Jim Rishwain Appointed to National CASA Board of Trustees

“National CASA is thrilled to welcome Joe Bankoff and Jim Rishwain as National CASA trustees. They bring decades of legal and non-profit leadership experience that will be instrumental to National CASA as we work toward a world where every child who has experienced abuse or neglect has the opportunity to thrive in a safe and loving home,” said National CASA Chief Executive Officer Tara Perry.

“Both Joe and Jim have already hit the ground running and have provided critical leadership to the Board of Trustees within their first few weeks on the job,” said National CASA Board Chair Bill Collins. “Joe is a visionary leader with an extensive background working with complex organizations and championing causes to improve the lives of children. And as the former Board Chair of CASA of Los Angeles, Jim has helped shepherd the CASA program that serves the nation’s largest dependency court, and we know his experience expanding CASA’s impact in Los Angeles will be an asset to National CASA.”

Bankoff has served as chair of The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech University since 2012, following six years as president & CEO of The Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta. He currently serves as the chair of the nominating committee for the Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Social Courage. Bankoff's expertise ranges across law and policy, government legislation and fiscal planning. He spent 32 years as a senior partner at the Atlanta-based law firm of King & Spalding where he was the head of the law firm’s Intellectual Property and Technology practice group.

For more than a decade as Pillsbury’s global chair and CEO, Rishwain has guided the law firm’s strategic global expansion, strengthening client relationships and reinforcing a forward-thinking, collaborative culture. He is an accomplished real estate partner and legal adviser to global market leaders, Fortune 100 companies and corporate boards. He has developed strategic growth and development plans for CASA of Los Angeles and Pepperdine Law School, in addition to serving on a number of corporate and non-profit boards, including Lease Advisors, a leading lease acquisition and consultancy firm, Orogenesis, a next-generation venture firm and the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission. He was honored as a California Lawyer of the Year and received the 2016 Robert Morrison Community Service Award from CASA of Los Angeles.

About the National CASA Association

The National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association (National CASA), together with its state and local member programs, supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy so every abused or neglected child in the United States can be safe, have a permanent home and the opportunity to thrive. Today, nearly 77,000 court appointed special advocate and guardian ad litem volunteers serve more than 250,000 children, but approximately 450,000 children are without an advocate. National CASA is working in partnership with its state and local programs in 49 states to close that gap to ensure the highest quality advocacy on behalf of America’s most vulnerable children. For more information, visit www.CASAforChildren.org.