“I admire the aspect of Lawyers Clearinghouse that focuses on helping clients solve civil legal problems, which then helps them transform their lives … [they’re] doing really important work in communities.” – Tonysha Taylor, Lawyers Clearinghouse Board President
One of Tonysha Taylor’s earliest memories highlighting the need for intentional diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices occurred when she switched from public school to private school in the 9th grade.
“There were lots of transitions and different things that were challenging to me,” she said. “Not just around the lack of racial diversity, but around class.”
Her experience in the more rigid and homogenous environment of private school is one of many reasons Tonysha has always prioritized inclusion and belonging in her career. However, she formally started her DEI journey in 2007 while working in the education field, where she spent nearly ten years coordinating DEI initiatives and programming for schools in Massachusetts.
In 2016, Tonysha accepted a position as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation (MLAC), bringing her DEI experience to the legal sector for the first time. Her role has since shifted to Director of Engagement and Culture to better capture the full scope of her work.
At MLAC, Tonysha has helped revamp hiring processes, organizational policies, and programming, and has provided workplace culture trainings across 16 legal services organizations, in addition to facilitating trainings for new Massachusetts attorneys in collaboration with the Boston Bar Association. Since 2019 she has also provided similar guidance to Lawyers Clearinghouse, first as a board member and now as Board President—a position she has held for the past three years.
“For me, leading in the legal field—and in particular, civil legal aid—is one way to address the various community needs that we have, and one way to address the needs of communities that find themselves on the margins of society,” Tonysha said.
During her time on the Lawyers Clearinghouse Board, Tonysha has helped members and staff think strategically about how to formalize inclusion and belonging initiatives and turn them into an integral part of the organization’s culture.
One of Tonysha’s earliest recommendations included hiring a part-time DEI Fellow, which eventually turned into a full-time position for Lex Brown, who now serves as the Clearinghouse’s Culture & Systems Manager. She also helped initiate paid internships and staff salary increases, because she believes in the importance of equitable compensation for professional experience.
“We shouldn’t expect anyone to work for free,” Tonysha explains, “It’s not equitable and puts people who maybe can’t afford to do free work or volunteer work at a disadvantage.”
Tonysha says that inclusion and belonging initiatives at Lawyers Clearinghouse have only been so successful because the board and staff care about following through. To her, this is a crucial aspect of inclusion and belonging work; there can be no forward momentum without it.
Even as DEI becomes targeted in public discourse, Tonysha remains optimistic about the future. She believes the work will continue as long as people and organizations remain committed.
“Things are cyclical,” she said. “We will be in this space again, where people are reconsidering what [this work] means.”
