Empire Justice Center Elects Officers and New Board Members
December 15, 2009
Contact: Kristi Hughes, (585) 454-4060
Empire Justice Center, a statewide leader working to achieve social and economic justice for people in New York State, is pleased to announce the election of three new members to its Board of Directors. The new members, who will serve three-year terms beginning in January 2010, are:
Candice Lucas is the Director of Health Partnership with the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Center for Community Health. Prior to joining the Center, Candice was Assistant Director of Creating Assets, Savings and Hope (C.A.S.H.), a community coalition that helps low-income workers make the most of their money and build stronger financial futures. Candice serves as President of True Networking Thursdays, as a board member of Hillside Children’s Center, a member of Catholic Family Center’s Program Advisory Council and Rochester City School District’s Parent Advisory Council.
Lyn Kelly is Controller and Assistant Treasurer at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). She currently serves as Vice-Chair for the Buffalo/Rochester chapter of the Eastern Association for College & University Business Officers (EACUBO). She was a member of the RIT Executive MBA team that assisted Empire Justice Center with a merger process in 2003.
Melanie S. Wolk is a Special Counsel for Goldberg Segalla LLP in their Rochester, New York office. Ms. Wolk practiced for almost ten years in New York City as a litigation attorney and has broad experience in the trial and appellate courts of the State of New York. She serves as Vice Chair of the Access to Justice Committee and member of the Judicial Committee of the Monroe County Bar Association, is a mentor of the Lawyers for Learning program of the Monroe County Bar Association, a member of the Board of Directors for Tempro Development Corp., and serves on the advisory committee to the 2000 Year Road to the Holocaust.
The Empire Justice Center Board of Directors is comprised of leaders from around New York State representing business, legal, government and academia and elected by Empire Justice Center’s members to provide governance and direction for the organization.
In addition to the new board members, the Board elected its executive officers for 2010, who will serve as officers for a term of one year. The newly elected officers are:
Jack O’Connell, Chair (Nassau University Medical Center); Tom Maligno, Vice Chair (Public Advocacy Center, Touro Law School); Joe Casion, Treasurer (Harter Secrest & Emery LLP); and Mary Lynch, Secretary (Law Clinic and Justice Center, Albany Law School.).
They join the current Board which includes:
James C. Moore, Past Chair (Harter Secrest & Emery LLP); Hermes Fernandez (Bond, Schoeneck & King); Laura Gonzalez-Murphy (NYS Research Foundation at the University of Albany); Dave Munro (NYS Energy Research and Development Authority); Andrea Phoenix (Nassau County District Court); Christine C. Rutigliano (The Roffe Group.)
All board members serve as volunteers; affiliations noted for informational purposes only.
Empire Justice is a statewide, multi-issue, multi-strategy, public interest law firm focused on changing the “systems” within which poor and low-income families live. Empire Justice protects and strengthens the legal rights of people in New York State who are poor, disabled or disenfranchised through: systems change advocacy, training and support to other advocates and organizations, and high quality direct civil legal representation. Empire Justice has a staff of 54 working out of four offices in Albany, Rochester, White Plains and on Long Island.
