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MPS scholarship builds equity in the field of law in Milwaukee

Posted at 5:00 AM, Mar 18, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-18 22:11:03-04

MILWAUKEE — This Women’s History Month, the Milwaukee Public Schools Foundation is honoring the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

They have created a scholarship in her name for young women of color who hope to pursue a career in law.

Research by the Institute for Women’s Leadership at Marquette University found the total number of women in Milwaukee-area law firms is about 30-percent. That is below the national average, which they say is at 36.3-percent.

The MPS Foundation hopes to raise $500,000 to begin a scholarship that will help young women of color chase their dreams.

One of the applicants is 17-year-old Iman Snobar, “Representation is something that needs to happen more and that receiving it means we see you we hear you and you deserve this position.”

The senior at Ronald Regan High School hopes to become a human rights attorney, saying, “I’ve seen a lot of injustices not only with things that happened to my family members but on the global scale.”

She also looks up to the late RBG, “She was definitely an icon of not only the feminist movement but through multiple Supreme Court cases.”

Wendell Willis with the MPS Foundation says many top leaders in business have law degrees. So the board asked each other, “Do our young women of color have somebody representing what they want to do, where they want to be?”

Which is how the new scholarship was born.

He hopes this will let Iman and all 70,000 MPS students know they will soon be the backbone of our workforce, and there are endless opportunities to make an impact in our community.

Rebound Rundown:

  • MPS Foundation’s ‘Ruth Bader Ginsberg Foundation’
    • Deadline: March 26
  • Click here to apply or call (414) 874-5290 to learn more.
  • Students chosen will receive:
    • $2,000 each of the four years of undergraduate school.
    • $10,000 each of the two years of law school.
  • Goal is to raise $500,000 to fund the scholarship.
  • $40,000 has been raised so far.
    • Lead gift/sponsor – Fred Tabak, Tabak Law Offices, MPS Foundation board member & MPS alum at Riverside High
    • Significant contributors include Herb Kohl Philanthropies, Carl Rasmussen Madison-based attorney at Boardman Clark, MPS alum at Lincoln High, Jackie Herd Barber, former Motorola Executive, MPSF Board member, Custer High graduate.

For Lawyers, law firms, individuals, and any organizations:

  1. Become a partner by mentoring or connecting our middle and high school students to extracurricular law programs
  2. Donate to the fund.

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