2019 ANNUAL CONFERENCE PREVIEW EDITION
The 2019 Annual Conference will be held at the  Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center  (400 Renaissance Drive), in Detroit, Michigan .

Wednesday, November 06, 2019 9:30 am to Saturday, November 09, 2019 3:30 pm  

If you missed our PRE-REGISTRATION deadline and would like to still attend, we are accepting registrations ON-SITE in Detroit!
 
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

IN THIS ISSUE

Message from the Chair

Client Caucus/Section Meeting

Story Corner

2018 AC Highlights

Client Sessions

Exhibit Hall Raffle

Client Reception/Game Night

First Time Attendee Orientation

Featured Speakers

Awards Luncheon Honorees

Experience Detroit

Client Resource Center

Upcoming Events
Hello Client Community, 
 
As most of you already know, we are gearing up for NLADA's Annual Conference in Detroit, Michigan November 6, - November 9, 2019. The Client Council has worked hard to ensure that you all are pleased with the client track this year. As always, I want to encourage you all to take in as much information in each session and take it back to the communities you provide services for.
 
I would like to say thank you to everyone that participated in the elections this year. For the first time we have several ties. For those of you that did not win you have already been contacted(don't give up- keep trying). To break the tie we have decided to send out another round of election ballots to all paid members only to vote again. Good luck!
 
I would like to take the time out to say a special thank you to the many clients that consistently reach out to keep me encouraged and inspired as your Chair. It has been such a pure pleasure to serve alongside with you all. I pray that you guys continue to kick in doors and remove those barriers that hold you back in your individual journey in life. Farewell my friends. 


Regina Kelly
Chair, NLADA Client Council
Chair, Texas State Client Council
Cell: (979) 492-3347
"Everyone deserves equal representation on every level."
CLIENT CAUCUS/Client Section Meeting
Ed Burnette , Consultant, Inspired Vision
NOVEMBER 7 • THURSDAY
10:30am – 12:00pm

We will gather to quip and enable leaders of the client community and the nation, with a discussion of topics that will be explored in depth over the several days of the conference. These areas address the current issues that justice system leaders must address, acknowledge, and absorb. We will discuss the nuances of implicit bias, tenets of leadership, and the response to the grave issue of immigration. We will focus attention on LSC and the client voice, the board track for client leaders, and the tools of technology. Whether subtle or direct, these issues will be central to leadership development, social consciousness, and service to those who depend on us. 
Client Section Meeting
NOVEMBER 7 • THURSDAY
6:00pm – 7:00pm

Hear about the top issues our group is addressing now.
YOUR VOICE, YOUR STORY
What does equal justice mean to you?

Why are you a client leader?

How have you made a difference in your community?

 Everyone has a story to tell, and NLADA wants to hear yours! Personal narratives are the driving force behind NLADA’s quest toward equal access to justice for all. Help us continue to put a human face on this issue. Your story can help demonstrate the need to increase access to counsel and the critical role client leaders play in this work.

Share yours at ‘Story Corner’ this Annual Conference.

To sign up for a time slot, click here or reach out to Chelsey Gibson directly at [email protected] or 203-417-7217. 

Participants are entered into a raffle to win a VISA gift card.

Not coming to Annual Conference, but still interested in sharing your story?
Email Chelsey who would be thrilled to connect with you over the phone!
2018 ANNUAL CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
CLIENT TRACK - SESSIONS
NOVEMBER 7 • THURSDAY

Speakers: Suzanne Small
2:15pm – 3:45pm

How do we support the percentage of our vulnerable general population (1 in 4) who experience trauma-related or mental health challenges in their efforts to get their voices heard or their rights represented? People with lived experience are too often overlooked when it comes to advocacy issues. How do we, as partnering advocates, help individuals in their self-advocacy plights? As people who have been on both sides of the table, we know the necessity of having the option of advocating for oneself. It is also important, at times, for the individuals to work with others and receive assistance, but the person’s goals should stay front and center. This workshop will help us partner with a person, relying on inner strength, and work on our self-advocacy skills. It will highlight the importance of letting the person take the lead while an advocate offers their expertise and support. Learn how you can, as a client, advocate for and be an ally to an individual in their own self-advocacy.


Speakers: Julie Reiskin, Jim Sandman
 4:15pm – 5:45pm

An annual conversation among the client community, LSC President Jim Sandman, and LSC Board Member Julie Reiskin. This is an opportunity for discussion on policy issues that affect client board members, a place for the client community to give direct input to LSC leadership, and for LSC to report to the community on what it has been doing and how it has engaged clients over the past year. This is also an opportunity for client board members to ask questions.
NOVEMBER 8 • FRIDAY

Speakers: Mayuris Pimentel, James Scruggs
8:30am – 10:00am

A dynamic governing body is at the heart of any thriving nonprofit corporation. Engaged client board members play a crucial role in ensuring that their organization can carry out its mission successfully. In this session, LSC will review the most important duties of board members, share effective strategies that LSC grantees and other nonprofits follow to promote client board member engagement, and discuss LSC’s performance criteria for grantee governing bodies. The attendees will gain awareness of their roles and duties as board members and leave with ideas for developing and maintaining an engaged board of directors. LSC will acquire additional insight into the best practices it is developing for enhancing the voice of client board members among its grantees. Participants will have the opportunity to network and share ideas about enhancing the voice of client board members.


