CLEO Issues Call for Nominations for EDGE Honors Celebration
CLEO Issues Call for Nominations for EDGE Honors Celebration
Nationwide Effort to Honor Individuals, Law Schools, and
Legal Organizations Contributing to Education, Diversity, and Greater Equality
Largo, Maryland, May 16, 2019—The Council on Legal Education Opportunity, Inc. (CLEO) has opened its call for nominations for the 2019 CLEO EDGE Awards. The CLEO EDGE Honors Reception will take place on Thursday, November 7, 2019 in Washington, DC. The awards will honor a total of nine individuals, law schools, and legal organizations that have made significant accomplishments to Education, Diversity, and Greater Equality in the legal profession. Additionally, the second CLEO EDGE Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. Heritage Award will be presented to former, two-term Massachusetts Governor and current Bain Capital Managing Director, The Honorable Deval L. Patrick, by Mr. Jordan himself.
“For more than 50 years, CLEO has embraced diversity, equity, and inclusion in legal education and the profession,” stated Cassandra Sneed Ogden, Chief Executive Officer of CLEO. “Our work and our mission have been to ensure that we expand opportunities for underrepresented communities. But we couldn’t have done this work without the support of the individuals, law schools, and organizations who stand with us. We want to again honor and recognize a few of these important individuals and institutions this year.”
The CLEO EDGE Awards were created in celebration of the organization’s historic 50th Anniversary to shine a spotlight on individuals, law schools, and other legal entities in the following categories: Education; Diversity; and Greater Equality. Nominees will be announced on Monday, July 8th. Awardees will be announced on Tuesday, September 3rd and recognized at the CLEO EDGE Honors Reception in November.
To be considered for a CLEO EDGE award, the nominator (or nominee) must complete the online application, which can be found at www.cleoinc.org/edgeawards. Additional application materials, such as: letter(s) of support explaining how the nominee fulfills the various criteria, résumés, listing of previous awards/certificates, may be uploaded but are not required. Nominations will be accepted until Thursday, June 27, 2019. The CLEO EDGE Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. Heritage Award is bestowed on an individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in Education, Diversity, and Greater Equality in the legal profession and society.
About the Council on Legal Education Opportunity, Inc.
CLEO, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to diversifying the legal profession by expanding legal education opportunities for persons from traditionally under-represented racial and ethnic groups, low-income, and disadvantaged communities. Founded in 1968, when the number of lawyers of color was less than one percent, CLEO has since had more than 25,000 high school, college, prelaw, and law students to participate in its programs with more than 46% becoming members of the legal profession. CLEO alumni have excelled in every area of the legal profession to include judges, corporate attorneys, law school deans and professors, practitioners, politicians, and more. More information about CLEO and its programs can be found at https://cleoinc.org/
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2019
Contact: Bernetta J. Hayes, Director
Prelaw Programs Operations
bhayes@cleoinc.org – 240.582.8600 x203