Open Door Fund Donor Perspectives: Three Supporters Share Their Stories
“Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.” – Booker T. Washington
Every donor has their own reason for contributing to a cause. Even when they are united behind the same cause, such as the Open Door Fund of the North Carolina Bar Foundation, each donor brings with them a unique perspective as to why they or their organization is contributing.
The campaign to endow the Open Door Fund was announced at the 2024 NCBA Annual Meeting by Caryn McNeill and Mark Holt, founding co-chairs of the Open Door Fund and Fellowship. Over $700,000 of the $1 million goal has already been raised, they reported, thanks in large part to the generosity of the Founding Donors. The individuals, firms and foundation listed here contributed lead gifts of $25,000, $50,000 and $100,000.
To gain further insight into the motivation behind their generosity, let’s hear from a few of the Founding Donors, beginning with Tammy Stringer, who serves as General Counsel for TIH Insurance Holdings in Charlotte.
Tammy Stringer
Stringer served as chair of the NCBF Task Force on Recognition and Grant Initiatives, which initiated the Open Door Fund in response to its charge to “consider and make recommendations to the Board regarding appropriate grant and program initiatives to encourage greater equity, diversity and inclusion in the practice of law and delivery of legal services in North Carolina.”
The task force also developed the diversity-focused value that has since been adopted as part of the Foundation’s mission, vision and values statement. Jonathan Bogues, Stuart Dorsett, Arnita Dula, Phyllis Pickett, Dick Thigpen and Matt Wolfe also served on the task force. The President, President-elect and Immediate Past President served as ex officio members while Executive Director Jason Hensley and NCBF Senior Director Kim Bart Mullikin served as ex officio, non-voting members.
“The task force made the recommendation to establish the Open Door Fund, and that task force made such an impression on me,” Stringer said. “It wasn’t because I knew any of them ahead of time. I only knew two of them going into it, but got to know these individuals for whom I have great respect and admiration.
“We had very candid conversations in that task force, and we all rolled up our sleeves and really worked hard on the recommendations that we made. I felt like this was my way to honor that dedicated group of people and this contribution was my way of putting into action what we were recommending.”
Their work, Stringer added, was made all the more challenging by the pandemic.
“It was during COVID, and so it was harder. Everything was by Zoom, and to discuss some of these topics over Zoom was challenging. People on that task force really stepped up. There was participation from everyone, and everyone was engaged. Everyone was present because they all recognized what an incredibly important topic it was.
“We did so much good work, and honestly, I felt like I really needed to lead the way to say this is what the task force did, and we think it is important. I was the leader of the task force, and I want to be a leader in giving to the fellowship which the task force believed, and now the bar believes, is so very important.”
Stringer added that her husband, Rick Viola of McGuireWoods, was not a member of the task force but also supported the proposal wholeheartedly and joined her in making the Founding Donor gift.
“My husband and I talked about it,” Stringer said, “and for him it was also a no-brainer, because these days connections are just so important and to have somebody open doors for you is just vital.
“When I look back at my career, and I look back at other people who have been looking for jobs, the two most important things are timing and connections, and people who are diverse most likely do not have the connections. We felt like this is a perfect way to level the playing field. I really believe in it, and I think it’s the right thing to do. I believe in what the fellowship really does.”
Alison Ashe-Card
For Founding Donor Alison Ashe-Card, who serves as the inaugural Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Duke University School of Law, the Open Door Fund struck a chord on multiple levels. She and her husband, Dr. John P. Card, both received their undergraduate degrees from HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities), she from Spelman College and he from Howard University. And, in her current role and previously as Associate Director for Diversity & Inclusion in the Office of Career and Professional Development at Wake Forest University School of Law, she has worked with scores of students who would benefit from the opportunities provided through the Open Door Fellowship.
“It was really a no-brainer,” said Ashe-Card. “I was happy to be involved because I feel like in so many ways, there have been so many who have helped me along in my career. I just want to do the same for others who are coming behind me.
