Partner Stephen Ryan Named Operation Hope's “Board Member of The Year 2009”
WASHINGTON, D.C. (JUNE 18, 2009) — McDermott Will & Emery LLP today announced that Stephen M. Ryan, partner and head of the firm’s Government Strategies Practices Group, will be honored as “Board Member of the Year” for Operation HOPE—a Los Angeles-based non-profit dedicated to empowering underserved communities through economic empowerment globally.
Operation HOPE Founder, Chairman and CEO John Hope Bryant said, “Steve Ryan is part of Operation Hope because he is deeply moved to do the right thing. We are privileged to have a man with such integrity and deep commitment to giving a hand up and not a hand out. He has become an indispensible volunteer.”
“McDermott Will & Emery strives to give back to the community. Stephen’s selfless dedication to a cause greater than himself sets a powerful example and we are proud to have him on our team” said Jeff Stone, the newly elected co-chairman of McDermott Will & Emery
Stephen has provided pro bono services for Operation HOPE for the past nine years, including fund raising, strategy, legal advice and operations. John Bryant and Steve pioneered the first Cyber Café for the organization—a technology, banking and coffee house center to help teach computer and Internet literacy and provide business resources to the economically disadvantaged. The first HOPE Cyber Café was built in South Central Los Angeles, and it has since been duplicated in cities across the United States, including in South East Washington, D.C., New York City and now South Africa. Steve has raised approximately $12 Million in cash or in-kind contributions for Operation Hope, and was the founding Chairman of Operation Hope’s Mid-Atlantic Board.
HOPE provides economic empowerment programs through a series of collaborations with private sector, community and government partners, without which the success of these initiatives would not be possible. For a complete list of HOPE partners, log onto www.operationhope.org
