Disability Rights Legal Center

DRLC President & CEO Sylvia Torres-Guillén was featured as a speaker alongside other remarkable leaders in journalism, environmental justice, politics, and medicine at the 2025 World Affairs Conference this week. The event is the largest annual student-run current events conference in North America, reaching over 1,100 students this year alone. ? Our team is especially grateful to dauntless student leaders like Alyssa Dhanji for spearheading this exciting and dynamic learning opportunity featuring speakers from all over the world. Alyssa was key in organizing and moderating Sylvia’s fireside chat, Mi Camino a la Justicia: How Challenging the Legal System Results in a Real Democracy, which covered cultivating passion for social justice, empowering the next generation of visionary leaders, and defining true democracy, which includes the freedom to speak out and challenge discriminatory systems. #RollWAC

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to those who attended IN FOCUS, our photo exhibit fundraiser, to our hosts L34 Group, to Cakebread Cellars, and to the artists who graciously donated their fine art. Your support is essential. This event brought our community together in a time of need. If you were unable to attend this weekend, you can enjoy the gallery until February 21, 2025, at 5818 N Figueroa Street in Highland Park. All sales proceeds from this exhibit help strengthen our disability rights advocacy in the Los Angeles area. We are grateful to be in community with aligned, trusted partner organizations in Southern California to address the disproportionate short- and long-term impact of wildfires on people with disabilities. This event supported our litigation and advocacy efforts creating systemic change for people with disabilities and cancer and the direct services of the Disability Community Resource Center (DCRC), who served more than 800 people with immediate evacuation and response needs in the early hours of the wildfires. We remain dedicated to centering the needs of people with disabilities as we move toward a more just and equitable recovery for Los Angeles. Sylvia Torres-Guillén DRLC Executive Director

We invite friends of the Disability Rights Legal Center and the Disability Community Resource Center (DCRC) to attend IN FOCUS this Saturday, January 18, 2025, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at L34 Group, 5818 N. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles 90042. All proceeds from IN FOCUS will benefit disability rights advocacy in the Los Angeles area, through long-term advocacy and immediate disaster relief efforts. The evening will feature framed art pieces by Geoff Moore Studio, Paul Gibert, Simon Butusov, Jeffrey Boxer, George Hamilton, and Justin Reissman. Wine will be provided courtesy of Cakebread Cellars, and hors d’oeuvres will be served thanks to our generous hosts, L34 Group. This event is indoors. N95 masks will be available for guests. Preview art for sale and learn more at https://infocus25.cbo.io.

Friends of DRLC and Disability Community Resource Center (DCRC) are invited to attend IN FOCUS, a photo exhibit fundraiser, next Saturday, January 18th. The event will highlight professional photographers, as well as rising talent. Photographers include Geoff Moore, Andrew Casey, Paul Gibert, Jeffrey Boxer, George Hamilton, and Justin Reissman. The evening will feature dozens of framed art pieces and other beautiful photographs, available for purchase. We are immensely grateful to our host L34 Group for generously donating their space and to Cakebread Cellars for providing exceptional Napa Valley wines to our guests. Learn more and RSVP at https://infocus25.cbo.io.

As the Disability Rights Legal Center prepares to celebrate our 50th anniversary, we want to embrace the connections we have built and, together, realize that change for our community, our friends, our family. We are grateful that you have chosen to join us in this next chapter to co-create meaningful, lasting change. For these and many other reasons, we are excited about the future. Read more in our end-of-year letter from DRLC Executive Director Sylvia Torres-Guillén: https://lnkd.in/e-HC_4EN.

This year has been a year of mission-driven transformation. We strengthened our advocacy and education programs, expanded our reach to best serve our community, and fought to ensure that our diverse group of constituents were treated with respect and received access to the rights, services, and resources they deserve. We welcomed new voices to the team. Our litigation team grew by four talented new members—staff attorneys Ashly Villa-Ortega and Sophie Tohl, legal fellow Dorothy Couchman, PhD, and paralegal Andrew Gray. We were also thrilled to add to our Board of Directors?Christine Diaz-Herrera,?Tanya Avila Guzman, and?Chris Ortman, who each have already lent their unique perspective, expertise, and drive to our renewed vision. We thank each member our community for galvanizing DRLC’s mission. As we look forward to our next half century of service, your support makes all the difference in our unrelenting efforts for equity, justice, and transformative change. From all of us at DRLC, have a wonderful holiday season.

DRLC is driving transformative change, but we can’t do it without you. This Giving Tuesday, join DRLC in championing the rights of people with disabilities. Together, we can continue to fight for a future where every individual is treated with dignity, equity, and respect. Donate now at https://thedrlc.org/donate.

As we approach our 50th year, DRLC continues to lead the fight for disability rights. Our Civil Rights Litigation Program dismantles systemic barriers, protects the rights of people with disabilities, and holds institutions accountable for discrimination and injustice. The Cancer Legal Resource Center provides critical legal resources and advocacy for individuals and families facing the challenges of a cancer diagnosis. This Giving Tuesday, your contribution can make a real impact. Donate today at https://thedrlc.org/donate.

For nearly 50 years, the Disability Rights Legal Center has steadfastly advocated for justice, deeply rooted in our commitment to the communities we serve. Our Civil Rights Litigation Program drives systemic change by breaking down barriers and championing the rights of people with disabilities, in courtrooms and beyond. Through the Cancer Legal Resource Center, we provide vital legal resources and advocacy to empower individuals and families navigating the challenges of a cancer diagnosis. At our founding in 1975, we were the nation's first—and only—non-profit, cross-disability public interest law center. As we look ahead to our 50th year, we are deeply honored to have you by our side on this journey toward justice and inclusion. To our community allies, pro bono partners, co-counsel, grantors, sponsors, volunteers, and generous donors who fuel our mission—you are the foundation of our work. From all of us at DRLC, thank you for your unwavering commitment. Together, we make a tangible difference.

Thank you to the sponsors of the 49th Annual FDR Dinner! We are grateful to Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, Southern California Edison (SCE), and HKA for an unforgettable evening.