Stacey Abrams to Receive CLEO EDGE Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. Heritage Award at Virtual Awards Reception
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Stacey Abrams to Receive CLEO EDGE Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. Heritage Award at Virtual Awards Reception
Largo, MD—September 30, 2020— Political leader Stacey Abrams will be recognized for her lifetime achievements during the CLEO EDGE Virtual Honors reception on November 12, 2020. Candidate for Governor of Georgia, Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, and Founder of the Fair Fight Action, a national voting rights organization, Abrams will receive the CLEO EDGE Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. Heritage Award. The Award honors a person who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in Education, Diversity, and Greater Equality in the legal profession and society. Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. received the inaugural award at CLEO’s 50th anniversary; Hon. Deval Patrick, former Governor of Massachusetts received the award in 2019.
An attorney, New York Times bestselling author of Our Time is Now and Lead from the Outside, and serial entrepreneur, Abrams became the 2018 Democratic nominee for Governor of Georgia, where she won more votes than any other Democrat in the state’s history.
Over the course of her career, she has founded multiple organizations devoted to voting rights, training and hiring young people of color, and tackling social issues. Dedicated to civic engagement, her most recent endeavors include: launching Fair Fight to ensure every American has a voice in our election system, Fair Count to ensure accuracy in the 2020 Census and greater participation in civic engagement, and the Southern Economic Advancement Project, a public policy initiative to broaden economic power and build equity in the South.
She serves on the Board of Advisors for Climate Power 2020, the Center for American Progress, and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, and is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Abrams received degrees from Spelman College, the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, and Yale Law School. Born in Madison, Wisconsin, she and her five siblings grew up in Gulfport, Mississippi and were reared in Georgia.
“Thank you to The Council on Legal Education Opportunity, Inc. for this incredible honor and for working to expand opportunities for young people of color and low-income students interested in the legal profession. As our nation seeks to address some of the major challenges of our time such as voter suppression, environmental justice and police accountability, we need dedicated servants on the frontlines who are committed to ensuring justice for all.”
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 participate in its programs with more than 46 percent 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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