About me
Salena Copeland (she/her) is the Executive Director of the Legal Aid Association of California. She spends much of her time coordinating statewide legislative and administrative advocacy, while also supervising a small staff who work to support the entire California IOLTA legal aid community through trainings, online coordination and resource-sharing, and member discounts. Her biggest recent successes are in leading efforts to increase state funding for legal aid in California by hundreds of millions in funding.
Salena, a Texan by birth, but Californian by choice, is a 2007 graduate of Stanford Law School, the 2016 recipient of the Miles L. Rubin Public Interest Award, a former member of the State Bar of California Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services, a co-chair of the California Commission on Access to Justice Rural Access Committee, an active member of the Bench Bar Coalition, and the 2010 recipient of the Bench Bar Coalition Legal Services Provider of the Year Award. She also serves on a number of statewide planning committees dedicated to improving access to justice for low and moderate-income Californians, including the Campaign for Justice. Because of her family’s roots in rural Texas and Arkansas, she is committed to working towards geographic equity for all Californians.
More on the Legal Aid Association of California
The Legal Aid Association of California (LAAC) is the statewide membership organization of legal services nonprofits. Over 100 nonprofit organizations around the state are members of LAAC. These nonprofit member organizations provide critical legal assistance to low-income Californians and ensure equal access to justice. LAAC serves and strengthens its members through advocacy, training, and support. LAAC does not directly provide legal services.
