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Diversity & Inclusion

ALA Silicon Valley Chapter fosters an inclusive environment of awareness and respect.

Our Chapter continues to support the Association's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Statement. We provide education to legal industry leaders about why equity, inclusivity, and accessibility are important and how we can work to bring diversity, inclusion, and accessibility to the legal workplace.

"Diversity is about recognizing, respecting, and valuing differences based on ethnicity, gender, color, age, race, religion, disability, national origin and sexual orientation. It also includes an infinite range of individual unique characteristics and experiences, such as communication style, career path, life experience, educational background, geographic location, income level, marital status, military experience, parental status and other variables that influence personal perspectives.

These life experiences and personal perspectives make us react and think differently, approach challenges and solve problems differently, make suggestions and decisions differently, and see different opportunities. Diversity, then, is also about diversity of thought. And superior business performance requires tapping into these unique perspectives."1

1 Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, Business Case for Diversity

Contact Us:

ALA Silicon Valley Chapter Diversity and Inclusion Committee
(Taylor Aston-Nielsen, Darcy Diaz, Melonee Roebuck, and Debbie Sanders)

Also, ALA's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Advisory Council continues to be a resource to you individually and to your firms, organizations, and chapters.

Diversity & Inclusion Spotlight - November 2026

Native American Heritage Month

Celebrating Native nations, cultures, histories, and contemporary voices

Images from New Museum Los Gatos programming created in collaboration with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. Photography associated with the exhibitions includes work by tribal photographer Kike Arnal. (NUMU | New Museum Los Gatos)

Each November, Native American Heritage Month provides an opportunity to recognize the histories, cultures, achievements, and continuing contributions of American Indian and Alaska Native peoples. Here in the Bay Area, that recognition has particular resonance: the region is home to living Indigenous communities whose cultures, languages, governments, and relationships to the land continue today.

For our ALA Community, the month also invites us to deepen our understanding of tribal sovereignty, federal Indian law, treaties and Indigenous rights, and Native representation within the legal profession—subjects that demonstrate how law can shape not only individual rights but also the relationship between governments and sovereign nations.

WHY IT MATTERS TO THE LEGAL PROFESSION

Tribal nations are sovereign political entities, and the legal framework governing relationships among tribal, federal, and state governments presents distinctive questions of jurisdiction, authority, treaty rights, self-determination, and federal Indian law.

Representation matters as well. The American Bar Association notes that increasing the presence of Native attorneys, judges, and scholars can strengthen advocacy and judicial decision-making on laws affecting tribal nations, sovereignty, and Indigenous rights. (American Bar Association)

Consider this month an invitation to learn—not only about Native history, but about Native peoples, governments, cultures, and legal issues today.

WATCH

Smoke Signals — Written by Sherman Alexie and directed by Chris Eyre (Cheyenne/Arapaho), this landmark feature centers on contemporary Native characters, friendship, family, grief, and identity.

Gather — A documentary exploring Native American efforts to reclaim Indigenous foodways and food sovereignty.

Reel Injun — A documentary examining how Hollywood has constructed—and distorted—images of Native people on screen.

Barking Water — Sterlin Harjo’s intimate road film follows two Seminole characters through Oklahoma and offers an alternative to stereotypical portrayals of Native life.

READ

There There — Tommy Orange
A multigenerational novel following Native characters converging on a powwow in Oakland—a particularly relevant selection for Bay Area readers.

Braiding Sweetgrass — Robin Wall Kimmerer
A botanist and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation brings Indigenous knowledge and scientific inquiry into conversation.

The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee — David Treuer
A sweeping history that deliberately shifts the narrative from disappearance and tragedy toward Native survival, adaptation, and contemporary life.

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States — Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
A reconsideration of U.S. history through the experiences of Indigenous peoples, useful for readers interested in the relationship among law, government, land, and colonization.

ATTEND | BAY AREA

Reawakening Community Day — Saturday, November 7, 2026, noon–4 p.m.
At New Museum Los Gatos (NUMU), 106 E. Main Street, Los Gatos. The free, registration-required community day celebrates the museum's two Reawakening exhibitions through activities and exhibition-inspired programming honoring the culture and experiences of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. (NUMU | New Museum Los Gatos) Event details and registration.

