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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

Diversity Mission Statement

 (Version: February 18, 2022)

California Western School of Law is committed to building a collaborative learning and working environment that promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. We believe these values affirm mutual respect and foster innovation, enabling students, staff, and faculty to fully develop and use their skills to promote positive change. We recognize and appreciate the unique contribution each person brings to our law school. We strive to create an atmosphere of open discussion, mutual respect, and dignity toward all. We also extend these values to serve our local, national, and international communities.   

We recognize and appreciate that this commitment is a continual process. Accordingly, we commit to pursuing an anti-oppression framework in our teaching, service, and engagement with the community.  To that end, we will engage in the following efforts:

  • To foster diversity among our students and alumni, we offer support and guidance for mastering the challenges of becoming lawyers and leaders of the bar. Through programs tailored to every phase of legal education and reflecting our diverse community, we work to ensure our graduates have the knowledge, skills, and perspective to build rewarding careers. We seek to offer ways for our students and alumni to develop and maintain those relationships which promote their professional development.
  • To foster diversity among our faculty and staff, we recruit among diverse communities. We celebrate the unique contribution each person brings to our law school. And we encourage awareness of, appreciation, and sensitivity toward diverse concerns.
  • To foster diversity throughout the wider community, both locally and globally, we seek to promote awareness of diversity's value in our relationships with colleagues in the law and higher education, and we offer programs that promote social, political, and economic justice.

We commit to generating institutional metrics that document our progress. And we commit to engaging in regular reflection about our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

Diversity Steering Committee

The Diversity Steering Committee serves to raise and facilitate important topics on behalf of the California Western community via a representative group of faculty, staff, and students

Jorge Garcia

Jorge García - Assistant Dean of Admissions, Financial Aid & Campus Diversity

Jorge Garcia

Richard Oppong - Professor of Law

Lisa Ferreira

Lisa Ferreira - Dean of Students 

Mercedez Wallace

Mercedez Wallace - Senior Director of Human Resources and Operations

Liam Vavasour

Liam Vavasour – Professor of Law as a member

Jeff Chinn

Jeff Chinn – Associate Director of Student Affairs

Estuardo Ponciano

Estuardo Ponciano – Assistant Dean of Student Affairs

Paige SaraivaPaige Saraiva - Student Representative 2023-2024