Paulette Brown Joins Community Foundation Board

January 18, 2017

brown_paulette_aba_newpgThe Community Foundation of New Jersey (CFNJ) today announced that Paulette Brown, a member of the labor & employment practice group of Locke Lord LLP and the immediate past President of the American Bar Association, has joined its Board of Directors.

Throughout her career of more than 35 years, Brown has held a number of positions, including in-house counsel to a number of Fortune 500 companies and as a Municipal Court Judge. For the past 25 years, Brown has engaged in the private practice of law, focusing on all facets of labor and employment and commercial litigation. She has defended employers in cases involving discrimination on the basis of age, sex, marital status, sexual harassment, disability, race and national origin. Brown has achieved results in class action employment discrimination cases based upon race and wage and hour claims. She is also experienced in all aspects of workplace training and collective bargaining.

“We are privileged to have one of New Jersey’s most accomplished and respected attorneys join our Board,” said Tom Uhlman, Chairman of the CFNJ Board of Trustees. “Paulette understands better than most the power and pitfalls of our complex legal system and the most effective ways to leverage the law for equal justice and, ultimately, a better life. We are eager for her input as we continue to tackle some of New Jersey’s toughest problems.”

Brown has been recognized by the New Jersey Law Journal as one of the most prominent women and minority attorneys in the State of New Jersey and by the National Law Journal as one of “The 50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America.” She has been listed as a NJ Super Lawyer since its inception and for the past three years as one of the top 50 women lawyers and one of the top 100 lawyers.

In 2011, Brown received the NJ State Bar Association’s Excellence in Diversity Award and was honored with The Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award by the American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession. In 2014, Brown was honored by the Rutgers Law-Camden Black Law Students Association for exemplifying the values advocated by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“The Community Foundation is unique among public charities in New Jersey in both the variety and depth of its community-based work,” said Brown. “I look forward to working with my fellow board members to ensure our impact is felt across communities and in a way that leaves them better for the long-term.”

About the Community Foundation of New Jersey

Since 1979, individuals and businesses have opened charitable funds at the Community Foundation of New Jersey to fulfill their charitable goals and craft their philanthropic legacies. These Legacy Funds and Donor Advised Funds have granted tens of millions of dollars each year, and enabled the Foundation to launch its own Changemaker Projects that are improving New Jersey and its dynamic communities. The Foundation’s funds currently hold over $400 million in charitable assets and made over 5,000 grants last year to charitable work in New Jersey and around the world.

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