The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley is pleased to welcome its new Directing Attorney of Health, Abre’ Conner. As Directing Attorney, Abre’ will lead the organization’s litigation and advocacy regarding health equity and the social determinants of health that impact historically excluded communities across Silicon Valley. Abre’ sits on the Law Foundation’s race, equity, and inclusion steering committee and leads work regarding jail conditions in Santa Clara County. Prior to joining the Law Foundation, Abre’ was a staff attorney with the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, where she advocated for the civil rights and liberties of Central Valley and Northern California residents. She led their statewide data collection campaign within Nor Cal’s racial and economic justice program regarding COVID-19 related public health data collection and accountability.
Previously, Abre’ worked at the Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, and on Capitol Hill. She was also an associate in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel in 2012.
Abre’ has received numerous awards and significant recognition for her work as a fierce advocate and lawyer. She was named a top 40 under 40 Nation’s Best Advocate by the National Bar Association and has appeared in the New York Times’ The Daily, American Bar Association Journal, and Cosmopolitan Magazine.
She is the founder of Together Restoring Economic Empowerment and liaison for the Standing Committee on Publication for the American Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division, Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness board member, and Northern California Social Action Coordinator for Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. She also serves as the elected Assembly Clerk for the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. This year, she will ascend to be Assembly Speaker, the chief policy officer for the Division.
Abre’ will lead a team of more than 20 attorneys, advocates, and staff. The Law Foundation’s Health Program provides free legal advice and representation to Santa Clara County residents who identify as having a mental health or physical disability. The program focuses on economic rights (such as public benefits, reasonable accommodations, and disability insurance) and patients’ rights, representing individuals in psychiatric facilities at over 4,500 due process and capacity hearings annually to ensure their rights and dignity are respected.