Saint Paul, MN — On June 30th, 2021, the People’s Parity Project announced a number of changes to their Board of Directors in advance of the 2022 fiscal year, beginning July 1st.
PPP co-founder and Board Chair Emma Janger and PPP co-founder and Board Vice-Chair Sejal Singh have left the Board in planned departures effective June 25th, as has Board member Ceilidh Gao. David Seligman, Executive Director of Towards Justice, and Anna Prakash, Partner at Nichols Kaster, have joined the Board of Directors effective June 25th. On the same day, LiJia Gong of Public Rights Project and Jacob Lipton of Justice Catalyst were elected Co-Chairs of the Board.
“It is with many mixed emotions that I share the news of several long-planned departures from the PPP Board of Directors,” said Executive Director Molly Coleman. “After a wonderful year on the Board, Ceilidh Gao’s one-year term has expired; and, after three years of immeasurable contributions to the organization, two of our co-founders, Emma Janger and Sejal Singh, are stepping away from the Board of Directors to pursue new professional paths. Their passion for this work, their brilliance and fearlessness, and their commitment to the behind-the-scenes work that has allowed this organization to grow will be missed immensely, even as we know they will go on to do incredible things. PPP would not exist without Emma and Sejal, and we are forever grateful for their leadership.
In reflecting on her time with PPP, outgoing Board chair and co-founder Emma Janger remarked that, “After over three years of wearing many hats with People’s Parity Project, I am stepping away from the Board to focus on other professional endeavors. Helping build PPP from a group of law students in a living room to a national organization with chapters across the country is the work I am most proud of in my life. Working with each and every PPP organizer has made me a more fearless lawyer and a more committed advocate. The PPP community has given me hope that a more just and democratic legal system is possible; I am amazed every week by the work PPP has done and will continue to do to fight for workers, to unrig the judiciary, and to build a legal profession that values people over corporate power. I cannot wait to see what the organization does next.”
Sejal Singh, outgoing Board Vice-Chair and PPP co-founder, shared her own reflections, saying: “We started the People’s Parity Project three years ago to fight for a legal system that builds worker power, on the job and in our politics. In the last three years, that fight has only gotten more urgent. During a global pandemic when billionaire wealth soared, corporations forced low-wage workers of color to work for minimum wage on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis. The Federalist Society and the Chamber of Commerce have cemented control of our courts, which are now more hostile to workers than at any moment in my lifetime. And we are looking at a future where corporations get to write their own rules — while getting courts to shred democratically passed legislation that puts people over profits. We can’t just lawyer our way out of this problem: we have to organize. I’m proud that in the last three years, PPP has shifted the conventional wisdom about corporate power and the law. But I’m prouder still that we’re building a long overdue mass movement to end it — and I hope the legal community will continue to join us.
“While nobody could replace our outgoing board members, we are thrilled to welcome two fantastic new additions to the Board,” Coleman said. “David Seligman, Executive Director of Towards Justice, and Anna Prakash, Partner at Nichols Kaster, are lifelong champions for justice who will be instrumental in moving the organization into our next phase. Further, having Board members LiJia Gong and Jacob Lipton step into the role of Co-Chairs will bring important new leadership to PPP as we move into 2022 and beyond. This is a new era for the organization, but one I look forward to entering with our remarkable Board of Directors.”
In reflecting on her new role with the organization and the new changes to the PPP Board, incoming Board Co-Chair LiJia Gong said: “I am thrilled to serve as Co-Chair of the PPP board with Jacob Lipton. I am inspired by the fearless and powerful work of PPP’s founders and organizers and cannot wait to continue building the movement to dismantle corporate power and build worker power.”
Incoming Board Co-Chair Jacob Lipton welcomed Anna and David to the Board, stating “We’re thrilled to welcome David and Anna to the PPP board. They bring with them their life’s commitment to fighting for justice for workers and consumers, and we are excited to work with them to tackle corporate power throughout the legal system and profession.”
In describing his motivation for joining the PPP Board, incoming Board member David Seligman shared that, “We all know that the law and the legal profession help to perpetuate society’s deepest structural injustices. The first step in solving the problem is having the courage to call it out. I’m inspired by PPP’s courage, and I’m thrilled to support the movement it is building to fight for a legal profession that advances the cause of justice and helps to rebalance the asymmetries of wealth, power, and voice that plague our society.”
“The People’s Parity Project is bold, unabashed, and pursuing exactly the type of systemic change that is needed to bring our profession closer to reflecting all of society,” said incoming Board member Anna Prakash. “I’m honored to be joining their board.”
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People’s Parity Project is a movement of attorneys and law students organizing for a democratized legal system which values people over profits, builds the power of working people, and opposes subordination of any form. Together, we are dismantling a profession that upholds corporate power and building a legal system that is a force for justice and equity. Our work focuses on building power for working people in the civil legal system through organizing, policy innovation, political education, and solidarity. Learn more: peoplesparity.org.