Constance L. Rice

Connie Rice "is renowned for her unconventional approaches to tackling problems of inequity and exclusion. For example, she has teamed up with conservatives on education issues and LAPD officers to support the Watts gang truce. Rice has received more than 50 major awards for her leadership of diverse coalitions, and her non-traditional approaches to litigating major cases involving police misconduct, employment discrimination and fair public resource allocation. She received the 2001 Peace Prize from the California Wellness Foundation and the 2002 John Anson Ford Humanitarian Award from Los Angeles County. She successfully co-litigated class-action, civil rights cases winning more than $1.6 billion in policy changes and remedies during her nine year tenure in the Los Angeles office of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF).

"Rice is a graduate of Harvard College and the New York University School of Law. In 1998, the Los Angeles Times designated her one of 24 leaders considered the "most experienced, civic-minded and thoughtful people on the subject of Los Angeles." In 1999 California Law Business named her one of California's top 10 most influential lawyers. In October of 2000, California LawBusiness named her, along with Governor Gray Davis and Warren Christopher, as one of California's top 10 most influential lawyers. In May 2003, Rice received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Occidental College and in September of 2004, she received the Women Lawyers of Los Angeles Ernestine Stahlhut Award. She serves on the boards of the Public Policy Institute of California and public radio station KPCC.

"In 2006, Los Angeles Times West Magazine named Rice one of the 100 most powerful people in Southern California, and Pasadena Weekly placed Rice first in their listing of most powerful women."


 * Director, Advancement Project
 * Advisory Board, Liberty Hill Foundation