Americas Pro Bono Award winners

With more than 45 years of experience representing tax-exempt organizations and donors, Renee serves as a trusted advisor to the firm’s pro bono practice. Each year, Renee assists dozens of nonprofits of all sizes – from small startups to large national and international entities – on federal tax, nonprofit corporate, charitable, operational, and transactional matters. In the past year, Renee advised an international organization focused on protecting the Antarctic. Within the United States, she assisted a nonpartisan voting rights organization in obtaining a major grant to support its work encouraging young people to participate civically.

Since her time as a summer associate, Amanda has advised the country of Georgia in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on a pro bono basis. She served as a delegate to the 2023 and 2024 Conference of the Parties (COPs), where she represented the country. Amanda has also contributed to the firm’s efforts to assist Afghans in seeking asylum, including for a client who had been separated from his wife and three young children during the 2021 Kabul airlift . The client was granted asylum, allowing him to reunite with his family after more than three years apart.

Taylor’s pro bono work focuses on advocating for the rights of incarcerated youth. Drawing on her background as a juvenile public defender, she uses her knowledge of the system to investigate, support, and represent detained children. In collaboration with co-counsel, Taylor currently represents the family of an individual who was assaulted by prison staff while restrained.

For the past eight years, Jessica has led a team that, together with co-counsel, represents students with disabilities in an ongoing lawsuit against the State of Georgia for discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fourteenth Amendment. The lawsuit seeks relief for thousands of public-school students with disabilities who are placed in specific centers and classrooms separate from general-population students. The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction requiring the state defendant to provide services necessary to ensure the students receive equal educational opportunities in classrooms with their non-disabled peers. In addition, Jessica has represented immigrant clients seeking humanitarian relief, securing asylum for a young college student from Afghanistan whose family actively promoted women’s rights.

Salvador supports AKD Partners’s pro bono efforts through the creation and production of videos showcasing our lawyers’ work. His videos have highlighted our efforts to combat hunger, serve our veterans, and support those seeking humanitarian immigration relief. Additionally, Salvador volunteers as an interpreter in immigration clinics at the firm’s New York office.