MoForever Alumni News Winter 2021

27 | MoForever Winter 2021 with others who shared similar cultural backgrounds. We could talk about things as small as wearing our hair natural or as large as planning how to celebrate Black History Month at the firm.” Paying It Forward While at MoFo, Danielle formed valuable relationships with diverse lawyers such as partners Bita Rahebi and Eric Tate, whom she credits as mentors. “Eric served as the Black Affinity Group’s advisor, and his insights proved invaluable time and time again. Bita was and still is an excellent sounding board, providing a perceptive ear and astute advice even now that I am in-house counsel.” Bita also nudged Danielle out of her comfort zone by inviting her to speak on her first panel as in-house counsel. “Now, I frequently speak on panels about issues ranging from litigation strategy to diversity, equity, and inclusion. I also pay it forward by mentoring others.” Some ways Danielle mentors law students is by regularly participating in mock interviews and mock pitches and providing feedback to women and minority attorneys to help them succeed. As the Pro Bono Lead for VMware’s Palo Alto office, she also regularly organizes pro bono opportunities such as asylum clinics for the legal department. Danielle’s Passion Goes Global Advocating for change and racial justice is a passion that Danielle brought with her to her role as Global Co-lead for the Black@VMware Power of Difference (ERG) Group , an internal affinity group dedicated to supporting allyship and diversity and inclusion initiatives. As part of Black@VMware, Danielle helped create the #WeHearYou campaign, launched this summer in response to the heightened focus on racial injustice. The campaign seeks to inspire people to listen, educate themselves, and become more empathetic and resilient. The group raised a social justice fund to support organizations, such as the Equal Justice Initiative . Also, VMware colleagues come together through the group’s Culture Club to share personal stories. The hope is that hearing from peers will encourage those who view recent events as isolated incidents to become allies and advocates in efforts to end police brutality and racial injustice after hearing their colleagues’ stories. Danielle, who grew up in a small Mississippi town where racial injustice prevailed, is encouraged by the changes she’s seen. “I attended a segregated high school prom in the late 1990s,” she says. “Seeing the racial awakening in our country and increased support this year pushes me forward.” MoFo, VMware & Danielle = Winning Collaborators MoFo and VMware, along with Danielle, have teamed up on several pro bono matters, such as the recent Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project , aimed at building a public database of COVID-19- related elections litigation to help policymakers design safe and inclusive election procedures during the pandemic. Danielle and several