Truly Understanding NFJE's Diversity

NFJE annually opens its NFJE Symposium to appellate judges from all over the country and from all walks of life without regard to race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender identity or sexual orientation. But NFJE leadership's reflections on audience participation in years past recalled a rather homogeneous group. This raised questions about whether the reflections were grounded in reality and, if so, what could be done to increase symposium participation by appellate judges who have lived and served in the historically underserved communities of our country. The NFJE president at the time, Dan D. Kohane, commissioned a diversity review to address these issues.

Republished with permission. This article, "Truly Understanding NFJE's Diversity," was published by the National Foundation for Judicial Excellence.