At the 2018 Installation Dinner, the Board and I made a commitment.  Our goal was to promote Legal Excellence in all aspects of TMBA.  We did just that! As a collective whole, TMBA awarded law student scholarships, gave back to local families and children facing poverty and homelessness, hosted the first panel presentation by a local bar association on issues of race and policing right here in Orange County, connected various California African American bar associations for the first ever joint networking mixer, and worked with allies such as the John M. Langston Bar Association of Los Angeles, Hispanic Bar Association, Filipino-American Lawyers of Orange County, Orange County Women Lawyers Association, and the OCBA Diversity Committee. Internally, TMBA was able to revamp its entire website and administrative processes to increase membership, fundraising opportunities, and membership communication. The growth of TMBA this year would not have been possible without the help of the Board, our members, volunteers, sponsors, affiliate bar associations, our local law schools and students.   

As my tenure comes to an end, I would like to extend a final heart-felt Thank You for entrusting me with the responsibility to lead this organization.  As the first African-American graduate of the University of California Irvine, School of Law, I am an ardent supporter of TMBA’s Mission to “connect, support, and increase the Black legal community in Orange County.”  I hope that we have made at least a small impact in supporting this Mission, and that TMBA continues to effectuate these goals for many, many years to come.  With that, congratulations to TMBA’s 2019 – 2020 Board of Directors! Under the leadership of incoming President Desirae Hutchison, Esq., I know that TMBA will go to heights unimaginable.

All the Best,

Denisha P. McKenzie, Esq.