272 Millennium - A Marquis Who’s Who Magazine LAW AND LAW ENFORCEMENT Growing up in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Cherie A. Gaines witnessed the economic devastation of the area and sought to make a difference in similar communities. Deciding to delve into law, she became a civil rights litigator to amend the economic conditions that she witnessed during her childhood. In 1956, she received a BA in government from Barnard College, and in 1960, she earned a JD from the University of Pennsylvania. Upon being admitted to practice law in California in 1963, Ms. Gaines served as a practitioner for R. Bancroft, Esq., in San Francisco for two years before becoming the chief attorney for the Alameda County Legal Aid Society until 1970. Briefly serving as the assistant to the assistant regional administrator for the Department of Housing and Urban Development in San Francisco, she soon became a city attorney in Berkeley, California, in 1971. During this time, Ms. Gaines also lent her expertise to academia as a law educator at Golden Gate University and the University of San Francisco Law School. From 1973 to 1979, she served as an assistant regional attorney for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission before returning to New York as a regional attorney. Subsequently, she was a deputy general counsel for the New York City Housing Authority for seven years and executive director of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Community Legal Services for the following 13 years. From 2002 until her retirement in 2005, she was the executive director of the Center for Jewish-Christian-Muslim Understanding, Inc. During her career, Ms. Gaines negotiated the only home town plan at its time with arbitration clauses to integrate it with the construction industry and unions in Oakland, California, in 1970. Under several grants, she also created college curriculum to improve LSAT scores by 40% within one academic year and also adapted civic education materials to teach social contract and rule of law concepts to elementary school children. For her achievements, Ms. Gaines earned a Commendation Plaque from the Association of Real Property Owners in 1975. She is currently working on an autobiography, which will be published in 2021. Millennium Magazine Featured Listee CHERIE A. GAINES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (RETIRED) Center for Jewish-Christian-Muslim Understanding, Inc. Miami, FL
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