The 2012 Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network Excellence Awards will be presented at the annual awards dinner on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, at the Harrisburg Hilton & Towers, located at One North Second Street in Harrisburg. A social hour will take place from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM, immediately followed by a buffet dinner.

The featured speaker for the event will be the Honorable John E. Jones, III, U.S. District Judge, Middle District of Pennsylvania. Judge Jones is well known and respected nationally for his stance on the importance of judicial independence, and is a long supporter of civil legal aid and pro bono efforts.

Individuals selected to receive the 2012 PLAN Excellence Award include:

• Mary K. Austin, Esq.
  Associate Counsel to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Health System of Pittsburgh
   
• Carolyn L. Carter, Esq.
  Deputy Director of Advocacy for the National Consumer Law Center
   
• Francesca Chervenak, Esq.
  Managing Attorney of the Pittsburgh office of the Pennsylvania Health Law Project.
   
• Wayne Jacobs 
  Co-founder and Executive Director of X-Offenders for Community Empowerment (XCE), a North Philadelphia based organization which works to remove legal barriers faced by formerly convicted individuals.
   
• Minta Livengood
  Client representative serving on the Board of Directors of Laurel Legal Services and is the President-Elect of that organization.
   
• Suzanne Noble, Esq.
  Staff Attorney for Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania
   
• Robert A. Oakley, Esq. 
  Executive Director of Northwestern Legal Services.
   
• Irwin L. Trauss, Esq.
  Supervising Attorney of the Consumer Housing Unit of Philadelphia Legal Assistance.
   
• Pamela Walz, Esq.
  Supervising Attorney for Community Legal Services and is the co-head of the CLS Aging and Disabilities Unit.
   
• Laurie Yurejefcic
  Paralegal in the Lebanon office of MidPenn Legal Services.

PLAN, Inc. is accepting event sponsorships and advertisements for the event program. Sponsorships and advertising may be submitted and paid for at the link below. For more information about sponsorship and advertising opportunities please contact Christine Kirby at ckirby@palegalaid.net or 412-586-6137.

Information on the reservations and sponsorships for the dinner is available at the links below. For additional information about the PLAN Excellence Awards visit the Excellence Awards page on the PLAN website.

Online Dinner Reservations and Sponsorship/Advertising Opportunities
Advertising and Sponsorship Information [PDF]

About the 2012 Excellence Award Recipients