Sally Curran, Esq., Co-Chair
Executive Director - The Volunteer Lawyers Project of Onondaga County, Inc.
Sally Curran is the Executive Director of The Volunteer
Lawyers Project of Onondaga County, Inc. (OnVLP), a pro bono legal services
organization serving low-income people throughout Central New York. She has
guided OnVLP through a spin off into an independent nonprofit, major technology
upgrades, and expansion, including new programming to address immigration, family
matters, LGBT rights, homeless needs and community economic development. Prior
to joining OnVLP, Sally had a family law practice in Portland, Maine, where she
provided over 200 hours of pro bono service every year. Sally graduated summa
cum laude from the University of Maine with degrees in Spanish Language and
Women’s Studies and obtained her Juris Doctorate at the City University of
New York College of Law. She is licensed to practice law in New York and Maine.
From Fall 2016 through Spring 2018 she served as an Adjunct Professor of Law
heading the LGBT Community Clinic for Cornell Law. She serves on the Boards of
the Housing and Homeless Coalition of Central New York and the Syracuse Parks
Conservancy, and is a member of the NYSBA President’s Committee
on Access to Justice and Committee on LGBT People and the Law. She is a former
Board member of both the Onondaga County Bar Association and the Central New
York Women’s Bar Associations and former member of the NYSBA Committee on Legal
Aid.
Adriene Holder., Co-Chair
Attorney-in-charge, The Legal Aid Society
Adriene serves as
Attorney-in-Charge of the Civil Practice of The Legal Aid Society and has
devoted her entire professional career to challenging poverty and racial
injustice for the advancement of equal rights. Adriene is responsible for
managing the provision of comprehensive civil legal services through a network
of neighborhood offices, courthouse based offices, and specialized city-wide
units serving all five boroughs of New York City with over 500 staff working on
more than 50,000 cases each year. Prior to her appointment to
Attorney-in-Charge of the Civil Practice, Adriene served as Attorney-in-Charge
of the Harlem Office; practiced law as a staff attorney in the Law Reform Unit
of the Civil Practice; and began her career as a staff attorney in the Harlem
Office Housing Law Unit.
In addition to her
formal duties, Adriene also serves as a member of the New York State Permanent
Commission on Access to Justice, is the Co-Chair of the New York State Bar
Association Committee on Legal Aid, is a member of the New York State Bar
Association President’s Committee on Access to Justice, is an executive board
member for Housing Court Answers, and previously served as a Tenant
Representative on the New York City Rent Guidelines Board. Adriene has also
served as an adjunct professor at The New School and as a volunteer instructor
at Columbia Law School.
Often called upon to
work on the Society’s legislative agenda, Adriene frequently testifies before
legislative bodies on the city and state levels. She also is consulted on
various legal and policy matters impacting low-income communities by the media,
law schools, and policy or governmental agencies.
Adriene received her
B.S. in Political Science from Spelman College, and received her J.D. from
Columbia Law School.
