BOSTON COLLEGE LAW SCHOOL BLACK ALUMNI NETWORK
The Boston College Law School Black Alumni Network's By-Laws Section 1, ARTICLE IV states in part: “The payment of dues shall be a condition precedent for the participation of any member in the Network activities including, but not limited to the right to vote on any matters, participate in any election, and hold office.”
Section 1 of ARTICLE VI states in part: "The following officers shall be elected from the General Membership: a president (“President”), a first vice president/president-elect (“First Vice President”), a second vice president (“Second Vice President”), a treasurer (“Treasurer”) and a clerk (“Clerk”). . . . Each officer shall serve a one year term or until his/her successor is elected and qualified. The First Vice President shall automatically succeed to the office of the President."
If you are unable to attend the Meeting on October 16, 2010, you may vote by completing and returning this ballot in a sealed envelope along with your dues, unless you have already paid your 2010 dues. Vote for all, one or none, by CIRCLING YES or NO; or nominate other persons for consideration by the general body.
BALLOT
ALL PROPOSED OFFICERS YES NO
*REX GERLACH-BROWN '07 PRESIDENT YES NO
TAVARES BREWINGTON, '03 1st VICE-PRESIDENT YES NO
*MERCEDES S. EVANS '78 2nd VICE-PRESIDENT YES NO
*RUTH-ARLENE W. HOWE '74 TREASURER YES NO
*KANASHA S. HERBERT '07 &
*ELEANOR P. WILLIAMS '06 CLERK † YES NO
I hereby nominate
for
* Incumbent
† There is past precedent for two persons filling an officer position. During the late
1990s, Julie S. Bernard '85 and Reginald Ghiden '86 jointly held the office of President.
Kanasha and Eleanor shared this position last year.
REX GERLACH-BROWN '07 PRESIDENT
BC "double eagle" Rex Gerlach-Brown is a Compliance Officer for Constituent Services, Mass Division of Unemployment Assistance, which services many individuals in the Commonwealth affected by the current economic crisis. For many years before resuming his law studies in 2005, he was Courtroom Clerk to Federal Magistrate Joyce London Alexander.
Rex is committed to advancing efforts underway to restructure the Black Student Leadership Initiative, begun in 1995 as an endowment fund, as The Ruth-Arlene W. Howe Scholarship Fund, which could make current grants to upper-level students. He believes that through the use of social networking tools, members of the BCLS/BAN community can reconnect and make annual donations to the Scholarship Fund a cornerstone of the organization.
TAVARES BREWINGTON '04 lst VICE PRESIDENT
Tavares Brewington, a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, is currently a senior associate at Nixon Peabody. Prior to joining Nixon Peabody, Tavares lived and worked in Klagenfurt, Austria as a coach of Carinthian Black Lions, an American Football team in the Austria Football League, for the 2005 season. He is a member of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and sits on the subcommittee on Police Misconduct and Racial Violence Public Accommodations. He is a Co-founder of Associates for Civil Rights. Tavares is also a coach for the Mattapan Patriots, a Pop Warner team. Tavares looks forward to working with the other members of the Board to strengthen BAN and to provide mentorship to current BLSA students as the next 1st Vice President.
MERCEDES L.SHERROD-EVANS '78 2nd VICE-PRESIDENT
For many years, Mercedes has been the Director of the Office of Civil Rights Compliance and Diversity at the Massachusetts College of Arts College, a public, independent college of art and design on Huntington Avenue in Boston. The college’s professional baccalaureate and graduate programs prepare students to participate in the creative economy as fine artists, designers, and art educators, and to engage in the well being of their society. Mercedes resides in Cambridge, MA with her husband, Davis L. Evans, Senior Admissions Officer for Harvard College, and has two adult children.
KANASHA S. HERBERT '07 & ELEANOR P. WILLIAMS '06 CLERK
Kanasha S. Herbert and Eleanor P. Williams, both actively involved with BAN while law students, last year divided the duties of Clerk. Since graduation, both have been committed to BAN’s mission of enhancing the educational experience of Black law students and fostering their career development.
Kanasha S. Herbert is a 2000 graduate of Northeastern University, and received her Masters degree in Engineering Management from Northeastern University in 2003. She graduated from Boston College Law School in 2007 and is currently an associate at Foley Hoag in Boston where she practices business law.
Eleanor P. Williams is a 2001 graduate of Georgetown University, and a 2006 graduate of Boston College Law School. Eleanor clerked for the Justices of the Massachusetts Superior Court after graduation from BCLS and is currently a fourth year associate at Choate Hall & Stewart in Boston.
RUTH-ARLENE W. HOWE '74 TREASURER
A 1955 graduate of Wellesley College, holder of a Masters in Social Work from Simmons College, she earned her Juris Doctorate from BCLS. Drawing on life experiences as a daughter, wife, mother, and community activist, she devoted her academic endeavors to furthering the best interests of children, especially African-American youth. Since the founding of BAN in 1985 she has been its only treasurer. Retired from full-time teaching in 2008, but accorded the status of Professor Emerita, her profile can still be accessed from the BCLS home page and she continues to mentor and serve as a resource for BLSA students. Her other current civic involvement is with the Grimes-King Foundation for the Elderly, Inc., successor to The Home for Aged Colored Women that first opened in 1860 and was incorporated in 1864. After serving as Clerk for many years, in May 2010 she was elected to serve a term as President.