Ms. Palumbo steps in as President of the Foundation’s Board of Directors having served on the board for 15 years. She has been active on the Foundation’s Grants Review, Nominating, and Personnel committees, and served as vice president since 2018. Palumbo has been a Fellow of the Foundation since 2004 and is currently in the Cardozo Circle of Giving.
Palumbo is a long-time member of the New York State Bar Association and former Chair of the Committee on Women in the Law. She has also served as a member and minority leader of the Monroe County Legislature and on the Rochester City Council.
Palumbo, the President and CEO of the Legal Aid Society of Rochester since 2014, recently celebrated her 37th anniversary with the organization where she began as a staff attorney in 1984. Palumbo was recently listed on the Rochester Business Journal’s Power 30 Law list. She is a recipient of the Rochester Business Journal Icon Award, and the Monroe County Bar Associations’ Charles F. Crimi Memorial Award.
Palumbo holds degrees from SUNY Albany and Syracuse University College of Law.
“It’s an honor to have been elected to serve as President of the Foundation. The work of the Foundation is critical to promoting the rule of law; increasing access to justice to those most vulnerable across New York State, and increasing the public’s understanding of the law. Out of the challenges of this past year’s pandemic was the repeating theme that the Foundation has an indelible impact on those we assist. Whether it is emergency fundraising to alleviate the economic and legal needs fraught by COVID, or our continued support to legal services organizations that assist our most vulnerable neighbors, the Foundation plays an important role in bringing the legal community together to make a difference. As the charitable arm of the NYSBA I look forward to working with NYSBA leadership and members to continue our important mission and spotlight the good work of attorneys.”
