Lezli Baskerville
{{Short description|American lawyer}}
{{Infobox person
|name =
|image =
|birth_name =
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1956|01|22}}
|birth_place = Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.
|occupation = Lawyer
|spouse =
|education = Rutgers University (BA)
Howard University (JD)
|party =
}}
Lezli Baskerville (born January 22, 1956){{cite book |last=State Government |first=New Jersey |date=1978 |title=Fitzgerald's Legislative Manual, Volume 78}} is an American lawyer, judge, and is the president and CEO of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education.{{cite web|title=Lezli Baskerville|url=http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/lezli-baskerville-41|website=The HistoryMakers|access-date=29 April 2017}}{{cite web|title=NAFEO President Lezli Baskerville – A voice for Blacks in Higher Education|url=http://unityfirst.com/2014/nafeo-president-lezli-baskerville-a-voice-for-blacks-in-higher-education/|website=UnityFirst.com|date=27 January 2014 |access-date=29 April 2017}}{{cite web|title=Diverse Issues in Higher Education – Lezli Baskerville|url=http://diverseeducation.com/article/16943/|website=Diverse Issues in Higher Education|date=29 March 2012 |access-date=29 April 2017}}
Early life
Baskerville was born in Montclair, New Jersey, to Marjorie Baskerville and Charles W. Baskerville. Her mother was a teacher and social worker, and her father was a marketing executive. She was born an identical twin to Dr. Renee E. Baskerville, a physician and mayor of Montclair.
She graduated from Montclair High School. She earned her bachelor's degree from Douglass Residential College in New Jersey. She earned her J.D. from Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C., in 1979.{{cite web|title=Lezli Baskerville|url=http://hbcuconnect.com/content/21171/lezli-baskerville|website=HBCU Connect|access-date=29 April 2017}} She graduated cum laude and was trained as a constitutional rights lawyer.{{cite web|title=Lezli Baskerville|url=http://www.ewa.org/source/lezli-baskerville|website=Education Writers Association|access-date=29 April 2017}} She graduated from the Executive Management Program for Minority Directors at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.{{cite web|title=Educational Testing Service – Lezli Baskerville|url=https://www.ets.org/s/achievement_gap/conferences/middle_school_matters/bio_baskerville.html|website=Educational Testing Service|access-date=29 April 2017}}
Career
For ten years between 1989 and 1999, Baskerville managed a private legal and legislative services collective, The Baskerville Group.{{cite web|title=Lezli Baskerville, J.D. – Biography|url=http://www.postsecondaryresearch.org/i/a/document/3980_BASKBIO.pdf|website=PostSecondary Research|access-date=29 April 2017}} Then, From 1999 until 2003, Baskerville was vice president for government relations for The College Board. She was the chief executive officer of the Washington, D.C., office and oversaw many programs. She served as co-chair of the Pathways to College Network. She also helped lead the design of the College Board's Equity Initiative, as well as the National Dialogue on Student Financial AId.
Baskerville served as executive director of the National Black Leadership Roundtable. She also served as the appellate counsel at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. For twenty years, Baskerville served pro bono for the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education. Additionally, she served as national legislative counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She also was an administrative appeals judge in Washington, D.C.
In 2004, Baskerville became the president and CEO of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education.{{cite news|title=Lezli Baskerville is First Woman Named to Head Black Colleges Group, NAFEO|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DrQDAAAAMBAJ&q=Lezli+Baskerville&pg=PA9|access-date=29 April 2017|work=Jet Magazine|agency=Jet Magazine|issue=Jul 19, 2004|publisher=Jet Magazine|date=Jul 19, 2004}} She was its first female president and was also the first person to lead the organization who is not a current president of a Black college or university. She serves on the Department of Homeland Security's Academic Advisory Commission, as well as the HBCU Capital Finance Board and the STEM4US Board.
Honors and awards
Baskerville was named one of the 100 Women Leaders in STEM by StemConnector. She was named one of the 25 Women Making a Difference by Diverse Issues in Higher Education. AOL Black Voices named her one of the Top 10 Black Women in Higher Education. Ebony Magazine named her one of the Top 100 Most Influential Association Leaders for six straight years. She has received an honorary doctorate from Benedict College. In 1998, she was inducted into The Douglass Society by Douglass College.
Personal life
Baskerville currently lives in Washington, D.C.
References
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Category:American women chief executives
Category:Rutgers University alumni
Category:Howard University School of Law alumni
Category:Montclair High School (New Jersey) alumni
Category:Lawyers from Montclair, New Jersey