The PLDIC’s Community Building Committee invites you to celebrate Pride with us at the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pride Night! Please plan to join us for a fun night out and a chance to meet fellow allies. The Coalition is offering the first 30 people to RSVP a free ticket to the game; limited free tickets remain! Feel free to bring a guest; we will reach out to you after RSVP'ing to confirm how many tickets you need. Please note: the PLDIC’s seats will be in the Supporter Section (bench-style) and include one drink voucher. Edgeview Section Tickets (Section 101-102, 107-108) are also available to purchase.

We hope that you can join us for this special event which benefits the PGH Equality Center, an LGBTQIA+ Community Center that serves as a bridge that promotes education, advocacy, and social justice for all LGBTQIA+ people and allies in Western Pennsylvania.

We encourage all interested Black employees of PLDIC member organizations to apply for the PLDIC and The Advanced Leadership Institute (TALI)'s two new scholarship opportunities: one $12,000 scholarship for the Executive Leadership Academy and one $6,000 scholarship for the Emerging Leaders Program.

This month, learn more about the Executive Leadership Academy:

PLDIC TALI Scholarship recipients must be admitted to either TALI program and be employed by a PLDIC member organization. Preference shall be given to individuals from PLDIC member organizations who are unable to financially sponsor their employees TALI tuition. Interested PLDIC applicants should indicate their interest in the scholarship on the TALI application. Scholarship recipients will be notified after being accepted into a TALI program.

Justice at Work, formerly known as Friends of Farmworkers, has been advancing the rights of workers in Pennsylvania for more than 45 years. While originally focused on agricultural workers, it now provides legal aid, community education, and advocacy to immigrant and low-wage workers across industries. At Justice at Work diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are core values on which the organization stands. They strive to incorporate these values into their substantive work, hiring, promotion, retention, communications, contract and vendor selection, and workplace environment.

“At Justice at Work, we believe that we are better at everything we do when we incorporate our core values of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging into all aspects of JAW. We are excited and honored to be formally joining the Pittsburgh Legal Diversity & Inclusion Coalition and we can’t wait to learn alongside other members. We are hoping that this formal partnership brings new ideas and strategies to JAW that will allow us to continue to improve our core work of client representation, along with our broader advocacy.”

– Meredith Rapkin, Executive Director, Justice at Work

Chartered in 1918, Seton Hill University is a leading Catholic coeducational liberal arts university founded by the Sisters of Charity and embracing students, faculty and staff of all faiths, backgrounds and experiences. Located in Greensburg (part of southwestern Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands, yet only 35 miles from Pittsburgh), Seton Hill educates its more than 2000 students to “think and act critically, creatively and ethically as productive members of society committed to transforming the world.”

“Seton Hill University has a longstanding commitment to building and sustaining a diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning and working environment for all current and prospective students, faculty, and staff. Since its inception in 2015, Seton Hill’s Office of the General Counsel has been instrumental in supporting and advancing DEI principles and concepts in university policies and practices. Welcoming, valuing, and offering diverse perspectives and experiences has enabled us to better support and serve our clients in resolving their legal questions and concerns. To that end, we are excited about the opportunity that the Pittsburgh Legal Diversity and Inclusion Coalition provides for Seton Hill to collaborate with the region’s most prominent law firms and legal departments in fostering a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion across the region’s legal community.”

Fox Rothschild LLP is a national law firm with more than 950 attorneys in 29 offices throughout the United States who provide a comprehensive range of legal solutions in more than 70 service areas. Their clients—individuals, public and private companies, nonprofits, startups, family-run businesses and multinational corporations—enjoy the focus and service of a boutique, the reach and resources of a national firm, and our unwavering commitment to client satisfaction.

The Community Building Committee had a great time meeting local attorneys, community members, and students at the Sewickley Community Center's Juneteenth Celebration on Saturday, June 18. The PLDIC was represented by Community Building Chair Aarthi Murty, Gretchen Roos from member PPG, and Rebecca Kennedy from member K&L Gates. Special thanks to Meghan Kalmar for coordinating with the SCC and for donating candy and toy favors for the kids in attendance!

The Coalition's newsletter, The Bridge, will not appear in July or August. But, stay tuned: other programming information and special communications will continue be sent out as needed. You can catch up on all past issues here. Know someone who would be interested in receiving this newsletter, and other news from the PLDIC? Send them this link to sign up!

“We are seeing great success where there is a collaborative partnership with the clients that recognize that while we are focused on the diversity of our teams, we have what we have at the moment, and we are focused on improving,” Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe Chief Talent Officer Siobhan Handley said. “Our metrics-driven approach [assesses] what we’re doing and where there is opportunity in a practical manner.”

Adam Grant’s recent podcast discusses disability at work, and how we need to go beyond the data to be inclusive because disability is often not disclosed.

The forum will feature a dynamic array of keynote programs and community-led sessions that aim to develop social equity consciousness and systems thinking approaches. Programs will address the intersections of social identities and cultivate models for advancing social justice.

Since its inception in 1988, Lavender Law^® has served as a ‘family reunion’ for LGBTQ+ and ally legal professionals to both look back at our shared history and to look forward to the future of the legal profession. The Lavender Law^® Conference & Career Fair is the largest LGBTQ+ legal conference in the country with approximately 1700 attendees attending annually.

The Bridge is a monthly e-newsletter from the Pittsburgh Legal Diversity & Inclusion Coalition (PLDIC). Catch up here if you've missed any issues. Know someone who may be interested in receiving this publication and other PLDIC communications?