NLSA Welcomes the Newest Member of Its Staff
by Barbara Kern
NLSA welcomed the newest member of its staff in early October when Attorney Michelle DeBord, former Executive Director of Mid Penn Legal Services, became manager of the Butler, Beaver, and Aliquippa offices.
In joining the NLSA staff, Ms. DeBord is returning to her roots. A Uniontown native, Michelle graduated from Penn State University. Her first job was in the teaching profession, teaching English at Penn Hills High School for two years. Following this, she moved to New England, where she began her career in legal services.
In1978 Michelle returned to Pittsburgh as a staff attorney in the Homewood office, later moving to the New Castle office of NLSA. She has especially vivid memories of the Homewood office, which was located in a Roller Skating Rink and which began to reverberate with the beat of the music as the rink came to life after three o'clock.
In 1985 she moved on as Executive Director of Keystone Legal Services in the center of the state and then, after a series of mergers, was appointed Executive Director of Mid Penn Legal Services, where she has served for the last three and a half years.
Michelle loves being back in the Pittsburgh area and is excited to be embarking on some new and exciting projects in the outlying offices. She feels that one of the advantages she has in her work there is the outstanding staff in all the offices, many of whom started out their careers at NLSA at about the same time she did.
She is looking forward to identifying and pulling together the many resources which she feels are available to help low income clients in Butler, Beaver, and Lawrence counties. She will make it a priority to work with attorneys and paralegal volunteers who now assist NLSA and to recruit new volunteers to the team. As part of these efforts she is now preparing a CLE seminar to be held on November 11 and a recognition lunch to honor volunteers in Butler County sometime in December.
At home Michelle, who has two grown sons, enjoys cooking and is delighted to be back in an area where people appreciate a variety of interesting cuisines. She shares a love of basset hounds with Amy Carpenter, a staff attorney in our central office, and no doubt the two of them will share stories about their dogs when Amy returns from maternity leave.
Michelle DeBord brings an extensive background in legal services work and a wealth of creative ideas to her new position at NLSA. Those ideas will benefit both our clients and the organization itself. We are pleased to welcome her and hope that she is home to stay.
In this issue:
SSI Benefits - Why Are They So Important
Two New Pro Bono Projects Launched
NLSA Welcomes the Newest Member of Its Staff
Main Office: 928 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222-3799
Telephone: (412) 255-6700
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Fax: (412) 355-0168