“Working in career services and understanding the challenges that students face, particularly students of color and First Gen students trying to navigate our profession, it is not as simple as looking in the classified ads to find a job. There really is an art to it, and I think for a lot of our students of color and a lot of our First Gen students who don’t have family members or even connections in the legal profession, that could be really daunting in a way that I didn’t find when I was going through law school.”
Ashe-Card also enjoyed the advantages of growing up in a family of servant leaders.
“Both of my parents were educators,” Ashe-Card said. “My mother was a third-grade teacher and my father was a middle school vice principal. I also had a grandfather who was a Methodist minister, and my maternal grandmother was also an educator. I just watched a lot of the things that they did, and even at a really young age, knew that I should give back in whatever ways that I can.
“It’s something that is really important to both me and my husband. I think we try to give not only of our treasure that we’ve been blessed to have, particularly at this point in our lives, but also to give back our time. For me, when I decided to step away from the active practice of law, it really wasn’t a hard decision to do something in education. I always thought that if I wasn’t practicing, or if I hadn’t become a lawyer, then I probably would have been a teacher like both of my parents and my grandmother.”
With her career choice in the legal profession, Ashe-Card has still embraced the responsibilities of servant leadership.
“As attorneys, we are so privileged,” Ashe-Card said. “Even though it’s not necessarily an easy profession all the time, it is a service profession and I think the reason why many of us go into it is because we want to provide that service to our clients and to our communities. So many people look to us as leaders in our community, and I think we have a responsibility to live up to that. Because of the privilege that we have, I think we have a responsibility to give back and help others who are coming along to be part of our profession.
“I also think if you look historically our profession, it doesn’t reflect the diversity of our country. I think that’s so important because when you have clients who can, no matter whether it’s your public interest client or even a corporate client, see people who look like them, and when we can all provide perspective because of our different backgrounds and our different experiences, it just makes us better lawyers and it makes our country better. I think as lawyers and as leaders, we have a responsibility to give back in the ways that we that can.”
Mary Nash Rusher
Mary Nash Rusher, a partner and former managing partner of the Raleigh office at McGuireWoods, assisted in securing her firm’s commitment to the Open Door Fund.
“Our commitment to this effort,” Rusher stated, “is supported from three different corners of the firm: the Raleigh office, the Charlotte office, and our overall DEI efforts, both internally and externally. Our two North Carolina offices are both committed to DEI within North Carolina in particular, and then we have this broader, across-the-firm effort that’s designed to support important DEI efforts everywhere.”
To that end, neither Rusher nor the firm required much persuasion when asked to support the Open Door Fund.
“I’m proud to say that this is a firm that has been committed to DEI for a very long time,” Rusher said. “My example that I like to point to is a partner in our Richmond office, Jackie Stone, who has been deeply involved with a group called Just the Beginning – A Pipeline Organization.
“That is a nonprofit that was formed by a group of judges originally but now draws from judges and lawyers, and of course, anybody who wants to donate. It’s designed to be a pipeline for young people of color from middle school through college, so that they even know what the legal profession is all about and what the opportunities might be.”
The program, she continued, resembles the Open Door Fund in many ways.
“This effort,” Rusher said, “is a continuation of that concept – taking law students of color and trying to provide them opportunities to really understand and see what the possibilities might be out there in the legal world, and also to do the kind of networking that is often available through those opportunities.
“This program fits right into the kind of outreach the firm wants to be involved with. It’s targeted in the legal profession. It is building the pipeline so that more folks of color, either within the firm or outside the firm, have opportunities within the legal profession. It’s the kind of work we’ve been doing for years in various ways, whether it be through mentorships or through the Bar Association. We’ve participated in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity 1L Scholars Program nationally for years, and are excited that the Bar Association’s Open Door Fund will provide more such opportunities for first- year law students.
“It will provide the kinds of intangible things that you can’t teach in law school. People need to experience them, and this provides people with the opportunity to make connections and to live and work in the environment that will provide career opportunities down the road.”
Learn more about the Open Door Fund and Fellowship and make your gift or pledge here. Please note that larger pledges can be fulfilled over five years. If you have any questions, please contact Michael Lowery, NCBF Director of Development, via email or phone: 919-677-0992.
Russell Rawlings is director of external affairs and communications for the North Carolina Bar Association.