Image of Eva Jefferson Paterson

Eva Jefferson Paterson was inducted into the Justice category in 2007.

My Story

Eva Jefferson Paterson is the president and a founder of the Equal Justice Society, a national organization dedicated to changing the law through progressive legal theory, public policy and practice. She also worked at the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights for twenty-six years, thirteen of them as Executive Director. A resident of Oakland, Paterson also co-founded and chaired the California Coalition for Civil Rights and co-founded A Safe Place, a shelter for battered women in Oakland.