Martha Bergmark (1966, MS)

Martha is the founding executive director of Voices for Civil Justice, a national communications hub for civil legal aid that launched in 2013.

She is a passionate spokesperson for delivering on the promise of equal justice under law, but she says we are defaulting on that commitment when most Americans (three out of four) go without legal help to navigate complicated court proceedings that put their families, homes, and livelihoods at risk. She and her staff at Voices tap the awareness-raising power of the media to bring attention to the need for civil justice reform.

At Voices, Martha draws on her career-long involvement as a civil rights and civil legal aid lawyer. She is nationally recognized for her work to build the Mississippi Center for Justice (MCJ) as a 21st century model for using legal advocacy to advance racial and economic justice in her home state. Under her leadership as founding president from 2003 to 2013, MCJ scored wins in areas as diverse as juvenile justice reform, access to health care, educational opportunity, and disaster recovery; and it became an influential force for progressive change. She continues her engagement with MCJ as board member and senior counsel.

In recognition of her work in Mississippi and nationally, Martha has been named a White House Champion of Change, Stern Family Fund Public Interest Pioneer, Kutak Dodds Prize winner, and ABA Section of Litigation John Minor Wisdom Public Service Award recipient. She holds honorary doctorates from Oberlin College and Millsaps College.