Jocelyn Larkin to Pass Impact Fund Baton to Lindsay Nako

- Envisioned Succession Plan to Be Complete by May 14, 2024

Berkeley, 08.29.23 – After more than two decades of tireless service, Impact Fund’s Executive Director, Jocelyn Larkin, announced today that she will step down from her leadership position with the organization next spring:

 “I have been honored to carry forward the vision of our founder, Brad Seligman, who conceived of an entirely new approach to supporting communities seeking justice. I have been beyond lucky to spend a quarter century in a dream job, advocating for those whose voices have been largely ignored. They are my heroes.”

Larkin is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego, and the UCLA School of Law. She started her legal career in 1983. She joined the Impact Fund in 2000, spearheading the Impact Fund’s complex litigation training program, including the development of its Class Action Training Institute and annual Class Action Conference. She was elevated to Executive Director in 2010 and her tenure has been marked by steady, sustainable growth. She will leave the Impact Fund in excellent shape for her successor. Says Larkin:

“I am looking ahead with great excitement to the organization’s next leader, Lindsay Nako, who will bring her extraordinary skill, passion, and voice to this new chapter. With grace and determination, she is ready to excel.”

Nako joined the Impact Fund in 2015 and has served as the organization’s Director of Litigation and Training since early 2016. She is also a mediator with the Alternative Dispute Resolution Program of the Northern District of California and a member of the Executive Committee of the Federal Bar Association’s Northern District chapter. She has taught as an Adjunct Professor at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, and is a frequent speaker on class action and employment litigation issues. Nako graduated from University of California, Berkeley, and received her law degree from University of California, Berkeley School of Law. She is looking forward to the new challenge and says:

“After nearly eight years of leading the Impact Fund’s litigation and training programs, I am honored and humbled to succeed Jocelyn as its Executive Director. The prospect of filling her shoes is wildly intimidating, but I look forward to the new challenges and to working in more depth with all of our staff, grantees, and supporters.”

Considerable thought has gone into the transition and Board Chair, Dena Sharp, noted:

“Under Jocelyn’s leadership, Lindsay has grown into the Executive Director role before our very eyes. I know that Jocelyn has complete confidence that Lindsay is the right person to step into the Executive Director position. Lindsay’s colleagues and the Board unanimously agree. None of us take for granted the rich resources and infrastructure that Jocelyn, Lindsay, Teddy [Basham-Witherington, Deputy Director], Amy [Daniewicz, Grant Program Director], Erin [Nunn, HR/Finance Manager], and the whole organization have carefully cultivated over the years. They will serve the organization so well in the years ahead.”

Jocelyn Larkin will officially step down at the organization’s Annual Gala on May 14, 2024.  She will continue to work with the organization on ongoing projects.  

ENDS 

For more information and photography contact Teddy Basham Witherington

(415) 845-1206 | twitherington@impactfund.org

About The Impact Fund

The Impact Fund was founded in December 1992, by Brad Seligman, to help advance economic, environmental, racial, and social justice through the courts. Originally envisioned as a purely grantmaking organization, the Impact Fund has made 763 grants totaling $9,071,041. Click here for Grant Criteria and information about Grant Deadlines.  

Since its inception, the Impact Fund has grown to include both advocacy and education in its range of services. Today, the Impact Fund litigates a small number of cases directly, authors amicus briefs, provides consulting to civil rights practitioners free of charge, and presents an annual conference for plaintiff-side class action practitioners, a training institute for budding public interest class action practitioners, and numerous seminars and webinars. For more information, read the 2022 Annual Report.  

For Jocelyn’s full bio click here: https://www.impactfund.org/jocelyn-larkin-bio

For Lindsay’s full bio click here: https://www.impactfund.org/lindsay-nako-bio