Bridgette Y. Ahn

Candidate for Vice President for Membership

Endorse Candidate

Candidate Statement

I seek your support in running for Vice President for Membership of NAPABA. I am confident that my experiences as a bar leader has prepared me well for this role. For the last two terms, I have co-chaired NAPABA’s Regional Conference Committee, which has helped to organize 2 – 3 conferences each year. While I was President, my home affiliate, the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York (KALAGNY), successfully hosted NAPABA’s 2016 Northeast Regional Conference in New York City. I have also supported and directly worked with other affiliates in the Northeast region (AABANY, FALANY, APALA-NJ, APABA-PA, CAPABA and FACL). Last year, I also served as President of the Network of Bar Leaders (NoBL), a coalition of 60 bar associations from the Greater New York City area. I feel these roles have given me significant experience engaging members and promoting their participation.

NAPABA’s Strategic Vision

As Vice President for Membership, I will work with NAPABA staff on special projects embraced by NAPABA’s leadership during the upcoming term. While NAPABA’s explosive growth in recent years presents both challenges and opportunities, its relationships with our affiliates also presents exciting opportunities. I am eager to work on outreach to our affiliates and sharing resources with emerging affiliates. Subject to changes to NAPABA’s Strategic Plan, I will (1) work to develop a mentoring program between new and established affiliates; and (2) disseminate a NAPABA Affiliate Tool Kit, with guidelines and best practices for running a bar association. I will also seek out opportunities to provide more benefits to NAPABA’s members, and in particular, advocate for decreases in registration fees.

As a former computer programmer, I am particularly qualified to provide technological guidance and input relating to NAPABA’s management of its membership database, and email and website marketing. To that end, I will make myself available to work with the staff and the officers, in improving our website’s user experience, and membership re-activation process. I am also prepared to work with the staff and the leadership on implementing the new membership model approved by NAPABA’s leaders this past year. I also bring this technical expertise, along with my experience directly managing virtually all aspects of a bar association, in promulgating NAPABA’s Affiliate Tool Kit, part of NAPABA’s current strategic vision. Indeed, during my tenure on NoBL Executive Council, NoBL provided educational forums on best practices for bar association management.

Increasing Diversity

I will also provide geographic and gender diversity to NAPABA’s leadership. If elected, I will likely be the only member of NAPABA’s Executive Committee from the Northeast Region. I am also proud of my track record of promoting participation by women leaders. During my bar service at KALAGNY and NoBL, I recruited women to fill my seats.

Public Advocacy

With me, you have an advocate. In addition to regularly participating in NAPABA Lobby Day, I have also (1) advocated for the re-election of a prominent Chinese American female judge; and (2) increasing the profile of the Asian American bar and diverse bars within the legal community. During my tenure as President of KALAGNY, I was pleased to assist with the election of the first Korean American to the bench in New York State. Thank you for your support!

www.bahnlaw.com | bridgette.ahn@gmail.com | 646-543-1415

Candidate Bio

Bridgette Y. Ahn of the Law Office of Bridgette Y. Ahn, focuses her work on intellectual property and technology law. Her experience includes practicing at internationally recognized law firms, including Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. Bridgette’s broad based experiences includes matters involving intellectual property licensing, prosecution, and litigation. She also provides legal advice pertaining to enterprise content management and electronic discovery. In litigation matters, she represents clients in complex commercial litigations, oftentimes involving technical subject matter, in various state and federal courts.

Previously, she served as President of the Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York (KALAGNY), a NAPABA affiliate, and of the Network of Bar Leaders (NoBL). NoBL is a coalition of approximately 60 bar associations in the Greater New York City area, formed approximately 30 years ago by the late Honorable Harold Baer Jr. Currently, she cochairs NAPABA’s Regional Conference Committee and serves as a Vice-President of the Korean American Association of Greater New York. Bridgette is also an alumni of the Collaborative Bar Leadership Academy.

Bridgette graduated from the George Washington University School of Law in 2002. She also obtained a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the City College Grove School of Engineering, and a Bachelor’s degree in Rhetoric from the University of California at Berkeley. Bridgette grew up in Los Angeles, but has lived in various cities in the United States, including Berkeley, Santa Barbara, and Washington, D.C. She now lives in New York City with her partner Vlad.

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