Erica Edwards O’Neal ‘99 Named Amistad’s VP of Membership

Touro Law is proud of Erica Edwards O’Neal, Senior Director of Career Services and Director of Diversity and Inclusion, on being named the Vice President of Membership for Amistad the Long Island Black Bar Association.  

Dean Patricia Salkin stated, “Many of our faculty and staff are leaders in bar associations and nonprofits that work to advance the profession and legal education. Erica Edwards O’Neal is no exception. She is dedicated to maintaining an inclusive environment at our school and works daily with students, faculty and staff. Her leadership role in Amistad reflects her leadership at Touro Law and we are proud of her commitment and service to the profession.”

Erica Edwards O’Neal is the Director of Diversity and Inclusion and a Senior Career Counselor at Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center. She provides leadership and training on matters relating to valuing diversity, cultural competence, and the embedding of effective diversity and inclusion practices for the law school. Erica organizes pipeline programming with high school and college students, coordinates diversity internships and fellowships, and collaborates with affinity groups, the law school community and legal employers to promote diversity.  She also conducts research and provides training on cultural competence and diversity related matters across the country. 

She received her Bachelor of Arts in Government and Politics from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA and her Juris Doctor from Touro Law Center. Prior to joining Touro Law’s Career Services Office in 2003, she served as the Director of a legislative advocacy coalition in Nassau County, where she developed and carried out advocacy strategies related to the Nassau County and New York State Budget process on behalf of Nassau’s youth, mental health, substance abuse and child care agencies and the people they serve. Additionally, as a Legal Mentor and Community Development Liaison with the Time Dollar Organization in Washington, D.C., she was instrumental in the establishment of the District’s Youth Court Diversion Program. She has also served as an Americorp VISTA volunteer, where she assisted in advocating for housing rights legislation and established a New Home Ownership Program for low-moderate income families.

Ms. Edwards-O’Neal is a member of the Amistad Long Island Black Bar Association, Suffolk County Women's Bar, New York City Bar’s Committee on Recruitment and Retention of Lawyers, The National Bar Association, New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusion and New York City Bar Association’s Diversity Pipeline  Initiatives Committee. She has served on the Boards of several organizations, including Girls Inc., Urban League/Dowling College GEARUP College Preparatory Program, and Suffolk County Community Council.

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Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center’s 185,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art law school is located adjacent to both a state and a federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York. Touro Law’s proximity to the courthouses, coupled with programming developed to integrate the courtroom into the classroom, provide a one-of-a kind learning model for law students, combining a rigorous curriculum taught by expert faculty with a practical courtroom experience. Touro Law, which has a student body of approximately 650 and an alumni base of more than 6,000, offers full- and part-time J.D. programs, several dual degree programs and graduate law programs for US and foreign law graduates. Touro Law Center is part of the Touro College system.

Touro Law’s newly implemented Portals to Practice is a cutting-edge, experiential learning program that reconceives and restructures the law school experience. Portals to Practice expands the scope and quality of legal education by focusing on the development of legal professionals, from pre-law through post-graduation. 

About the Touro College and University System 

Touro is a system of non-profit institutions of higher and professional education. Touro College was chartered in 1970 primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage, and to serve the larger American and global community. Approximately 18,000 students are currently enrolled in its various schools and divisions. Touro College has 29 branch campuses, locations and instructional sites in the New York area, as well as branch campuses and programs in Berlin, Jerusalem and Moscow. New York Medical College, Touro University California and its Nevada branch campus, as well as Touro University Worldwide and its Touro College Los Angeles division are separately accredited institutions within the Touro College and University System. For further information on Touro College, please go to: http://www.touro.edu/news/.

Patti Desrochers

Director of Communications

pattid@tourolaw.edu

(631) 761-7062