University of St. Thomas School of Law Professor Nekima Levy-Pounds is a 2015 recipient of the Saint Paul Foundation Facing Race Ambassador Award, which honors Minnesota’s anti-racism activists.
Levy-Pounds, who serves as a civil rights attorney, law professor and founding director of the award-winning Community Justice Project at UST School of Law, also was recognized this year as Attorney of the Year by Minnesota Lawyer and a Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree. She will be recognized with the Facing Race Ambassador Award on April 28 during an awards ceremony at the Crowne Plaza Saint Paul-Riverfront.
Through her work at UST School of Law, Levy-Pounds fosters and inspires up-and-coming lawyers to work to improve the lives of members of under-served communities and youths in the Twin Cities. She also has carved her place in the local civil rights movement by challenging laws and policies that hinder communities of color. Levy-Pounds most recently has taken an active role in the Black Lives Matter Minneapolis movement, serving as an advisor and spokeswoman.
In addition to her role at UST School of Law, Levy-Pounds is co-chair of Everybody In, chair of the Minnesota Advisory Commission to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, member of the board of directors for Catholic Charities of Minnesota, Trustee of The Minneapolis Foundation, chair of Brotherhood, Inc. and the Minnesota African American Museum, fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and contributing writer to MinnPost, the Star Tribune, Minnesota Women's Press, and Twin Cities Daily Planet.
