Brother John Terrelle Bynum (Spring 2009) Named To 2020 NLC Institute Fellows Class -- Nation's
New Leaders Council (NLC), the nation’s largest organization that recruits, trains, and promotes a rising generation progressive leaders, has announced the selection of 930 Fellows to the 2020 NLC Institute -- including Alpha Rho Chapter Alumni John Terrelle Bynum. The 2020 NLC Fellows will attend skills-based trainings over six months in one of 50 NLC Chapters across the country. The 2020 NLC Fellows class represents one of our nation’s most diverse generations with 66% of Fellows self-identifying as People of Color.
Additionally, 64% of Fellows are female and 22% report identifying as LGBTQIA*. "As the first alumna and former Chapter Director to serve as President and CEO, I am absolutely thrilled to welcome the next incoming class of progressive leaders,” said Clare Bresnahan English, President and CEO, New Leaders Council. “Our program is provided at no cost to the Fellows, opening doors to those often shut out of leadership opportunities. NLC Fellows go on to run for public office, start non-profits, and launch businesses. I cannot wait to see what is in store for the 2020 Fellows."
The NLC Institute is a six-month training program focused on skills building for each cohort on issues such as goal setting, strategic communications and digital outreach, economics, finance and fundraising, management and coalition building, progressive policy, and diversity and inclusion.
“NLC is the gold standard of progressive training programs throughout the country,” said Courtney Madden, Executive Director, NLC Institute. “Not only does NLC provide each Fellow with a strong curriculum on these important changemaking skills, but also provides a community and national network for support, mentorship and assistance to guide the important work towards a more progressive and prosperous future."
NLC Fellows go through a rigorous, locally-driven selections process including an application with an essay component and an in-person interview. Roughly 28 percent of those who applied to the NLC Institute were accepted nationally. NLC Fellows are civic, political, social, and business entrepreneurs who lead the charge on the ground to solve the most critical challenges facing our communities.
NLC’s Capstone Project, a cornerstone of the Institute, challenges Fellows to identify a project that captures their passion, fills a need in the community, and leverages the skills NLC provides through the Fellowship in order to come up with a plan to address it head on. This is where NLC’s training effectively comes to life.
Once this class of NLC Fellows completes the NLC Institute in June 2020, they will join NLC’s robust alumni network of nearly 8,000 trained progressive leaders nationwide.
About Brother Bynum:
Brother John Terrelle Bynum, a Silicon Valley Trial Attorney for Kemper Insurance, was born in Dallas, Texas, and raised in Stafford, Virginia. After high school, he attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia where he was initiated into the distinguished Alpha Rho Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. He graduated from Morehouse magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in philosophy and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society.
He then entered Mercer School of Law in Macon, Georgia. At Mercer, he participated in the Mercer Advocacy Council as an elected officer and competed with the mock trial team. Terrelle was also involved in the Southern region of the Black Law Student Association as the Director of Programming.
Terrelle moved to California to begin his legal practice. He served as a deputy public defender for Los Angeles County. He worked in historic communities including Compton, Inglewood, Long Beach and downtown Los Angeles. During his tenure at the public defender's office, he became an elected officer in the Los Angeles Black Public Defender's Association.
At the public defender's office, Terrelle witnessed firsthand the overlap between criminal law and other fields of law, including family and personal injury law. This observation inspired Terrelle to seize an opportunity in San Jose, California, leaving the public defender's office to gain experience in family law and join his fiancée, Jamie Battle.
More, About Bynum:
As a family attorney, Terrelle was able to represent clients in both adversarial dissolutions and custody battles, in addition to collaborative pursuits to help guide families to best co-parenting practices and smooth transitions in the restructuring of the family-dynamic to provide and maintain a healthy family environment.
After learning family law, Terrelle took a role as a trial attorney with Kemper Insurance where he currently practices insurance litigation, defending individual clients against bodily injury plaintiffs and insurance companies pursuing subrogation suits.
Terrelle's experience in criminal defense, family law and personal injury defense has honed his legal proficiency as a litigator and trial attorney. These particular fields of law have given Terrelle a in-depth glance at the most intimate parts of the human experience, instilling a passion to advocate for those who are often ignored, misunderstood or unable to stand up for themselves.
