BBA’s Volunteer Lawyers Project appoints two new board members

May 19, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

Elizabeth Dank, Esq., new board member of VLP. Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Bar Association

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The Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) announces the appointment of two new members to its Board of Directors following election at the organization’s meeting held on May 11, 2021.

Joining the VLP’s Board of Directors are Elizabeth Dank, Esq. and Lee Popkin, a partner at Proskauer Rose LLP. Upon their election, the new members shared the following:

“I am thrilled to join the board of the Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project. As a public interest attorney, I am deeply passionate about the VLP’s mission to enhance access to legal services and am honored to work alongside my fellow board members and VLP staff and volunteers to serve the Brooklyn community,” said Dank.

“I am very excited to be joining the VLP board and look forward to helping to advance the organization’s mission of providing much-needed access to legal services to the Brooklyn community,” said Popkin.

Lee Popkin, a partner at Proskauer Rose LLP and a new board member of VLP. Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Bar Association

As restrictions begin to lift in New York City, so will the moratoriums put in place to aid the most vulnerable in our Brooklyn community during the ongoing global pandemic. As a result, the VLP has engaged leaders like Dank and Popkin to help close the justice gap for thousands of disenfranchised Brooklynites through the expansion of the VLP’s network and strengthening of its partnerships within the NYC legal and business communities.

“We are thrilled to welcome Liz and Lee to the VLP’s Board of Directors. Their knowledge, expertise, and shared passion to give back to the community and advance access to justice will help strengthen the VLP’s mission during a time where it is needed most,” said Daniel Angel, Board Resource and Governance Committee co-chair, VLP Board of Directors.

Daniel Angel, Board Resource and Governance Committee co-chair, VLP Board of Directors. Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Bar Association

Dank and Popkin join a 21-member board that oversees the VLP’s finances and strategic development including: Lynn E. Judell, Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas LLP, Chair; Lawrence F. DiGiovanna, Abrams Fensterman, Vice Chair; Scottye Lindsey, Deutsche Bank, Treasurer; Stephen Z. Williamson, Law Office of Stephen Z. Williamson, P.L.L.C., Secretary; Daniel Angel, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP; Lisa Braun, PwC; Caroline Conway, Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners; Brian Fryd, Cornerstone Research; Jeffrey B. Gewirtz, BSE Global; Adam B. Gilbert, Nixon Peabody LLP; Sean Mikala Gray, Capital One; Heidi Lee Henderson, Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project, President; Alexander Kaplan, Oppenheim + Zebrak, LLP; Colin S. Kelly, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP; Mark Lande, Island Capital Group LLC; Michael Leahy, American International Group, Inc.; Thanya Polonio-Jones, Goldman Sachs; Adam Shepherd, Macquarie Group; Jennifer Tan, MBA, MPH; Michael Watson, Ford Foundation; and Steven Zelkowitz.

The mission of the Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP), an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is to ensure that the legal system is accessible to those who, because of special needs or the burden of poverty, would not otherwise have their rights protected or their voices heard.