Reawakening: Muwekma Ohlone Culture and Connection in Pursuit of Recognition — through November 29
Also at NUMU, this exhibition explores Muwekma Ohlone cultural practices and the Tribe's advocacy to restore federal recognition, including its “Trail of Truth” journey to Washington, D.C. It was developed with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe and San José State University's Department of Anthropology. (NUMU | New Museum Los Gatos) Exhibition information

Reawakening: Reciprocity of Land, Sea, and the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe — throughout November
The companion NUMU exhibition focuses on cultural and practical land stewardship, native plants, cultural burning, Chochenyo language revitalization, dance, music, song, ceremony, and cultural revival. It remains on view through January 3, 2027. (NUMU | New Museum Los Gatos) Exhibition information

Native American & Indigenous Heritage Celebration — San Francisco
The San Francisco Public Library's 2026 celebration recognizes November as Native American Heritage Month and offers Indigenous-focused programming including films, workshops, presentations, and other activities. The Library also acknowledges that San Francisco occupies the ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone. (San Francisco Public Library) Explore SFPL's 2026 programming.

LEARN • LISTEN • RECOGNIZE

Native American Heritage Month is an opportunity to move beyond historical narratives and engage with living Native nations and communities. As legal professionals, we can use the month to better understand tribal sovereignty and self-determination, examine the legal systems that have affected Indigenous peoples, seek out Native authors and filmmakers, and listen to Native communities speaking for themselves.

For an additional law-focused resource, the American Bar Association's 2026 Native Voices in Law program examines Native representation in the profession and its relationship to tribal nations, sovereignty, Indigenous rights, advocacy, and judicial decision-making. (American Bar Association)

Celebrate. Learn. Listen. Engage.

Diversity Observances

	Diversity Observances Calendar

Other News

03/08/2021

International Women's Day

In honor of International Women's Day, the SVC Leadership Board participates in the #ChooseToChallenge2021 campaign. Learn more: Women's History Month and International Women's Day 2021

ALA SVC Leadership

Pictured:
Shelley Strong, Lisa Hild, Shirley Laboy, Jim Karkas, Taylor Aston-Nielsen, PHR, Debbie Piker Sanders, CLM MBA, and Diana Medina.

Not pictured:
Thea Wagner and Christie Ernst

06/08/2020, updated 07/10/2020

ALASVC's Statement of Solidarity with the Association's July 2020 Statement

ALA Silicon Valley Chapter supports the ALA Diversity Initiative's aim to increase awareness of and sensitivity to the differences among our workforce and to advance the concept of inclusiveness and acceptance. The Association of Legal Administrators calls upon our members and business partners and stakeholders to join us in the fight for equity and justice in America and across the globe. ALA stands in solidarity with our colleagues of color. The work to be done to dismantle systemic racism is immense. As individuals, and together as an Association, we all must do better.

You can read the Association’s full statement on recent events here.

5/09/2018

Video: What Does Diversity Mean To You

ALA's Diversity & Inclusion Committee developed a video featuring members talking about diversity and what it means to them. ALA's Committee for Diversity & Inclusion works to educate legal industry leaders about why diversity is important and how we can work to bring diversity and inclusion to the legal workplace.

Why Diversity?

The world is rich with our celebrations of diversity.

All employers should be able to create a diverse and inclusive work environment. Why? Because when business leaders and managers welcome many backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints, they create a competitive advantage for themselves. But few organizations know how to create a culture that truly promotes, embraces, and seeks each employee's unique contributions. Gallup research, as noted in 3 Requirements for a Diverse and Inclusive Culture by Ella Washington and Camille Patrick has found that in a diverse, inclusive culture, three components must be present: “(1) everyone treats everyone else with respect; (2) managers appreciate the unique characteristics of everyone on their team; and (3) leaders do what's right.

Below is a list of resources gathered by ALASVC that we hope will be helpful to our members and the legal community to enhance diversity within our organizations.

Newsletters

RECOMMENDED READING by ALA Committee on Diversity and Inclusion
White Papers/Reports/Reference Guides

The Ripple, a newsletter by Ellie Krug
The Ripple contains stories about human kindness and compassion, and as well highlights some of the challenges that all of us face in our collective attempt to survive the Human Condition. Every issue also includes an “Inclusivity Tip” with ideas about how to make your organization (and personal life) more inclusive.