By Blair Clarkson Daily Journal Staff Writer   

        LOS ANGELES - Civil rights attorney Nancy Ramirez, a staff lawyer for the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice, has been named executive director of the nonprofit public-interest organization. 

        Ramirez, who has worked at the center for four years as a managing attorney handling consumer, family and government benefits cases, said she was excited to take the helm. 

        "The center is really the embodiment of the access to justice, and we make ourselves accessible to some of the poorest members of the community," she said. "I look forward to expanding our legal programs so that we can serve even greater numbers of this population." 

        Founded in 1973, the center has provided free legal representation, education and advocacy to low-income residents and communities of east, northeast and southeast Los Angeles, specializing in family, housing, consumer and governmental benefits law. 

        Jonathan Zasloff, president of the center's board of directors, called her appointment a "tremendously good choice." 

        "It's really rare that you get somebody with her combination of experience, intelligence, integrity and commitment who was willing to do this instead of making lots and lots of money at a private firm," Zasloff said. "She's really passionately committed to the public interest." 

        Before joining the center, Ramirez spent five years as a staff attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, where she handled voting rights and redistricting cases. 

        A Harvard Law School and Berkeley graduate, Ramirez also taught legal writing at USC Law School and was the director of Rep. Loretta Sanchez's Orange County and Washington, D.C., offices. 

        For the last year, the center has operated several expanded legal programs, including the extension of working hours twice a week to accommodate the working poor, a new housing clinic to aid evicted families and additional staff attorneys to help guide pro per clients. 

        Since being named executive director Sept. 19, Ramirez has announced two new pilot programs: one to help domestic-violence victims in the Chinese immigrant community get restraining orders and file divorce papers, and another that works through children's hospitals to address the underlying causes of juvenile health issues. 

        "Our plans are to continue to grow incrementally to serve more low-income individuals and make these pilot programs permanent," she said. 

        To do so, Ramirez said the center must confront its greatest challenge: funding. 

        "A majority of our funds are from the government, and we're striving to reduce the amount of government grants and replace them with private fundraising efforts," she said. 

        "With unrestricted private money," Ramirez said, "we'd be able to better dictate our agenda and decrease our reporting time and vulnerability to funding cuts." 

        Zasloff, a professor of land use and environmental and international law at UCLA, said that the board members considered numerous possible candidates but "were really attracted to bringing up someone from within the center." 

        "Nancy brings over nine years' experience working in the public interest and has demonstrated leadership in helping this organization meet the legal needs of individuals in our community who need it most," he said. "We look forward to her taking the helm at the center."