Kathleen Sheldon

LMA-LA Community: (Left to Right) Pictured above, LAFLA Board Member Alexander Auerbach, LMA-LA president Melissa Bailey, Immediate Past-President Cynthia Kaiser, Director of Development Kathleen Sheldon and Interim Executive Director Toby Rothschild.

Kathleen Sheldon, Director of Development
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Kathleen SheldonDirector of Development

Kathleen Sheldon is LAFLA's Director of Development.She came to the Foundation in 1992 after the Los Angeles civil unrest, desiring to work for an organization that made a day-to-day difference in the lives of disadvantaged people.

She oversees LAFLA's comprehensive fund development program including the Annual Fund Drive and Law Firm Campaign, the Access to Justice Dinner, and other special events and fundraising initiatives.Under her tenure, LAFLA's Annual Report has been consistently recognized for creativity and design excellence.

Prior to joining LAFLA, Kathleen worked for the Otis College of Art and Design as Associate Director of Development in charge of the college's prestigious Critics Awards Fashion Show as well as alumni and scholarship fundraising.Earlier, she did a stint at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, developing her grant writing skills.

Before that, she worked in the Photograph and Slide Archives at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Kathleen earned her BA in Art History from the University of California Santa Barbara and her MA in Primitive and Precolumbian Art from Columbia University.

Foundation Development Director Kathleen Sheldon said the Associates Campaign, launched this year, was inspired by an Atlanta program called "Greedy for the Needy."

"We hoped to raise $15,000 to $30,000, and O'Melveny already has gotten us more than halfway there," Sheldon said.

More funds are expected during the course of the year from other Los Angeles firms, Sheldon said.

The award, which will be presented at the foundation's annual Access to Justice Dinner on Oct. 14, is "given to people whose distinguished records...are in the best tradition of the legal profession," LAFLA development director Kathleen Sheldon told the MetNews.

Martinez, the former president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, has not only distinguished herself within the profession, but is a "groundbreaking Latina" who has brought diversity to a number of corporate boards, Sheldon noted.