Civil rights lawyer Sherrilyn Ifill announced her intention to step down from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund this coming spring.
Ifill has held onto the role for nearly a decade. She will be succeeded by Janai Nelson, the LDF’s current associate director-counsel.
“It has been the privilege of a lifetime to lead LDF for nearly 10 years. I began my career as a civil rights lawyer at LDF more than 30 years ago and every day leading this extraordinary, dedicated staff has felt like a dream come true,” Ifill said in a statement.
“I have given this work my all, and I am proud of our accomplishments, including our increased growth and strength. But I am most proud of the leadership role LDF has played during one of the most tumultuous and volatile periods for civil rights in recent memory.”
Ifill stepped into the role in 2013 and helped to grow the LDF from just 55 employees to more than 150. Ifill, who made Time’s annual 100 Most Influential People list earlier this year, also established the Thurgood Marshall Institute to research civil rights law and structural racism.
“LDF is unparalleled in its contributions to the cause of racial justice over the past 81 years and in the evolution and protection of civil rights for Black people,” Nelson said in the statement.
“As LDF emerges from the profound metamorphosis of the past nine years under Sherrilyn’s leadership, I am honored to steward LDF’s next chapter with the skill, vision, care, and courage that it demands.”
