Legal Services Alabama (LSA) added five new members to the organization’s board of directors. LSA is the only civil, legal aid law firm operating in all 67 counties of Alabama. The LSA board of directors helps to guide organizational decision-making, supports fundraising initiatives, and individual members work to connect other advocates in Alabama with the LSA mission. Together LSA and the board of directors work to address the access to justice gap in Alabama and find solutions to the problems of poverty that impact thousands of people across the state.

LSA is excited to welcome Stephanie Bryan, Monica Graveline, Tasha Hairrell, Miriam Nava and Allison Skinner to the LSA team.

Stephanie Bryan

Stephanie Bryan serves as Tribal Chair to the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. Prior to her current position, she served as Vice Chair of the Tribal Council beginning in 2006. Her efforts in that role included extending health insurance to all Tribal Members and employees, expanding educational opportunities for every Tribal Member and First-Generation Indian Descendants, and taking a leadership role in the development of a new health clinic and assisted living facility on the Tribe’s reservation.

As the leader of the Poarch nation, Bryan represents the Tribe’s interests at both the state and national level. At the federal level, she is a nationally recognized advocate on issues critically important to Indian Country including ensuring the protection of Indian gaming, tribal sovereignty, and native-owned lands. She is also a champion for ensuring the federal government does its part to provide Indian Country with essential services such as healthcare and education.

Monica Graveline

Monica Graveline is senior vice president and General Counsel for Alabama Power. She served as vice president and Deputy General Counsel (West) for Southern Company Services, where she oversaw several legal practice areas including labor and employment, compensation, benefits, environmental, litigation and commercial contracting.

Graveline joined Southern Company in 2011 as managing attorney. Previously she was lead employment counsel for an international bank and a partner with a law firm in Birmingham. Graveline is involved in numerous professional and civic endeavors, including Immediate Past Chair and current Advisory Board member of the In-House and Government Lawyers Section of the Alabama State Bar, and member of the Board of Directors for Red Mountain Theatre Company.

Tasha Hairrell

Tasha Hairrell joins the LSA board as a community representative for One Place Family Justice Center. Hairrell works as a Senior Administrative Assistant at University of North Alabama. She is known for her organizational skills and powerful voice in advocating for victims of domestic violence statewide. She understands the social intricacies of dealing with intimate partner violence and considers advocating for the success of these victims to be her life’s calling.

Miriam Nava

Miriam Nava joins the LSA board as a community representative for the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (¡HICA!). Nava is originally from Guatemala and loves working with and for her community. She arrived in Alabama in 2005. She previously volunteered at La Casita, and then worked at ¡HICA! for several years. She is also a board member of Adelante where she supports their mission to unite day laborers, domestic workers and other low-wage and immigrant workers and their families in the Birmingham area to defend their rights, promote their dignity and pursue justice for all.

Allison Skinner

Allison Skinner works at Amalgamated Foundation as its General Counsel and Amalgamated Bank as its Deputy General Counsel. Allison serves in various capacities to advance the strategy and mission of the bank and its foundation. Previously, Skinner worked at Cadence Bank as a Senior Vice President – Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Corporate Secretary. Allison’s primary responsibilities at Cadence included corporate governance, risk management, litigation, regulatory, mergers & acquisitions and various corporate matters.

She formally served as a full-time neutral at Skinner Neutral Services LLC in Birmingham, Alabama, where she provided ADR services by serving as either a mediator, special master or arbitrator, including e-discovery disputes, as well as consulting and expert services in e-discovery. She has taught e-discovery at two law schools and authored the “Teacher’s Manual” for the WEST casebook used in her class, and she is a founder of the American College of e-Neutrals and a Fellow of the Academy of Court Appointed Masters.