The Impact Fund, the nation's only legal foundation devoted to funding complex public interest impact litigation, welcomes Los Angeles attorney Erica Teasley Linnick to its Board of Directors and Board of Advisors.

In addition, Kimberly Thomas Rapp, Director of Law and Public Policy
at the Equal Justice Society in San Francisco has joined the Fund's Board of Advisors. The Board of Advisors makes grant decisions for the Fund.

Ms. Teasley Linnick was NAACP Legal Defense Fund's Western Regional Counsel in Los Angeles where she conducted civil rights litigation and participated in public education and legislative advocacy projects in areas including voting rights, transportation equity, education, and police reform. She has served on the Board of Directors of both the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area and the ACLU of Northern California. In 1996, she took a leave of absence from her law practice to serve as the Northern California Coordinator of the No on 209 campaign, battling the infamous statewide anti-affirmative action initiative.

She has participated on various panels regarding Voting Rights and Affirmative Action and is the recipient of numerous awards including the Minority Bar Association of San Francisco's Award for Excellence and Service to the Community, the Lawyers' Committee of the San Francisco Bay Area's Keta Taylor Kolby Award.

Ms. Kimberly Thomas Rapp serves as the Director of Law and Public Policy for the Equal Justice Society (EJS), a national strategy group reshaping jurisprudence through progressive legal theory, public policy and practice. Her work at EJS has included defending antidiscrimination laws and policies, facilitating programs to connect the academy with practice, and supporting leadership training for the next generation of legal scholars and advocates.

"Erica and Kimberly are superb social justice lawyers who will help us expand our reach to public interest lawyers in many fields across the nation." says Impact Fund Executive Director Brad Seligman.

Impact Fund provides grants, technical support and co-counsel nationwide. Grants are made quarterly. Our most recent annual report and other information may be accessed at our web site: http://www.impactfund.org./