University of Virginia School of Law student Charis Redmond will serve as the vice chair of the National Black Law Students Association for the upcoming year.

Redmond, a second-year student and president of the Virginia Law BLSA chapter, was elected vice chair at NBLSA’s annual convention, held March 9-13 in Baltimore. Her one-year term begins April 1. In recent years, Melinda Hightower ’11 and Raqiyyah Pippins ’07 have served as NBLSA national chairs, and several students have held leadership posts in the organization, which represents more than 3,000 members nationwide.

Inspired by the students preceding her, Redmond said she looks forward to working with the new group of officers, while helping to maintain the professional environment that develops strong leaders and relationships throughout NBLSA.

“I think that should be at the heart of anything we do," she said. "At the end of the day, none of this is about me. It’s really about NBLSA and making sure the legacy of this organization continues to grow and be of service to students long after we’ve graduated.”

Redmond has served as an NBLSA delegate for regional and national conventions twice. She is currently the group’s programming specialist, which she said gave her insight into how the executive board functions and increased her interest in the role of vice chair.

Redmond’s new duties will include overseeing activities of the executive board and working with officers, leading the grievance committee, and evaluating national projects, programs and initiatives. She also will support the newly elected chair’s efforts while helping execute the focus of the upcoming year: building NBLSA’s reputation as an impactful legal advocate, like the NAACP or the National Bar Association.

When deciding where to attend law school, Redmond said she was impressed that BLSA had a strong presence and history at UVA Law.

“When I was on a tour as an admit, one of the law ambassadors said the Black Law Students Association was one of the best and most active student groups at the Law School,” Redmond said. “I personally take a huge amount of pride in my black identity, but hearing someone from outside of BLSA praise the organization really put them on my radar.”

Redmond, who grew up in Prince George's County, Maryland, said she developed a passion for leadership and nonprofit management as an undergraduate at George Washington University. In law school her career goals and interests evolved to include working in the field of intellectual property, specifically copyright and trademark, and possibly working with startups.

“No matter where I am, I hope I have opportunities to stay in touch with my social justice roots," she said. "That’s the good thing about NBLSA — I can both work on my career development and still keep in touch with issues that matter to me and my community.”

Redmond will work at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in San Francisco this summer, where she will participate in their client-experience program, while tending to her vice chair duties as well.

Authored by Lyndsey Raynor

Founded in 1819, the University of Virginia School of Law is the second-oldest continuously operating law school in the nation. Consistently ranked among the top law schools, Virginia is a world-renowned training ground for distinguished lawyers and public servants, instilling in them a commitment to leadership, integrity and community service.