PILI is excited to welcome Jessica Schneider as the Chair of PILI’s Alumni Network Leadership Council. Jessica is a staff attorney at Equip for Equality. She served for the past year as Chair-Elect and Liaison to the PILI Board of Directors and will serve as Chair from September 1, 2019 to August 31, 2020.
“My favorite part of serving on the Alumni Network Leadership Council is making connections with new people,” said Jessica. “I also have expanded my idea of PILI is and how I can contribute. It’s nice to be on the formal side of things.”
Jessica was a PILI Intern at MALDEF in 2009. After she graduated from DePaul University College of Law in 2010, she volunteered at at CARPLS and then worked at Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights. Last year, she joined Equip for Equality as a staff attorney. All the while, she has stayed involved with PILI’s Alumni Network and has served on PILI’s Alumni Network Leadership Council for several years.
“Networks have always been important to me and I have looked for ones where I’ve found people I really identify with and who have the same interests and values as me,” said Jessica. “I felt like PILI was that and I met a lot of really great people and made good connections during and after law school through PILI. That’s why I stayed involved and as I have continued my legal career it has continued to offer new connections and opportunities that interest me.”
As Chair, Jessica hopes to facilitate similar connections for other PILI Alumni. She’s looking for ways to get more people involved and increase participation even more in the Alumni Programs and find out what they hope to gain from the Alumni Network. She notes that the Alumni Network is a great way for other public interest attorneys to get involved, with PILI’s Alumni Network Leadership Council focused more on programmatic and service opportunities rather than fundraising as is the case with most traditional young professionals boards and governing boards. It is led by Alumni and for Alumni who all have something to offer.
“PILI Alumni are my people,” said Jessica. “When I was seeking public interest employment, PILI really helped me make connections and I have been trying to pay it forward ever since. The PILI Alumni are more than a network, it’s a community of people supporting each other.”
PILI is grateful to the Immediate Past Chair, Emily Seymore for her leadership over the past year. In addition to Jessica being named to the Chair position, David J. Scriven-Young, Peckar & Abramson, was named Chair-Elect and Martin Cozzola of Chicago Volunteer Legal Services was named Vice Chair. We look forward to working with this great leadership team over the coming year!
Learn more about PILI’s Alumni Network »