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2018 SPECIAL SESSION I

18200201D
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 591
Offered May 15, 2018
Commending Mary Bauer.
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Patron-- Toscano
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WHEREAS, Mary Bauer, a passionate advocate for Virginians in need who has dedicated her long legal career to fighting injustice and inequality, is retiring as executive director of the Legal Aid Justice Center in 2018; and

WHEREAS, a graduate of The College of William and Mary and the University of Virginia School of Law, Mary Bauer began her career in 1990 with Peninsula Legal Aid in Williamsburg; and

WHEREAS, Mary Bauer worked for what is now the Legal Aid Justice Center in Charlottesville beginning in 1991; she served as legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia from 1996 to 1998, when she returned to the Legal Aid Justice Center to establish and lead the Virginia Justice Center for Farm and Immigrant workers; and

WHEREAS, Mary Bauer became well known for her litigation and advocacy on behalf of farm workers and other immigrant workers and work to address systemic abuse and exploitation; she founded and led a similar program at the Southern Poverty Law Center from 2004 to 2009, before becoming the organization’s legal director; and

WHEREAS, after serving as legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center for four years, Mary Bauer again returned to the Legal Aid Justice Center in 2013 as director of advocacy, then became executive director in 2014; and

WHEREAS, as executive director, Mary Bauer oversees the operation of the 50-employee, four-office legal center and has helped it become a leading voice in the Charlottesville community, a positive force for change throughout the Commonwealth, and one of the leading programs providing legal services to low-income people in the country; and

WHEREAS, among her many accomplishments, Mary Bauer created the Legal Aid Justice Center’s Civil Rights and Racial Justice Program, which works to reduce the stigma and criminalization of poverty in Virginia; and

WHEREAS, a respected expert in her field, Mary Bauer has litigated many high-profile cases and testified before multiple United States congressional committees and subcommittees, and she has earned numerous awards and accolades for her work, including selection as a fellow of the Virginia Law Foundation in 2017; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Mary Bauer hereby be commended for her many years of service to the people of the Commonwealth and the United States and for her leadership of the Legal Aid Justice Center on the occasion of her retirement as its executive director; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Mary Bauer as an expression of the House of Delegates’ admiration for her legacy of achievements in service to the residents of Charlottesville and the Commonwealth.