The National Lawyers Guild International Committee is proud to announce that the 2016 recipient of the NLG’s national Debra Evenson Venceremos International Award is Audrey Bomse. The award, which honors legal work for global justice and international solidarity, will be presented at the NLG 2016 Law for the People Convention, to be held August 3-7 in New York City.

Audrey Bomse is a global people’s lawyer who has defended the marginalized and disposed, and communities under repression in the U.S., Palestine, North Africa and elsewhere. She practiced criminal law in the U.S. for many years as a public defender and later civil rights law, representing the interests of the class of state and county inmates at the New Jersey Office of Inmate Advocacy. Her commitment to the Guild’s mission and the broader global social justice movement—anti-imperialist, anti-colonialist, and dare we say it, Marxist—is an example for us all. Audrey has been an active member of the National Lawyers Guild for 30 years, is past co-chair of its Prisoners’ Rights Committee and current (long-standing) co-chair of its Palestine Subcommittee. She also leads a balanced life as a wonderful mother and grandmother, and rather rabid sports fan, always open to the occasional wager.

Previous recipients of the Debra Evenson award include Leonard Weinglass, Jeanne Mirer, Ann Fagan Ginger, Brian Concannon, and Art Heitzer.

The International Committee extends its warmest congratulations to all of the 2016 NLG honorees, including Soffiyah Elijah, Michael Deutsch, Javier Maldonaldo, Noelle Hanrahan and Emily Bock (bios below) and to 2016 Keynote Speaker, Elle Hearns.

Law for the People Award: Soffiyah Elijah

Soffiyah Elijah is the Executive Director of the Correctional Association of New York and member of the NLG-NYC Chapter. She is the first woman and first person of color to lead the nearly 170-year old organization in its mission to create a fairer and more humane criminal justice system. Dedicated to human rights and social activism, she is a frequent presenter at national and international forums on criminal justice policy and human rights issues. Soffiyah previously served as Deputy Director and Clinical Instructor at the Criminal Justice Institute at Harvard Law School, Supervising Attorney at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, Staff Attorney at the Juvenile Rights Division of the Legal Aid Society, and in private practice. As we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Black Panther Party, we also honor Soffiyah’s work representing a number of political prisoners and activists, including Kwame Turé (formerly Stokely Carmichael, founder of SNCC) Marilyn Buck, and Sundiata Acoli.

Ernie Goodman Award: Michael Deutsch

Michael Deutsch has been a lawyer with the People’s Law Office and a Guild member since 1970. From 1991-1996 he was the Legal Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. Michael’s legal career has been devoted to the representation of political activists and political prisoners. He has represented the rebelling Attica Prisoners, Black Panthers, Black prisoners facing the death penalty, and Puerto Rican Independentistas charged in U.S. courts. He was part of the legal team that challenged the first use of high security “control units” at the Marion federal prison for men and Lexington prison for women. More recently, he has represented Palestinian community leaders in Chicago targeted by the FBI including Muhammad Salah and Rasmea Odeh. Michael Deutsch has written and lectured extensively on prisons, international human rights, and political repression.

Debra Evenson “Venceremos” Award: Audrey Bomse

Audrey Bomse is a global people’s lawyer who has defended the marginalized and disposed, and communities under repression in the U.S., Palestine, North Africa and elsewhere. She practiced criminal law in the U.S. for many years as a public defender and later civil rights law, representing the interests of the class of state and county inmates at the New Jersey Office of Inmate Advocacy. Her commitment to the Guild’s mission and the broader global social justice movement—anti-imperialist, anti-colonialist, and dare we say it, Marxist—is an example for us all. Audrey has been an active member of the National Lawyers Guild for 30 years, is past co-chair of its Prisoners’ Rights Committee and current (long-standing) co-chair of its Palestine Subcommittee. She also leads a balanced life as a wonderful mother and grandmother, and rather rabid sports fan, always open to the occasional wager.

Carol Weiss King Award: Javier Maldonado

Javier N. Maldonado is a lawyer in private practice best known for his groundbreaking work at the intersection of immigration and criminal law. He is the previous Executive Director of the Texas Lawyers’ Committee where he conducted impact litigation in the area of immigrants’ rights. Prior to the Lawyer’s Committee, Javier served as a trial attorney at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission where he litigated employment discrimination cases. Javier also previously served as a staff attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). He regularly presents at state and national conferences on civil rights and immigration law and advises attorneys litigating cases in those areas. He was born in Matamoros, Mexico and immigrated to the United States in 1974. Javier earned his B.A. and J.D. at Columbia University. He currently lives and works in San Antonio, Texas.

Legal Worker Award: Noelle Hanrahan

Noelle Hanrahan, P.I. is a private investigator, investigative journalist, and the Director ofPrison Radio. A member of the NLG San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, she has produced over 3,000 of Mumia Abu-Jamal’s radio essays since 1992, and brought his first book out of prison, Live from Death Row (Harper Perennial). She edited All Things Censored (Seven Stories Press, 2002), and with Stephen Vittoria, produced the acclaimed feature documentary, Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary (Street Legal Film 2013). Noelle holds a B.A. in Gender, Race, and Class Studies from Stanford University and an M.A. in Criminal Justice from Boston University. She is currently working on Abu-Jamal v. Kerestes, which aims to bring lifesaving medical care to Pennsylvania inmates; and Hanrahan v. Mohr, which is advocating for the First Amendment rights of the Lucasville 7+ on Ohio’s death row.

C.B. King Award: Emily Bock

Emily Bock is a 3L at Temple Law School in Philadelphia, PA. She graduated with her B.A. in English Literature from Haverford College in 2011. She has worked with organizations like the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender, the Sheller Center for Social Justice, and the Defender Association of Philadelphia. She was the 2014-2015 co-chair of the Temple Law National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Chapter, is a co-founder of the Temple NLG Guild Expungement Project, and active with Temple NLG’s Student Week Against the Death Penalty committee. After law school, Emily will clerk for one year in the Superior Court of New Jersey-Criminal Division. She hopes to pursue a career as a public defender or to work more broadly with people who are formerly incarcerated/those with past criminal legal involvement.

Keynote Speaker: Elle Hearns

Elle Hearns is a revolutionary organizer, freedom fighter and strategy expert. Elle has spent a lifetime being committed to making sure that marginalized voices are centered and reflected in today’s society. Elle is a highly noted public speaker, facilitator, trainer and writer. Elle spearheaded campaigns such as Trans Liberation Tuesday, More Than Marriage, and a digital campaign, Raise the Debate, and also served as a lead organizer of The Movement for Black Lives. Elle currently is the organizing coordinator for the #BlackLivesMatter network, and previously served as the GetEQUAL Central Region Coordinator and TWOCC (Trans Women of Color Collective) Creative Director. Elle’s writings have been featured in Truthout, Huffington Post, and Ebony. Elle hails from Columbus, OH and currently lives in the nation’s capital of Washington, D.C.