The Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (PLAN) honored the recipients of the 2015 Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network Excellence Awards on March 23, 2015 at the annual awards dinner held at the Hilton Harrisburg. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Debra McCloskey Todd served as the keynote speaker for the event.

The mission of the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network is to ensure equal access to justice so that Pennsylvanians can have representation, when facing important civil legal concerns affecting their safety, health, shelter and survival. The PLAN Excellence Awards are presented each year to individuals, groups, and/or organizations that have established excellence and diligence improving the availability and quality of civil legal services for low income people and victims of domestic violence in Pennsylvania.

A video tribute was shown highlighting the accomplishments of each of the 2015 recipients of the award. Those video tributes may be viewed below:

 
The recipients of the 2015 Excellence Awards included:

• Carl W.  Bailey, Linda A. Bergman, Carol Collington, Minta Livengood and Dorothy Young
  Executive Committee of the Coalition for Affordable Utility Service and Energy Efficiency in Pennsylvania (CAUSE-PA)

• Deborah L. Freedman, Esq.
  Deputy Director of Legal Practice, Community Legal Services, Philadelphia, PA

• Sharon Goldsmith 
  Executive Secretary, Neighborhood Legal Services Association, Pittsburgh, PA

• The Honorable Alan D. Hertzberg
  Court of Common Pleas Judge of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, PA

• Jennifer L. Heverly, Esq.
  Attorney, North Penn Legal Services, Williamsport, PA

• Diana Ingersoll, Esq.
  Attorney, MidPenn Legal Services, Altoona, PA

• Michael Lee, Esq.
  Private Attorney Volunteer, Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity, Philadelphia, PA

• Merck & Co., Inc. Pro Bono Program
  Kenneth C. Frazier, CEO; Bruce N. Kuhlik, General Counsel, Whitehouse Station, NJ

• Jonathan Pyle, Esq.
  Contract Performance Officer, Philadelphia Legal Assistance, Philadelphia, PA

• Lawrence A. Swanson
  ​Executive Director , ACTION Housing, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA

We invite you to follow the link below to learn more about the 2015 Excellence Award winners.

The Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network congratulates each of the award recipients and is proud to celebrate their examples of excellence in the pursuit of Access to Justice for all citizens.

About the 2015 Excellence Award Winners