ACLU Expanding Strategic Capacity to Realize the Promise of Justice and Freedom for All
BALTIMORE, MD – Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Maryland is excited to announce our first-ever Deputy Executive Director, Veronica Dunlap, an attorney who brings a strong background in program development and advocacy in legal empowerment for people who have experienced civil rights violations. In this new leadership role, Dunlap will facilitate strategic decision making, communication, and alignment across all programs to implement ACLU’s 2024 strategic plan. Dunlap will identify opportunities and plan and direct activities to achieve desired outcomes for ACLU’s programmatic priorities: education, government accountability, immigrants’ rights, individual autonomy, legal justice system, and voting rights.
“I am excited to take on this new leadership role at the ACLU of Maryland to make a positive impact on our strategic priorities in education, government accountability, immigrants’ rights, individual autonomy, legal justice system, and voting rights,” said Veronica Dunlap, deputy executive director of the ACLU of Maryland. “It is so important to not only protect civil rights and civil liberties, but also to establish real equity. There is nothing that brings me more delight than coming back to Baltimore where my passion began and advocating for our collective rights.”
Previously, Dunlap served as Director of New York Justice Initiatives at Pro Bono Net where she spearheaded LawHelpNY, TenantHelpNY, Crime Victims Legal Help Network, Pro Bono Net/ny, LiveHelp, and related initiatives that empowered New Yorkers in need to resolve their legal problems and strengthened the work of advocates serving them. In addition, she volunteers with a project aimed at restoring the civil rights of people with criminal convictions. Prior to pursuing a career in law, Dunlap performed on stages around the world as a classically trained dancer.
“Welcoming Veronica Dunlap into this new role as our first-ever deputy executive director is a key moment in ACLU of Maryland’s history,” said Dana Vickers Shelley, executive eirector, ACLU of Maryland. “With Veronica’s focus on boldly building our capacity to make a strategic impact, the ACLU will be even more effective in our mission to co-create a state in which all Marylanders can exercise their rights so that the law values and uplifts their humanity.”
Dunlap is a proud graduate of both George Washington University, where she received a B.A. in International Affairs, cum laude, and Fordham University School of Law where she received her Juris Doctor & M.B.A. in Finance. Dunlap has received the New York County Lawyer’s Association Pro Bono Honors Award for her outstanding work in public service, as well as the Outstanding Woman Lawyer in Public Service award from the National Bar Association’s Women’s Law Division. She is the proud mother of her son, Massawa, and dedicated daughter of her inspirational father, Ronald Dunlap.
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The ACLU of Maryland, founded in 1931, exists to empower Marylanders to exercise their rights so that the law values and uplifts their humanity. Our vision is to realize a Maryland where people are united in affirming and exercising their rights in order to address inequities and fulfill the country’s unrealized promise of justice and freedom for all.