printable versionLaw School names winners of first national, alumni public service awards
Gannon, executive director of Fresh Lifelines for Youth; Quigley, director of Loyola Law Clinic, recognized
William Quigley, left, was recognized for his work on behalf of Mississippi Delta tenants displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Christa Gannon was recognized for her work on behalf of underserved California youth.
Stanford Law School has recognized alumna Christa Gannon, JD '97, and Loyola University law Professor William Quigley for their public service.
Gannon, the founder and executive director of Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY), has been given the first Alumni Public Service Award for her work on behalf of underserved California youth. Quigley has been given the first National Public Service Award for his work on behalf of more than 4,000 low-income Mississippi Delta tenants who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
Directly after Katrina devastated New Orleans, Quigley, who is director of the Loyola Law Clinic and of Loyola's Gillis Long Poverty Law Center, volunteered his services in hospitals, then relocated to Houston, where he created a new Katrina Relief Center. He has continued helping Katrina victims by serving as the lead counsel in a case representing over 4,000 low-income tenants who were displaced and who still have not been allowed to re-enter their housing by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and local agencies. He is also currently counsel on numerous other legal cases challenging Federal Emergency Management Agency procedures and supporting the voting rights of those displaced by hurricanes. In addition, through his work at Loyola, Quigley helped to coordinate the efforts of organizations, law students, clinicians and pro bono lawyers directly after hurricanes to bring additional legal resources to an area where there was already a tremendous need for lawyers for underprivileged people.
Gannon has developed innovative programs that directly benefit at-risk youth in the San Jose area. In less than 10 years since graduating from the Law School, she has founded and managed FLY, which aims to help at-risk youth make positive, healthy decisions. She is being honored for exemplifying what a young lawyer can accomplish with the kind of passion and commitment she has shown to empowering youth.
The awards were established by the new Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law to highlight the increased attention, resources and commitment the Law School is bringing to nurturing public service practice for its students and graduates. The National Public Service Award is to be given annually to a lawyer whose work on behalf of the public has had national impact. The Alumni Public Service Award is to be given annually to a Law School alumnus or alumna who has similarly engaged in public service and had a significant impact on the nation or community.