40 Years, 40 Faces
For the past 40 years, the Virginia Poverty Law Center has committed to leading and coordinating efforts to seek justice in civil legal matters for lower-income Virginians. What does the VPLC do? It is a state support center for the nine local legal aid programs in Virginia. They do policy work that impacts many Virginians, providing education, materials, and pro bono attorneys for clients.
In recognition of this 40th anniversary of VPLC, photographer Glen McClure and writer Marshall McClure traveled throughout Virginia to document individuals and families who have benefited from this work. Glen McClure has created a series of portraits that share the great tradition of social documentary photography but are also, in their own merit, great artistic achievements. Combined with interviews with each subject, they offer us a window into the lives of those Virginians who live in low-income circumstances while working to make their lives better with dignity, hope, and at times, simple acceptance.
From domestic violence survivor and immigrant Jae in Southwest Virginia to Northern Virginia native Tiffany who has been assisted with problematic payday loan issues, the VPLC continues to assist those most in need throughout the state.
This exhibition creates the opportunity for a conversation about what it means to be poor in the 21st century. The inherent integrity projected from each image asks us not only to pause and look each individual in the eye, but to carry these conversations out into the world and work to ensure that they become documents of a past no longer experienced by any citizen of Virginia or beyond.
— Jeffrey Allison, Curator
Please click on any photograph to read their bio.
Virginia Poverty Law Center: 40 Years, 40 Faces Committee
Honorary Chair
The Honorable Ralph S. Northam,
Governor of Virginia
Honorary Committee Members
The Honorable Anne Holton & The Honorable Tim Kaine,
United States Senator
The Honorable Mark R. Warner,
United States Senator
The Honorable Mark Herring,
Attorney General of Virginia
The Honorable S. Bernard Goodwyn,
Justice, Supreme Court of Virginia
The Honorable Stephen R. McCullough,
Justice, Supreme Court of Virginia
The Honorable Cleo E. Powell,
Justice, Supreme Court of Virginia
The Honorable William C. Mims,
Justice, Supreme Court of Virginia
Toni R. Ardabell,
Chief Executive Officer,
Bon Secours Virginia Health System
Leonard A. Bennett,
Principle, Consumer Litigation Associates
Mark Braley,
Legal Services Corporation of Virginia
Tara L. Casey,
Director, Harry L. Carrico Center for Pro Bono & Public Service,
University of Richmond School of Law
Doris Hendersen Causey,
Past President, Virginia State Bar; Managing Attorney, Central Virginia Legal Aid Society
Lakshmi Challa,
Managing Attorney, Lakshmi Law Group; Senoir Counsel, LeClairRyan
Traci A. Giles,
America Bar Association State Delegate; Giles and Lambert, PC
Jack Harris,
Senior Policy Advisor, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association
Leonard C. Heath, Jr.,
President, Virginia State Bar
Kristi Cahoon Kelly,
Kelly & Crandell
Stacy E. Lee,
President, Old Dominion Bar Association; Staff Counsel, Allstate
Kimberly C. McLeod,
Chair, Firmwide Pro Bono Committee, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
Christopher M. Malone.
President & Director
Monica T. Monday,
Managing Partner, Gentry Locke Attorneys
G. Andrews Nea, Jr.,
Of Counsel, Williams Mullen
Lonnie D. Nunley, III,
Partner, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
Alex Nyerges,
Director & CEO, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Wendy C. Perdue,
President, Association of American Law Schools; Dean, University of Richmond School of Law
Dale Pittman,
The Law Firm of Dale Pittman
M. Bryan Slaughter,
President, Virginia Trial Lawyers Association; Partner, MichieHamlett
Joanna L. Suyes,
President, Metro Richmond Women’s Bar Association; Immediate Past President, Virginia Law Foundation; MercerTrigiani
Lori D. Thompson,
General Counsel, LeClairRyan
Lucia Anna “Pia” Trigiani,
Past President, Virginia Law Association; Immediate Past President, Virginia Law Foundation; MercerTrigiani
Thomas M. Wolf,
Partner, LeClairRyan
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