Four presidential nominees were confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 29 to serve on the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC).

The four nominees were Harry Korrell III, Joseph Pius Pietrzyk, Julie A. Reiskin and Gloria Valencia-Weber. The nominations were previously approved by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, led by Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Ranking Member Michael B. Enzi (R-Wyo.).

LSC is the single largest provider of civil legal assistance for the poor in the nation. Funded by Congress, LSC operates as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that promotes equal access to justice and provides grants for high-quality civil legal assistance to low-income Americans.

The Corporation is headed by a bipartisan, 11-member Board of Directors. President Obama announced the nominations of Julie Reiskin and Gloria Valencia-Weber in 2009 and the nominations of Harry Korrell and Fr. Pius Pietrzyk this year. Upon taking the oath of office, they will join seven Board members nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate.

Harry Korrell is a partner in the Seattle office of Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP. His practice focuses on employment law and he has extensive experience in large-scale and high-profile cases, including class actions and commercial, civil rights and election litigation. Mr. Korrell is a member of the Employment Rights and Responsibilities Subcommittee of the American Bar Association and the National Executive Board of the Labor and Employment Law Practice Group of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy. He is a recipient of the Federalist Society's Justice Theodore Stiles Award.

Fr. Pius Pietrzyk, O.P., is a priest in the parish of St. Thomas Aquinas in Zanesville. Fr. Pius was ordained to the priesthood on May 23, 2008, after having entered the novitiate for the Dominican Province of St. Joseph in 2002 and studied for his License in Sacred Theology. Prior to that, he worked for three years in the Corporate and Securities practice of Sidley Austin, a large international law firm based in Chicago.

Julie Reiskin is the executive director of the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, a statewide disability-rights organization run by and for the disabled. During her tenure, Reiskin has worked to help create a sustainable and client-friendly Medicaid program, advocated on behalf of individuals and trained others in health advocacy and policy. In 2008, the City and County of Denver named her one of the area's unsung heroes for her leadership role on publicly funded long-term health care. She previously served as the coalition's policy analyst and was a partner in a Connecticut consulting firm specializing in diversity issues throughout southern New England.

Gloria Valencia-Weber is a professor at the University of New Mexico School of Law, where she specializes in Native American law. She came to the school in 1992 to establish the Indian Law Certificate program, which prepares students to work with tribes, Indian clients and the federal government. She started a similar program at the University of Tulsa College of Law in 1990. She served on the Board of Directors of the LSC-funded Oklahoma Indian Legal Services from 1991-1992.