Martha Bergmark

Martha Bergmark is a 1966 U.S. Presidential Scholar from Mississippi and a member of the Presidential Scholars Foundation board of directors. She is executive director of Voices for Civil Justice, the national communications and media resource for advocates of civil justice reform. She believes America can deliver on its inspiring promise of equal justice under law, but right now we are in default. Most Americans – three out of four – go without legal help to navigate complicated civil court proceedings that put their families, homes and livelihoods at risk, and the human toll is high. Martha’s opinion pieces illuminating practical solutions to the civil justice crisis appear regularly in national outlets, and she is a frequent guest speaker, panelist and trainer. Martha previously served as founding president of the Mississippi Center for Justice, president of the Legal Services Corporation, and senior vice president of the National Legal Aid & Defender Association. She began her legal career as a civil rights and legal aid lawyer in her home state of Mississippi. She is a graduate of Oberlin College and University of Michigan Law School, and she holds honorary doctorates from Oberlin College and Millsaps College.