grad, she is a community leader, having served on several non-profit boards in support of AANHPI communities.

Anthony, an attorney, currently oversees Advancing Justice-LA programs that provide one-on-one legal assistance to individual clients, including services in the areas of domestic violence, family law, housing, immigration, and citizenship, as well as direct services work in Orange County. As co-lead, Anthony will oversee all of our legal programs and supervise internal functions at the organization. Prior to joining Advancing Justice-LA, Anthony was a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. He earned his J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law.

Aileen and Anthony will be supported in their work as co-leads by the Board’s Transition Task Force. The Transition Task Force continues to be deeply involved with oversight of the organization, and will be reaching back out to you in January with details on our progress — including an update on the CEO search with Koya Partners.

We continue to be extremely grateful for your support, and are here to answer any questions you might have regarding this leadership plan. Please do not hesitate to contact Aileen directly at alouie@advancingjustice-la.org. Sending our warmest wishes for a happy holiday season and a joyous new year!

Sincerely,

Nita Song
Advancing Justice-LA Board Chair

Stewart Kwoh
Advancing Justice-LA Founder