Robert Gnaizda
Encyclopedia
Robert Gnaizda is retired co-founder, General Counsel and Policy Director for the Greenlining Institute
based in Berkeley
, California
. A graduate of Columbia College of Columbia University
and Yale Law School
, he has been known as an advocate of social justice for over 40 years. He was born circa 1936, grew up in Brooklyn NY, and was admitted to the California Bar on January 9, 1962.
Prior to co-founding the Greenlining Institute, he was the founder and chief counsel for America’s first legal service program for rural families, California Rural Legal Assistance, which received numerous national awards as the most outstanding legal service program in the United States. He also was the founder and senior partner in the western United States’ first public interest law firm, Public Advocates. He served under former California Governor Jerry Brown
as California's Health Director and Chief Deputy Secretary for Health, Welfare and Prisons and was the State Bar representative for the Federal Judicial Selection Committee.
Gnaizda was Statewide Litigation Director for California Rural Legal Assistance, representing with low-income and mistreated farm workers in California's Salinas Valley during the era of Ceasar Chavez.
He has been chief counsel in over 100 class action court and administrative cases focusing on minority economic empowerment and civil rights. In 2009, he was recipient of The Loren Miller Legal Services Award. The award is given annually and honors an attorney who has demonstrated long-term commitment to legal services and who has personally done significant work in extending legal services to the poor.
In the documentary film Inside Job
(2010) by Charles H. Ferguson
about the financial crisis of 2007-2010, Gnaizda "characterizes the Obama administration as 'a Wall Street government,' a take Mr. Ferguson clearly endorses."
Greenlining Institute
The Greenlining Institute is a public policy, research, and advocacy non-profit organization based in Berkeley, California. The Greenlining Institute's mission is to empower communities of color and other disadvantaged groups through multi-ethnic economic and leadership development, civil rights,...
based in Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. A graduate of Columbia College of Columbia University
Columbia College of Columbia University
Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college at Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus in Morningside Heights in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1754 by the Church of England as King's College, receiving a Royal Charter from King George II...
and Yale Law School
Yale Law School
Yale Law School, or YLS, is the law school of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Established in 1824, it offers the J.D., LL.M., J.S.D. and M.S.L. degrees in law. It also hosts visiting scholars, visiting researchers and a number of legal research centers...
, he has been known as an advocate of social justice for over 40 years. He was born circa 1936, grew up in Brooklyn NY, and was admitted to the California Bar on January 9, 1962.
Prior to co-founding the Greenlining Institute, he was the founder and chief counsel for America’s first legal service program for rural families, California Rural Legal Assistance, which received numerous national awards as the most outstanding legal service program in the United States. He also was the founder and senior partner in the western United States’ first public interest law firm, Public Advocates. He served under former California Governor Jerry Brown
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr. is an American politician. Brown served as the 34th Governor of California , and is currently serving as the 39th California Governor...
as California's Health Director and Chief Deputy Secretary for Health, Welfare and Prisons and was the State Bar representative for the Federal Judicial Selection Committee.
Gnaizda was Statewide Litigation Director for California Rural Legal Assistance, representing with low-income and mistreated farm workers in California's Salinas Valley during the era of Ceasar Chavez.
He has been chief counsel in over 100 class action court and administrative cases focusing on minority economic empowerment and civil rights. In 2009, he was recipient of The Loren Miller Legal Services Award. The award is given annually and honors an attorney who has demonstrated long-term commitment to legal services and who has personally done significant work in extending legal services to the poor.
In the documentary film Inside Job
Inside Job (film)
Inside Job is a 2010 documentary film about the late-2000s financial crisis directed by Charles H. Ferguson. The film is described by Ferguson as being about "the systemic corruption of the United States by the financial services industry and the consequences of that systemic corruption." In five...
(2010) by Charles H. Ferguson
Charles H. Ferguson
Charles Henry Ferguson is the founder and president of Representational Pictures, Inc., director and producer of No End In Sight: The American Occupation of Iraq and Inside Job , which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary...
about the financial crisis of 2007-2010, Gnaizda "characterizes the Obama administration as 'a Wall Street government,' a take Mr. Ferguson clearly endorses."