This panel was moderated by Erin Miles Cloud and featured Keri Hope Richmond, Michael Pinard, Valeria Gomez and Jennifer Mezey.  Panelists described how they built community in their own lives and professional roles and the lessons they’ve learned along the way.  They also explained how they define community – mostly broadly, as everyone is a part of our community – the roles they play may just be different. Richmondexplained that “everyone wants a village, but no one wants to be a villager,” and to truly build community, you need to be willing to show up and roll up your sleeves and do the hard work.  Pinard expressed that community-building requires showing up in many different types of spaces, with no agenda other than to get to know your community members.  For lawyers and other professionals, Mezey explained that it means leaving ego and titles at the door, recognizing that everyone in a collective adds value.  Importantly, while recognizing that lawyers could be helpful in many situations, sometimes the most helpful thing they can do is step back and make room for others, especially those who have lived experience in the systems in which they work, to lead and have the spotlight. 

Panelists also described how integrating lived experience into every aspect of our work is crucial but at the same time, can’t be treated as a box to be checked.  Lived experts should be involved from the beginning to end of every project as true collaborators.  Panelists also shared the importance of looking back and reflecting on mistakes you made earlier in your career to know how to proceed in the future. As Gomez shared, we must remember who this is for to determine how to operate and who you listen to.