2018 Equal Justice Conference: Educating Legislators About Legal Aid 2.0

Government funding is one of the principle sources of funding for legal aid programs but convincing politicians to fund these programs can seem like a huge obstacle. In this report from On The Road at the 2018 Equal Justice Conference, host Kimberly Sanchez talks to Jim Sandman, Betty Balli Torres, Carol Bergman, Nikole Nelson, and Vicky Selkowe about the complex issue of educating donors about what legal aid is and why they should care about it. They share advice about how to develop relationships with donors including seeing legislators as people and fully understanding the difference between educating and lobbying.

James Sandman is president of the Legal Services Corporation, the single largest U.S. funder of civil legal aid programs for low-income people.

Betty Balli Torres has served as the executive director of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, the largest Texas-based funder for legal services to the poor, since October 2001.

Carol Bergman has served at Legal Services Corporation since March 2012 and is responsible for managing LSC’s communications and relationship with Congress, the executive branch, the media, and the general public.

Nikole Nelson is the executive director of Alaska Legal Services Corporation, Alaska’s only LSC-funded program and the only statewide provider of free civil legal assistance to low-income Alaskans.

Vicky Selkowe is the director of legislative, rulemaking and training compliance at Legal Action of Wisconsin and lead instructor at Wisconsin Women’s Network.