Joseph A Keyes, Jr, who has served on the board since 2014 and as Board President since 2017 has rolled off the Board of Directors as of this month. Joe has been a volunteer attorney with Just Neighbors following his retirement as Chief Legal Officer at the Association of American Medical Colleges. He has been an ardent supporter of Just Neighbors as a leader, volunteer, donor, and advocate for our mission. He has mentored other board members and provided great leadership to the organization. Though no longer on the board, Joe plans to stay engaged in the work of Just Neighbors. We are so appreciative of all the work Joe has done during his time on the board and are very grateful that he will continue to be an active part of the Just Neighbors family.
In May, at our Board’s annual meeting, Bryce Chadwick was elected as the new Board President. Bryce has been a long-time volunteer and has served on the board since 2015. He has served the last four years as Vice President. He is currently an attorney at Sheppard Mullin Richter and Hampton and is a member of the firm's Government Contracts, Investigations, and International Trade Practice. Bryce received his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Lauren Bell was elected as the new Vice President. Lauren joined the board in 2019 and has co-chaired our Lady Liberty fund-raiser as well as our 25th-anniversary event. She is the Founder and Managing Director of LaCire and is a business operations executive with over 15 years-experience growing and scaling new and established businesses, specializing in minority and/or woman-owned organizations and nonprofits. She holds a masters in both engineering and public policy from UC Berkeley as well as a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Howard University.
Leticia Corona, an attorney at Bazzi Immigration Law, PLLC focused on removal defense and humanitarian relief, was recently elected as Board Secretary. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia’s Immigration Law Forum. She has traveled to the U.S.—Mexico border volunteering with the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.’s (CLINIC) Estamos Unidos Asylum Project, Immigration Justice Campaign’s Proyecto Dilley (formerly the Dilley Pro Bono Project), and the Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. Leticia joined Just Neighbors board member as a result of last year’s merger with DC-MD Justice for Our Neighbors, she remains committed to advancing legal representation for our immigrant neighbors.
Lisa Trangsrud continues as the Treasurer. Lisa has been a long-time volunteer at Just Neighbors and has served as treasurer since December 2012. She has an MBA from the University of Miami. Her prior jobs include economic analyst for the U.S. Commerce Department, commercial lending consultant for Chevy Chase Bank, and teacher at Justice High School.
Just Neighbors is blessed to have an excellent board and is excited for what the future holds with the new leadership team.
Thank you, Joe Keyes for your many years of Board leadership! You have done a wonderful job. And thank you also, Lisa Transgrud, for almost 10 years of serving as our Treasurer! Both of you are servant leaders and Just Neighbors is blessed to have had you on our team!!