Posted October 20, 202312:00 pm
Congratulations to Legal Aid’s 2023 Staff Award Recipients!
The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland will recognize the following staff award recipients at the 2023 Annual Meeting, to be held on Monday, November 20 at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown. Learn more and purchase tickets.
The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland annually recognizes staff through this awards program funded by Legal Aid’s Leadership Fund for Organizational Development. The fund is supported by the Allen Madorsky Memorial Fund and the Alan Gressel Memorial Fund at Legal Aid and numerous other individual gifts. If you are interested in making a gift to support Legal Aid’s Leadership Fund, please call 216-861-5217.
Lyonel Jones Lifetime Achievement Award... for a career dedicated to The Legal Aid Society and its clients; named in honor of C. Lyonel Jones (1932 – 2006) who himself dedicated his entire legal career to Legal Aid.
- Penny Gooden, Intake Specialist II, Volunteer Lawyers Program and Intake Group
With Legal Aid since the late 1970’s, Penny Gooden has been a dedicated employee for 45 years and is passionate about pursuing justice and providing support for Legal Aid’s clients. She initially began her work at Legal Aid’s Westside Office, filling many roles from legal secretary to office manager. Penny’s career path adapted along with the organization’s growth and change. She eventually moved to the Downtown Office and joined the Intake Group at the recommendation of a supervisor who noticed her keen interviewing skills. Now, nearly 20 years later, Penny remains a leader in the Intake Group, serving as a mentor to new staff, and a supportive colleague to all. Last year she also served as mentor to local high school students participating in a corporate work study program at Legal Aid, giving of herself patiently and generously as she introduced the students to the scope of Legal Aid’s work and provided positive coaching along the way. Legal Aid and the Intake Group are stronger because of Penny's dedicated service.
Leadership Award… to acknowledge outstanding staff leadership, tireless efforts for Legal Aid clients and vision for Legal Aid’s work. The Leadership Award is presented to an individual who makes Legal Aid a better organization, helps others around them achieve more for Legal Aid clients, and creates a team for social justice.
- David Johnson, Data & Evaluation Manager
David Johnson is a superhero behind the scenes. David’s expertise, his ability to see and create new solutions, and his communication skills enable Legal Aid to make data-informed decisions. Over the last 8 years, David’s leadership has earned him a reputation as a data and evaluation expert and also as a reliable confidant, mentor, and leader. The big picture is always present in David’s mind, and he genuinely considers every possible (and often unique) scenario when analyzing data or applying new software or processes. He has elevated Legal Aid’s level of efficiency and organizational capacity by applying insightful safeguards and custom analytics to our case management system. His knowledge has helped Legal Aid pioneer new tools and advance advocacy for our clients. David’s deep data expertise not only improves outcomes and operations for Cleveland Legal Aid staff and clients, but also for others. His contributions have a profound impact on Legal Aid’s ability to fulfill its mission.
The Claude E. Clarke Award… recognizes staff members for outstanding service through professional performance and commitment to Legal Aid and its clients, and is named for Claude E. Clarke (1890 – 1975), who directed Legal Aid’s work for nearly four decades.
- Tammy Adams, Paralegal II, Economic Justice Practice Group
Tammy displays outstanding service to Legal Aid’s tax clients, placing them first and centering their needs. With Legal Aid since 2021, Tammy lives the value of prioritizing our clients. She graciously accommodates clients’ meeting location preferences, even when that means she must travel to a different Legal Aid office or other location convenient for the client. She promptly returns client phone calls and emails, provides personalized attention, and strives to establish a good rapport with each and every tax client. Tammy’s hard work contributes to the positive reputation and successful outcomes of Legal Aid’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic.
- David King, Senior Attorney, Housing Practice Group
David joined Legal Aid in 2020, after serving as a Cuyahoga County Assistant Public Defender for nearly twenty-nine years. His career as a Public Defender acquainted him with the issues facing low-income clients and their families, allowing him to hit the ground running at Legal Aid. Focused on civil landlord/tenant cases, primarily eviction defense work, David has demonstrated the ability to negotiate effectively with landlords’ attorneys. Through his work, David combines his dedication to humanity and his commitment to social justice with his determination to ensure that the judicial system functions fairly for all.
- Emily Murphy, Paralegal I, Economic Justice Practice Group
Emily exhibits outstanding service through her professional performance and commitment to our client community. She joined Legal Aid in 2021 while we were experiencing a huge increase in unemployment benefits cases because of the pandemic. A quick study, Emily jumped in to learn how to review those cases and how to support the attorneys handling them. As the number of unemployment cases waned, Emily shifted to learn other areas of employment law. When meeting with clients, Emily is patient and empathetic, helping the client identify and work toward their goals. She also regularly flags potential issues for attorneys and proposes strategies that may be helpful to the attorney.
- Krystle Rivera, Staff Attorney, Health & Opportunity Practice Group
Krystle was hired in 2020 and quickly learned both education and public benefits law, bringing her experience from prior positions in the education field. This unique insight elevates our education law practice and results in strong advocacy. Krystle is involved in the statewide education task force, and in 2021 she took on the added responsibility of becoming the Community Advocacy Program attorney for two of our Medical Legal Partnership (MLP) sites with MetroHealth. Krystle places a priority on understanding the issues that are important to our clients and the communities we serve, and regularly represents Legal Aid at community events.
- Michael Russell, Senior Attorney, Community Engagement Practice Group
Mike demonstrates a deep commitment to Legal Aid, having worked at legal aid offices in two other states prior to joining Cleveland Legal Aid in 2017. His work consistently reflects his commitment to working for and with our clients to achieve their goals. Since 2019, Mike has been a senior attorney in Community Engagement helping lead the development of our group representation, community economic development, and community lawyering work. He works on a wide range of projects, serves as lead counsel on several complex cases in which we represent groups, and displays a willingness to continue growing his professional skills to better serve our clients.