Humanitarian of the Year -- Emily E. Vasquez
by Joan Stone

The SCBA Humanitarian of the Year Award recognizes and honors an attorney who volunteers time and effort to non-legal community service. Emily E. Vasquez was nominated for her work with the Health Education Council (HEC). Executive Director Debra Oto-Kent wrote in her letter of nomination, "I have had the pleasure of working with Emily for the past four years. Emily's advice, counsel, work and support have helped the HEC at a critical time in its development. Her volunteer contributions have been invaluable."

Founded in 1991, HEC is a private nonprofit community-based organization committed to providing health education to "at risk" adults and children. Its programs serve low income under served populations. Its emphasis is expanding volunteer involvement in minority communities, facilitating empowerment and effecting self-sustaining institutional change. According to Oto-Kent, "as the child of poor farm workers, Emily is especially sensitive to the needs of economically disadvantaged, ethnically diverse adults and children. She has brought to our board of directors a real perspective on the needs of the under served communities we serve."

Currently, a partner in Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard (KMTG), specializing in labor and employment litigation, Emily started off her legal career in 1977 as a staff attorney to the California Rural Legal Assistance in Stockton. After stints at the Fair Employment and Housing Commission (FEHC) and the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) in the early eighties, Emily joined the Sacramento county public defender's office in 1985. There she honed her litigation skills, working on a variety of misdemeanor and felony cases.

Emily knew as early as the third grade that she wanted to attend college. However, achieving that goal was not easy. Despite the fact that she was exceptionally gifted and the valedictorian of her class, an administrator of Lodi High School assigned her to non-college preparatory classes when she went with her father to register in 1966. Fortunately, her high school teachers quickly recognized her academic talents. After an outstanding high school career, she attended the University of California, Davis as a regent's scholar with a four-year regent's scholarship.

It was while she was attending the University of Madrid, in her junior year, that it occurred to her that she could, and should, become a lawyer. The idealistic young law students that she met inspired the realization that as a lawyer she could help create a more just society and a better world. She graduated from University of California, Berkeley, School of Law in 1977.

In Emily's own words "when I learned I had been accepted at Boalt Hall, I remember having a tremendous sense of excitement, hope and fear. My parents, along with many of their fellow workers, viewed our courts as a complex and confusing system. I, on the other hand, had developed the greatest respect for our legal system. I was eager to learn the skills to become a lawyer." In 1977, Emily became the second Latina lawyer in San Joaquin County. At California Rural Legal Assistance, Emily took pleasure from the fact that she had the opportunity to represent some of the migrant farm workers that she had known as a child.

Emily has broken new ground throughout her career both at work and in public service. Among her many firsts, she was the first Hispanic director to serve on the Sacramento Regional Transit Board, the only Hispanic lawyer at the FEHC at the time, and the first Hispanic partner at her law firm.

Ann Rudin, who, as mayor of the city of Sacramento, appointed Emily to a seat on the Regional Transit Board of Directors, which oversees and sets policy for public transit in the Sacramento region, says of Emily, "the confidence that I placed in her at that time was sustained throughout her public service. Her dedication never waned." "The integrity and high standards she maintained in that position carry over to everything I have ever seen her do." Rudin says, "Emily's decision making as a member of the board was always driven by her humanitarian concern for the people whose needs are served by public transit." Improved disabled access and bilingual instructions posted at all light rail stations bear witness to those humanitarian concerns.

Emily has always been drawn to community service. She has fond memories of the time that she spent as a "candy striper" while in high school. She has continued her commitment to public service ever since. She has served on numerous boards and community outreach programs, ranging from the Sacramento City Unified School District Literacy Project, to La Raza Lawyers Association, to the American Lung Association. Assembly member Darrell Steinberg appointed her as a member of the Capital Unity Council. He "think(s) the world of Emily." He says, "she is a genuine, hardworking, humble person, who really cares." "She is always looking for an opportunity to give back."

As with all of the humanitarians that this writer has encountered, Emily is an extremely reluctant hero. A reserved, private person, Emily needs a great deal of persuasion to talk about herself. Fortunately, people, who know her, are more than willing to fill in the gaps and to sing her praises. Emily's partner and close colleague at KMTG, Dorothy Landsberg describes Emily as "an absolutely outstanding lawyer and member of our community." "She is a shining star, a wonderful partner, with an outstanding work ethic." "She is meticulous in her writing and in her oral advocacy." "She gives the same meticulous attention to all of her work whether it is for a paying client or pro bono."

But more than that, despite long hours spent in the office and in her community activities, Emily is a devoted wife and mother. Her husband, Ralph Lightstone, is also an attorney. He serves as chief consultant to the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee. Ralph and Emily are the proud parents of twelve-year-old Daniel, a seventh-grader at Sutter Middle School and ten-year-old Sarah, a fourth-grader at Sutterville Elementary. Dorothy says that no matter what Emily is doing, the children come first. No matter how important the meeting, Emily interrupts it when one of the children calls. She can also be found selling girl scout cookies, attending school band concerts and cheering on the sidelines at soccer games.

According to Darrell Steinberg, Emily's long standing commitment to bettering society is outstanding. So why does she do it? Well she says that it's "fun." But really all she wants is "to give back to the community what it has given me."

It is really that simple. Congratulations Emily!