Speakers: Kimberly Jones Merchant
10:30am – 12:00pm

This session will introduce the concepts of “social cognition” and “implicit bias” to provide the foundation for a discussion and exploration of the implications of implicit bias from the perspective of the client and the advocate, while also examining ways in which implicit bias affects systems and perpetuates inequitable client experiences and outcomes. It also introduces de-biasing tools and techniques designed to interrupt unconscious bias in decision making in an effort to achieve equitable outcomes.


Speakers: Kimberly Jones Merchant
2:30pm – 4:00pm

This session will introduce participants to the Iceberg Model, a systems thinking approach used to examine the interconnected parts of systems and begin a discussion on how to untangle the complex systems and players that produce and perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline in each of our communities. The session includes an example of a systems change initiative that addresses racial inequities in school suspensions and expulsions.

Speakers: Ronald Simpson-Bey, Doug Smith
4:15pm – 5:45pm

Description - TBD
NOVEMBER 9 • SATURDAY

Speakers: Emma Alaniz, Carlos Blanco, Ralph Carrasco, Ramona Casas, Daniela Dwyer, Ofelia Zapata
8:30am – 10:00am

This workshop discuss how client board members and communities can coordinate with legal aid programs to provide Know Your Rights trainings about individuals’ civil rights against illegal law enforcement actions, including overzealous immigration raids. The workshop will also cover how to provide coordinated civil legal assistance to affected immigrant communities in the areas of family law, protection of private property, and how to access social services for those affected by raids.
EXHIBIT HALL RAFFLE
passport_pocket.jpg
For a chance to win exciting prizes:
  1. Visit with each exhibitor and learn about their organization
  2. Get the exhibitor's signature in your NLADA Annual Conference Passport (located in your conference bag)
  3. Drop off your full Passport at NLADA’s membership booth

Drawings for prizes will occur at session breaks on Thursday and Friday.

Winners will be contacted individually. You must be at the Conference to win. 
CLIENT RECEPTION/GAME NIGHT
Hosted by NLADA’s Client Council

Thursday, November 7, 2019 7:00pm - 10:00pm 
FIRST TIME ATTENDEES ORIENTATION
Will this be your first time attending NLADA's Annual Conference?

Learn how to maximize your experience at an orientation for first time attendees Wednesday, November 6 from 4:00-5:00 in LaSalle AB. Meet Conference Committee leaders and NLADA staff as they share details about the various conference features and tracks, as well as providing information on NLADA's mission and membership benefits.
FEATURED SPEAKERS
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is our 2019 Annual Conference keynote speaker. A mother of two and a self-proclaimed "mother working for justice for all", Ms. Tlaib is the first Muslim woman to serve in the Michigan legislature and is currently the U.S. Representative for the state's 13th Congressional District. Born and raised in Detroit, she has dedicated her life to creating a strong line of communication between government and citizens, supporting a holistic approach to equal justice.

Former Mayor of Detroit and former ABA President Dennis Archer  will deliver remarks at the Opening Plenary. From teaching learning-disabled children in Detroit public schools to Michigan Supreme Court Associate Justice and from mayor of Detroit to the first black president of the American Bar Association, Mr. Archer has spent his distinguished career advancing equal justice not only in Michigan but nationwide.


Michigan Chief Justice Bridget McCormack will speak at the Annual Conference's Meeting of the Members. Chief Justice McCormack joined the Michigan Supreme Court in January 2013 and became the Chief Justice in January 2019. Appointed as co-chair of the Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration, Chief Justice McCormack also continues to teach at the University of Mighican, serve as the editor of the ABA's preeminent journal, Litigan, and publish regularly.

Please click  here  to learn more about these speakers.
AWARDS LUNCHEON HONOREES
NLADA looks forward to recognizing the work and achievement of these awardees who were nominated by their peers. Join us at the Annual Awards Luncheon on Friday, November 8. Learn more  here .
EXPERIENCE DETROIT!
Although we have a jammed packed conference schedule, I hope you are still able to get out and enjoy Detroit!

Click each pic or name to go directly to their websites for further information.
CLIENT RESOURCE CENTER

 ARE YOUR ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES PAID?
 
For inquiries about renewing your membership or how to join NLADA please contact [email protected] .   
Help us expand our community to your colleagues and peers!


Client Members who   sign up together  may receive a free membership.

Your Chair, Regina Kelly CHALLENGES YOU to bring in 5 members or more for additional chances of  FREE memberships with the offer above.

Sign up two new client members and your next membership is on us!

New Client Member Resources

Did you know NLADA has a special membership category just for clients?  

Through a NLADA membership, clients engaged in the world of equal justice can take advantage of all of NLADA’s standard member benefits, along with our specially-curated content and engagement opportunities just for clients, including:

  • Curated news and information.
  • Access to the free Client Member listserv (OPEN NOW!).
  • Opportunity to engage through the NLADA Client Council and weigh in on important issues facing clients across the country.
  • Tailored programming at the Annual Conference.
  • Steep registration discounts.
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Upcoming NLADA Events