Legal Momentum Hires Chief Strategic Officer to Advance the Imperatives of the #MeToo Movement

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Date: 

January 8, 2019

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NEW YORK CITY (January 8, 2019) – Legal Momentum, the nation’s first and preeminent advocate of women and girl’s legal rights since 1970, today announced that it is adding a Chief Strategic Officer to its executive team. As the founding and ongoing champion of the culturally transformative “Violence Against Women Act” and a fierce guardian of “Title IX,” Legal Momentum said it is adding the strategic position to ensure that its next 50 years will be equally impactful.              

Siobhan “Sam” Bennett will serve as Legal Momentum’s Chief Strategic Officer and Senior Vice-President. Her previous executive experience includes being one of the longest serving CEO’s of Washington, D.C.’s, bi-partisan Women’s Campaign Fund (WCF) and She Should Run (SSR), the first national organization to financially support women when they run for political office.

Bennett created “Name it. Change It.,” and with SSR, partnered with Women’s Media Center to fight political sexism against women, and provide female candidates with research-proven ways to respond to political sexism. “Name It. Change It.” was based on sexist attacks Bennett withstood when she was the most endorsed U.S. Congressional challenger in the nation in 2008.

Beyond Bennett’s decades as a non-profit, civic and business leader, she is also noted for her public openness in the national media about having been sexually trafficked as a youth.

Following is a statement by Elaine Wood, Board Chair of Legal Momentum and Managing Director Duff & Phelps: "With Sam’s decades of visionary leadership on the local, state and national level, coupled with her personal experience with the very issues that have been at the forefront of Legal Momentum’s advocacy — sexism in the workplace and sexual harassment, violence and trafficking — Sam is exactly what we need to chart our next 50 years so that we stay at the cutting edge of protecting women’s and girl’s legal rights. We are honored to have such an exceptional executive on our team.”

Following is a statement by Carol Baldwin Moody, President and CEO of Legal Momentum and former COIO of CalPERS, the nation’s largest pension fund: "In my many successful years as a diversity change agent, I have never met a leader with Sam’s breadth of accomplishment and experience who at the same time works so hard in all aspects of her life ‘to be the change you want to see in the world.’ I admire her honesty about having been sexually trafficked to give others the courage to also come forward, and her brilliance in creating “Name It. Change It.” so that no other woman candidate has to go through the egregious sexism she experienced when she ran for one of the highest offices in our land. Sam is passionate about making the world safer for all women and girls. She is exactly the person I want on my team!”

Following is a statement by Siobhan “Sam” Bennett, Chief Strategic Officer and Senior Vice-President of Legal Momentum: “Having been CEO of our nation’s first organization to financially support women candidates, I couldn’t be more honored to now serve as Chief Strategic Officer of Legal Momentum, the oldest legal non-profit organization to advocate for women’s and girl’s legal rights. Nothing could be clearer that the best way to protect women and girls’ rights is through the law. Legal Momentum’s past half century of legal advocacy has laid the foundation for the culturally seismic shifts of today’s #MeToo. I’m honored to have the task of working with its acclaimed CEO, staff and Board of Directors to ensure that Legal Momentum’s next 50 years are even more powerful.”

About Legal Momentum

Legal Momentum is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1970 to advance the rights of women by using the power of the law and creating innovative public policy in three broad areas: economic justice, freedom from gender-based violence and equality under the law. For more information visit www.legalmomentum.org.

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