January 28, 2020

Local Attorney Named Alumni Public Interest Champion by Roger Williams University School of Law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Thomas Navin, Development Director
Phone: (413) 727-7115
Email: tnavin@cla-ma.org

Community Legal Aid congratulates Weayonnoh Nelson-Davies on being named the 2020 Alumni Public Interest Champion by Roger Williams University School of Law. Ms. Nelson-Davies is the Managing Attorney of the Worcester and Fitchburg offices of Community Legal Aid, a non-profit organization that provides free legal services to low-income and elderly residents of Central and Western Massachusetts. Previously she

oversaw the operations of Community Legal Aid’s Medical-Legal Partnership with UMass Memorial Health Care, which addresses the unmet health-harming legal needs of low-income families by coordinating assistance from local volunteer attorneys.

Ms. Nelson-Davies is a Liberian-American who escaped the Liberian Civil War as a teenager. Growing up in the midst of a civil war, Ms. Nelson-Davies witnessed first-hand what can happen when people take democracy for granted. The war broke out when she was just 10 years old, and her youth was marred by the cruelties of conflict and the reality of having to flee her home.  As a teen, she joined several youth movement groups, advocating against the recruitment of child soldiers, and demanding greater protection for girls at risk of abuse from the warring factions. These experiences in her youth helped her to decide that she wanted to become a lawyer, in order to and to help marginalized communities access justice.

As Managing Attorney, Ms. Nelson-Davies oversees a staff of attorneys, paralegals and AmeriCorps advocates who provide civil legal assistance to elders facing abuse or exploitation, victims of domestic violence, individuals and families in need of benefits, including food stamps, social security/SSI and unemployment, and children in need of supports in school. She also oversees several special projects that connect underserved populations with the services provided by Community Legal Aid, including: the Medical-Legal Partnership with UMass Memorial Heath Care, the Asian Outreach Project, CORI/Reentry Project, and Veterans Legal Assistance Project.

Ms. Nelson-Davies started her legal career as a Bart Gordon Fellow and AmeriCorps Supervisor at South Coastal Counties Legal Services in Fall River. She then became the lead staff attorney of a medical-legal partnership at the Justice Center of Southeast Massachusetts. Before joining Community Legal Aid (CLA) in 2015, she worked at CLA’s Subsidiary, the Central West Justice Center as a Benefits and Medical-Legal Partnership attorney. Ms. Nelson-Davies received her law degree from Roger Williams University School of Law and earned a B.A. (magna cum laude) from Rhode Island College. She is a proud alumna of City Year Rhode Island, an AmeriCorps program.

About Community Legal Aid:

Community Legal Aid provides free civil legal services to the low-income and elderly residents of the five counties of Central and Western Massachusetts (Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester). The organization maintains full-time offices in Worcester, Fitchburg, Springfield, Northampton, and Pittsfield. Community Legal Aid works to assure fairness for all in the justice system, protecting homes, livelihoods, health and families For more information on CLA please visit www.communitylegal.org