As a one-time president of the Assistance League of Pasadena, Ursula Hyman knew of Friends In Deed through working with us on a number of projects. She feels that, in a developed country like the US, homelessness and hunger are a tragedy – and it is this belief that led to her becoming further involved and eventually joining the board just over two years ago.
In particular, Ursula appreciates Friends In Deed’s focus on eviction prevention, and the work our Eviction Prevention and Rental Assistance team does in problem solving and helping people learn how to budget and manage their resources. But she also notices the way in which use of The Women’s Room has exploded since the pandemic. She says it sheds light on the very real needs of women experiencing homelessness – needs that are in general poorly understood.
Professionally, Ursula brings with her 40 years of experience as a lawyer and serving on boards of nonprofits – which makes us lucky to have had the benefit of her time and wisdom! She has been able to help us fine-tune our by-laws and avoid some of the common pitfalls that nonprofits can experience. But Ursula says she gets a lot out of the experience as well – not least, it gives her hope for the future when dedicated nonprofits work on practical solutions for the issues faced by our world. She is sorry not to be able to stand for re-election to the board this coming year, but promises to stay involved, so we won’t miss her too much!
A former partner of the international law firm Latham & Watkins, Ursula is now retired and takes advantage of that to travel as much as she can. She says that as a child she barely even ever left her small town, but pored over issues of National Geographic, dreaming of distant shores. As you see from the photo, she has realized her dream!
A big thanks to ursula for sharing her “time and talent” with the community. she is a treasure.