Posted January 2, 202010:05 am
On December 6, 2019, Legal Aid held its last Board Meeting of 2019. It was a bittersweet occasion, as we said goodbye to board members who had served out their term limits and welcomed new members and officers. It was also the moment we proudly announced our Board President as of January 1, 2020: Mike Ungar, Esq.
“This is a calling.”
Mike is the Chair of Litigation at Ulmer Berne, and has been a supporter of legal aid since his law school days. In 1983, while studying at Boston University School of Law, he enrolled in a clinical program for legal aid. “I was warned that if you get involved with legal aid, it will get into your blood,” Mike says, “and it will be with you forever wherever you go. It turned out to be true.”
Mike’s connection with Cleveland Legal Aid began when he was elected President of the Cleveland Bar Association in 2010. A firm believer in collaboration across the legal profession, Mike reached out to Cleveland Legal Aid’s Executive Director, Colleen Cotter, and invited her to join the Bar’s Executive Committee. Later when Colleen invited Mike to join Legal Aid’s Board of Directors, he was more than happy to accept.
“Everything about Legal Aid’s mission is attractive to me,” says Mike. “I live and die by the old adage: ‘For those to whom much is given, much is required.’ This is a calling. That’s just my view of things.
Mike says he is proud to be part of an organization has taken a leadership role on policy issues that impact children and families, referencing both Cleveland’s new Lead-Safe Homes law and the Right to Counsel initiative.
“My overarching goal is to leave the place in a little bit better shape than it was when I started, but it already functions beautifully. It’s such an amazing organization that’s always raising the bar.”
Thank you for your service!
Legal Aid is deeply grateful to the following people who ended their Board service with us last year. Over the years, these outstanding individuals contributed much to our organization and our community:
- Jillian Charles, Eaton Corporation
- Phil Fastenau, University Hospitals
- Karen Giffen, Giffen & Kaminski
- Delores Gray, Community Representative
- Ron Johnson, KeyBank
- Ed Moore, RPM International
Welcome aboard!
On a lighter note, we welcome the following new Board Members who are beginning their service with us in 2020:
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- Harlin Adelman, University Hospitals
- Craig Beazer, KeyBank
- Jan Roller, Giffen & Kaminski
- Doug Wang, retired from Northern Trust
New Officers for 2020
Legal Aid is proud to announce the following officers for 2020:
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- Mike Ungar, Ulmer Berne – President
- Gladys Reed, Community Representative – Vice President
- Rita Maimbourg, Tucker Ellis – Vice President
- Jonathan Leiken, Diebold Nixdorf – Vice President
- Steve Fazio, Squire Patton Boggs – Secretary/Treasurer