CBA Record March-April 2025

Melanie MacBride, Chief Grants & Operations Officer MacBride went to law school to become a legal aid attorney, dedicating her summers and much of her third year to interning at the Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Family Services (LAS). She expected this experience to position her well for a legal aid career in Chicago, but the 2008 economic downturn altered her path. With limited job opportunities in the Chicago market, she joined DuPage Legal Aid, commuting daily from Logan Square to Wheaton for two and a half years. She later returned to Chicago, first with Ascend Justice and then back to LAS, where she progressed from staff attorney to supervising attorney and eventually managing attorney. In her later roles at LAS, MacBride took on significant responsibilities in grant management, over seeing federal, state, city, and private funding. Her experience in grant writing, budgeting, and report ing sparked an interest in philanthropy, leading her to consider a transition to grantmaking. To make this shift, she sought a foundation where her legal aid experience and her legal expertise would be assets. When she discovered the CBF job posting in early 2021, it seemed like the ideal opportunity. Despite being five months pregnant and navigating the uncertainties of a global pandemic, she applied—and in March, she will mark four years at the CBF. Roya Samarghandi, Chief Advocacy & Innovation Officer Like many who pursue a career in law, Samarghandi entered the profession with a commitment to helping others. After earning an LLM in international human rights, she returned home to a profes sion still recovering from the Great Recession, with limited job opportunities in the traditional legal market. She began her legal career in Chicago as a Contract Specialist at CDW LLC, where she gained a deep appreciation for aligning legal strategy with clients’ broader objectives. However, her goal was to find a role that would allow her to serve people who needed legal assistance but struggled to afford it. In 2015, Samarghandi joined the sixth cohort of the CBF Justice Entrepreneurs Project (JEP), an incubator that equips lawyers to build socially conscious and innovative law practices that provide quality, affordable legal services for everyday people. She launched her own firm through the JEP—Carmel Law, LLC—and built a successful family law practice. During this time, she also became increasingly involved in Chicago’s legal aid community, serving on the Junior Board of Chicago Volunteer Legal Services— eventually as chair—and actively supporting the CBF advocacy initiatives. This engagement reinforced her commitment to expanding access to justice, ultimately leading her to join the CBF as its Chief Advocacy and Innovation Officer in early 2023. Brandon Williams, Director of Programs Williams’s commitment to public interest law took shape in the wake of the Great Recession, which left countless homeowners facing foreclosure. Recognizing the urgent need for legal support, he joined the Chicago Legal Clinic (now Greater Chicago Legal Clinic) in 2010 as Supervisor of the Chancery Advice Desk. In this role, he was instrumental in developing and implementing the Circuit Court of Cook County Foreclosure Mediation Program, working directly with homeowners navigating foreclo sure. It was during this time that he first connected with the CBF, which managed the program with the Circuit Court, and the CBF mission and impact deeply resonated with him. In 2019, Williams joined Cabrini Green Legal Aid (CGLA) as Supervising Attorney of the Criminal Records Program, where he helped people seeking to expunge and seal their records. This reinforced his dedication to expanding access to justice. He remained engaged with CBF throughout his career, fre quently collaborating with CBF leaders through events and site visits. In January 2025, he started as the CBF Director of Programs, a role that aligns perfectly with his passion and experience. In this capacity, he leads initiatives to make the legal system more equitable and accessible, continuing his lifelong commitment to public interest law and its power to transform lives and communities.

Emme Veenbaas is The Chicago Bar Foundation’s Senior Manager of Communications & Events.

CBA RECORD 19