For Immediate Release
Boston, MA – The Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice Board of Directors unanimously voted at its September 25th board meeting to appoint Melanie L. Todman, Associate at Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP, to join Justin J. Wolosz of Choate Hall & Stewart LLP as co-Vice Chair. The Massachusetts Appleseed Center, a non-profit organization that advocates for systemic reform in areas such as education, youth homelessness, and access to justice, is thrilled to have Ms. Todman, among the organization’s most dedicated volunteers, assume a leadership role on the Board.
Ms. Todman is an associate in Nutter’s Litigation Department. Her practice focuses on advising clients in internal governmental investigations and complex civil litigation relating to securities, insurance and reinsurance, commercial and product liability, government procurement, and municipal law. She has also spent time as a volunteer attorney in the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau and prior to that, was a legal fellow at Heartland Alliance International in Chicago. While serving on the Board of Massachusetts Appleseed, she has been a champion of the organization’s access to justice work, devoting hours of pro bono time to its pilot project, Turning on the Lights: How Online Resources Can Help the Trial Court Illuminate the Process of Self-Representation for Massachusetts Litigants.
“The opportunity to work with Massachusetts Appleseed in this new role is an absolute privilege,” said Ms. Todman. “As a steward of Massachusetts society, Appleseed’s work to first identify issues affecting underserved people in our community, and then engage with community stakeholders to develop long-lasting, structural solutions for those issues, is crucial to building a more just and equitable society. I look forward to assisting the organization in any way I can to achieve its critical mission of working to ensure equal rights and opportunities for every person in the Commonwealth.”
“Anyone who attended our 2017 Good Apple reception honoring Jonathan Chiel will remember Melanie, then a new member of the Board, who closed the event with stirring but disturbing comments about the foreseeable road ahead under the new administration,” said Martha Mazzone, chairperson of the Board of Directors. “She noted the absolute necessity to support groups like Appleseed that stand for the rule of law as the foundation of a just society. I admire Melanie for her rock solid demonstrated commitment to social justice and look forward to partnering with her and with her co-Vice Chair Justin in this, our organization’s 25th anniversary year.”
About the Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice:
Massachusetts Appleseed’s mission is to promote equal rights and opportunities for Massachusetts residents by developing and advocating for systemic solutions to social justice issues. Working with volunteer lawyers, community partners, and others, we identify and address gaps in services and opportunities in areas such as education, homelessness, and the court system. Through in-depth research, consensus building, and community problem solving, we develop powerful solutions for reforming the systems and structures responsible. Our work seeks to level the playing field and transform communities.