Cavendish Named Executive Director of Appleseed
March 7, 2007

Washington, D.C., March 7 -- Betsy Cavendish has been named the new Executive Director of Appleseed, one of the nation's largest legal pro bono networks.  She replaces Linda Singer, who was appointed Attorney General of Washington, D.C. last fall. Cavendish most recently served as Interim President of NARAL Pro-Choice America.

"We are honored and excited to welcome Betsy Cavendish to Appleseed," said Marc Fleischaker, co-chairman of the Appleseed Board of Directors.  "She has the skills and vision to make Appleseed a true leader in the never-ending struggle to build a society where equal justice is a reality for all."

In her leadership capacity at NARAL, Cavendish gained broad experience on everything from coalition building to fundraising to policy implementation.  "I come to Appleseed with a toolbox of skills that will help the organization build on the great work it has been doing and then take it to the next level," she said.  Under her leadership, Cavendish said Appleseed will continue to use its extensive national network of pro bono lawyers to research and produce publications that illuminate social injustices in such areas as education, health care and immigrant rights. Additionally, she hopes to use the organization's pro bono resources to turn its recommendations into reality.

"Appleseed has the ability to identify issues that aren't on the public radar and to get policy makers to take notice," said Cavendish. "The next step is to make sure the results of those efforts are felt where they matter most -- in the daily lives of the people who most need our help."

Cavendish has 25 years of experience in the public arena, including work in all three branches of government and in academia.  Prior to becoming interim president of NARAL, she held the positions of vice-president and legal director for the organization. She spent several years at the U.S. Department of Justice and was an assistant professor of law at the University of Illinois, College of Law.  Cavendish was a law clerk for Judge Gerhard Gesell on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia during the pretrial and trial proceedings of one of the most high-profile cases of the 1980s -- United States v. Oliver North.  She is a graduate of Yale University and Yale Law School, where she was named Outstanding Woman Law Student in 1988 by the National Association of Women Lawyers.