NEWS RELEASE

The National Center for State Courts
300 Newport Avenue · Williamsburg, Virginia  23185

Contact:
Lorri Montgomery
Communications Manager
The National Center for State Courts
757.259.1525 or lmontgomery@ncsc.dni.us 

Mary McCormick Joins
 Board of National Court Reform Organization  

Williamsburg, VA (July 28, 2004) –  Mary McCormick, president of the Fund for the City of New York, has joined the Board of Directors for the National Center for State Courts, a non-profit organization that serves as a leader and a resource for the nation’s state courts. The Fund for the City of New York is a private operating foundation established by the Ford Foundation in 1968 to respond to opportunities to improve the quality of life in New York City.

“We are very pleased that Dr. McCormick has agreed to join the National Center’s Board,” said Roger K. Warren, president of the National Center. “As a leader with extensive background in public policy and administration, Dr. McCormick cares deeply about the importance of the work of America’s state courts, and the mission of the National Center as the preeminent national court reform organization.”

McCormick brings a rich and diverse background to the National Center’s Board. In addition to her work at the Fund, Dr. McCormick is active on several national boards, including the White House Project, the Robin Hood Foundation, and YouthBuild USA. She is a founding board member of the Food Bank for New York. In 2002, Mayor-Elect Michael Bloomberg appointed Dr. McCormick, a former professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business, to chair his transition team on human services, and in 2003 she was named to the New York City Mayoral Committee on Appointments.

In 1994 Dr. McCormick received the Luther Gulick Award for Outstanding Leadership in Public Affairs from the Metropolitan Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration. Dr. McCormick is an expert on the public sector with experience in public administration in Japan, and she has written extensively on management issues. She has been a guest speaker for the World Bank, the Harvard Business School, and the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

The National Center’s Board of Directors represents all levels and jurisdictions of state courts, the legal profession, and the business community. New members were announced in July at the Board’s annual meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah. Aside from McCormick, the other new Board member is Circuit Court Judge Brenda S. Loftin of St. Louis, Mo. Chief Justice of Wisconsin Shirley S. Abrahamson is the Board’s new chair. Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals Judith S. Kaye is a member of the Board and a past chair. 

The National Center for State Courts, headquartered in Williamsburg, VA, is a non-profit court reform organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and service to the state courts. The National Center, founded in 1971 by the Conference of Chief Justices and former Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, provides education, training, and technology, management, and research services to the nation’s state courts. The National Center also is taking the lead on several key issues facing the justice system. For example, it has established a major civil justice initiative, a multi-year project that is examining best practices in civil case management and how complex litigation procedures can be improved. Other national initiatives being driven by the National Center include judicial selection reform and increasing citizen participation in jury service.

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