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Moraine Valley Community College has named Lori Potter, of Denver, Colorado, as its 2009 Distinguished Alumnus. The award recognizes a successful graduate who earned a degree or certificate from the college more than five years ago and continues to support education and community colleges.
Potter is an attorney and a partner with the Kaplan Kirsch Rockwell law firm in Denver. She graduated from Moraine Valley with an Associate of Arts degree in 1973, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois in 1975 and a Master of Arts degree from the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations at the University of Illinois in 1977. She then earned a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School in 1980.
Her law career began with a Legal Aid organization, where she represented migrant farmworkers, followed by a one-year clerkship with the first woman justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. She spent the next 13 years with the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund protecting public lands and the environment. She has devoted the last 12 years of her career representing cities, counties, and other units of government with environmental protection goals.
An integral part of her day-to-day work is acting as a mentor to law students, young lawyers, and students considering law school. She also has lectured on environmental law and spent a semester teaching environmental law in India through the Fulbright Program. She was selected for two fellowships that had the goal of bringing a public interest lawyer to meet with law students at Harvard (the Wasserstein Fellowship) and Stanford (the David Mills Fellowship).
Potter was named in the Best Lawyers in America 2001-09 editions and was named a Colorado Super Lawyer in 2006-09 editions. She has published 16 articles in several law journals and periodicals and has testified as an expert witness in numerous cases. She sits on the board of directors of the Colorado Environmental Coalition, FrontRange Earth Force, and Public Counsel. She volunteers her time with the Neighborhood Advisory Committee to the Denver Botanic Gardens and is an officer in the Community Gardeners Neighborhood Association.
“Through her dedicated efforts and commitment to serve the public through environmental law, the judicial system, and non-profit organizations, Lori exemplifies the true qualities of a Moraine Valley Distinguished Alumnus,” said Dr. Vernon O. Crawley, college president.
For news media inquiries, call Jessica Crotty, College and Community Relations coordinator, at (708) 974-5281, or e-mail her at crotty@morainevalley.edu.
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