At last night’s Fund for Justice Holiday event, I was thrilled to connect with so many members of our affinity bar associations. Our shared collective passion in the fight for gender, racial and socioeconomic equality is a constant source of energy and inspiration. 

Today, I want to highlight Ursula Burns—the first Black woman to lead an S&P 500 company. Burns was raised in a low-income housing project in Manhattan’s lower east side by a single mother who worked several jobs to earn money to pay for her three children to attend school.  

From 2010 to 2016, Burns served as Zerox CEO, where she helped generate $18 billion in revenue. She is a founding member of Change the Equation, a CEO-led non-profit program to boost STEM education launched by the Obama administration. She is also a board member of Exxon Mobile, Nestle, and Uber.  

Burns realizes the importance of women and people of color seeing her in this role. Burns has said: “Dreams do come true, but not without the help of others, a good education, a strong work ethic, and the courage to lean in. That’s why I spend so much time with organizations that help minorities and women gain the education and self-respect they need to take risks, to dream big, and, I hope, to someday pay it forward.”  

Thank you to our Board, leaders, staff, members and sponsors—every volunteer hour, every dollar, and every time you just show up allows us to continue elevating one another. And for that I am forever grateful. 

Pay it forward by making a contribution to our Fund for Justice here.