Outstanding Collaborative/Group Pro Bono Service Award: Sylvia Novinsky, NC Pro Bono Resource Center
Recognizing Sylvia Novinsky of the NC Pro Bono Resource Center.
The NC Pro Bono Resource Center (“PBRC”) was established in 2016 by the NC Equal Access to Justice Commission. PBRC’s signature project is the Driver’s License Restoration Project, which has recruited over 2,000 volunteers to provide license restoration advice letters to over 8,900 clients across the state since 2020.
Our mission is to harness the power of volunteer legal professionals to target unmet legal needs by promoting, supporting, and developing pro bono opportunities. The PBRC works to accomplish this through five interconnected directives:
(1) connecting attorneys to pro bono projects through a statewide pro bono project online resource called Pro Bono Go;
(2) convening a statewide Pro Bono Coordinator’s Network to unite pro bono opportunities, legal services providers, and the private bar to address unmet legal needs throughout the state;
(3) providing resources, support, and technical assistance for pro bono projects within the North Carolina legal services community;
(4) recognizing outstanding volunteer lawyers, firms, and paralegals for their dedication to pro bono by induction into the North Carolina Pro Bono Honors Society; and
(5) creating new and innovative pro bono projects managed within PBRC itself.
PBRC staff includes:
- Meghan Martie, Director of the Restorative Justice Project, PBRC
- Sylvia Novinsky, Director, NC Pro Bono Resource Center
- Ayana Robinson, Senior Staff Attorney, PBRC