Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Makiedah Messam Becomes First Person of Color to Lead ABLE

Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE), a non-profit law firm that provides legal representation to low-income individuals undergoing civil law cases, hired Makiedah Messam as their Executive Director in March.

She is ABLE’s 4th Executive Director and is not only the first person of color, but also the first woman of color to hold the position at the firm. She brings with her decades of experience in legal service.

“I’ve only been here for three months but I am energized and that’s the good thing,” Messam said. 

Messam, who immigrated from Jamaica with her family to Cleveland as a child, brings an extensive background in legal service to the position. 

She graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where during law school she spent three months working at a nonprofit law firm in Botswana, started by the first female justice of the Botswana High Court. She also received her Practice Certificate from the University of the West Indies Norman Manley School of Law.

Next, she moved to Washington D.C. where she worked with underprivileged children experiencing abuse and neglect. In D.C. she won her law firm’s pro bono award three years in a row. 

Following her “legal service” work in D.C., Messam worked in police oversight for 10 years. She moved back to Jamaica where she was the director for The Independent Commission of Investigations (IDNECOM). Prior to taking the position as ABLE’s Executive Director, Messam served as Interim Executive Director for the City of Cincinnati Citizens Complaint Authority.

Passion for service

“I think a lot of times when you come out of law school, regardless of your passion, sometimes you’re faced with the decision of ‘I have all this debt I need to make some money.’ But still, even in that, and not to say I didn’t like some aspects of corporate law, but I always believe in giving back and being of service,” Messam said. “It has been one of the constants in my life. I do believe that service is my calling, and so it’s just what I’ve done. And it led me to ABLE.”

It was a friend of Messam’s who found the open executive director position and thought that Messam, who calls service her “life’s purpose” was the right person for the job.

After Messam began researching and speaking with others in the “legal fraternity” about ABLE, she immediately knew the position was the perfect spot for her to use her talents to be of service to others. She was very impressed with ABLE’s over 50 years of service and wanted to be a part of it.

“It’s a great thing that I will be able to lend my talents to such an agency and, really, the thing that humbles me about being here at ABLE, the advocates here are what I call true believers. And that is they believe in what they’re doing and the communities that they serve,” Messam said. “And it energizes me to be a part of this when you’re working with others who are also putting their shoulders together. There are some very bright lawyers that are at ABLE that can be anywhere and they choose to give and dedicate their careers because they believe in serving the communities.”

Inclusivity and authenticity 

She finds herself energized by the work, as well as how the advocates and lawyers strive to continuously educate themselves on inclusivity.

“We take issues of diversity and inclusion very seriously at work, and that for me has been refreshing, as I haven’t found it to be so in other places I’ve worked. When I came to ABLE it was to be quite honest, it should be normal, but it feels radical. I was saying, ‘Oh my god, these people walk the walk and the attorneys here educate themselves on what it means really to be inclusive,’” Messam said. “And so it makes me feel good not only for leading the organization that really believes in this but also as a person of color.”


RELATED: ABLE, Nonprofit Provides Legal Assistance to Low-Income Individuals


She said the firm prides itself on having a diverse team that reflects the population it serves.

“We have a diverse pool here at ABLE and I think it’s just great that when you step into our offices, whether you are Haitian, whether you are Latino or Latina, that you will see someone in the corridor will look like you and share your experience,” Messam said.

Messam, an immigrant herself, brings lived experience to the position which gives authenticity to her position. Messam immigrated from Jamaica as a child to inner-city Cleveland, where she went to Cleveland Public Schools.

“Not only as a person of color, but my story of being an immigrant is the story of a lot of our clients, right? You know, I went to those city schools. I mean, it was me, in Cleveland Public Schools. So I think that the fact that I am here, as ABLE’s director, I can relate to that,” Messam added. 

Since taking over as executive director, Makeidah has offered the firm her guidance and expertise as they continue their work providing legal services to low-income individuals going through civil cases as well as agricultural worker and immigrant rights work.

“Having Makeidah here leading our organization for the past three months, we desperately needed this. We desperately needed somebody to come in who understands the work that we do, knows how to motivate folks to be their very best selves every single day and provide that guidance and passion,” Emily Desmond, communication specialist for ABLE said. “And I’m seeing it already in just three short months. We’re changing.”

For more information on ABLE, visit ablelaw.org.

Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE), a non-profit law firm that provides legal representation to low-income individuals undergoing civil law cases, hired Makiedah Messam as their Executive Director in March.

She is ABLE’s 4th Executive Director and is not only the first person of color, but also the first woman of color to hold the position at the firm. She brings with her decades of experience in legal service.

“I’ve only been here for three months but I am energized and that’s the good thing,” Messam said. 

Messam, who immigrated from Jamaica with her family to Cleveland as a child, brings an extensive background in legal service to the position. 

- Advertisement -

She graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where during law school she spent three months working at a nonprofit law firm in Botswana, started by the first female justice of the Botswana High Court. She also received her Practice Certificate from the University of the West Indies Norman Manley School of Law.

Next, she moved to Washington D.C. where she worked with underprivileged children experiencing abuse and neglect. In D.C. she won her law firm’s pro bono award three years in a row. 

Following her “legal service” work in D.C., Messam worked in police oversight for 10 years. She moved back to Jamaica where she was the director for The Independent Commission of Investigations (IDNECOM). Prior to taking the position as ABLE’s Executive Director, Messam served as Interim Executive Director for the City of Cincinnati Citizens Complaint Authority.

Passion for service

“I think a lot of times when you come out of law school, regardless of your passion, sometimes you’re faced with the decision of ‘I have all this debt I need to make some money.’ But still, even in that, and not to say I didn’t like some aspects of corporate law, but I always believe in giving back and being of service,” Messam said. “It has been one of the constants in my life. I do believe that service is my calling, and so it’s just what I’ve done. And it led me to ABLE.”

It was a friend of Messam’s who found the open executive director position and thought that Messam, who calls service her “life’s purpose” was the right person for the job.

After Messam began researching and speaking with others in the “legal fraternity” about ABLE, she immediately knew the position was the perfect spot for her to use her talents to be of service to others. She was very impressed with ABLE’s over 50 years of service and wanted to be a part of it.

“It’s a great thing that I will be able to lend my talents to such an agency and, really, the thing that humbles me about being here at ABLE, the advocates here are what I call true believers. And that is they believe in what they’re doing and the communities that they serve,” Messam said. “And it energizes me to be a part of this when you’re working with others who are also putting their shoulders together. There are some very bright lawyers that are at ABLE that can be anywhere and they choose to give and dedicate their careers because they believe in serving the communities.”

Inclusivity and authenticity 

She finds herself energized by the work, as well as how the advocates and lawyers strive to continuously educate themselves on inclusivity.

“We take issues of diversity and inclusion very seriously at work, and that for me has been refreshing, as I haven’t found it to be so in other places I’ve worked. When I came to ABLE it was to be quite honest, it should be normal, but it feels radical. I was saying, ‘Oh my god, these people walk the walk and the attorneys here educate themselves on what it means really to be inclusive,’” Messam said. “And so it makes me feel good not only for leading the organization that really believes in this but also as a person of color.”


RELATED: ABLE, Nonprofit Provides Legal Assistance to Low-Income Individuals


She said the firm prides itself on having a diverse team that reflects the population it serves.

“We have a diverse pool here at ABLE and I think it’s just great that when you step into our offices, whether you are Haitian, whether you are Latino or Latina, that you will see someone in the corridor will look like you and share your experience,” Messam said.

Messam, an immigrant herself, brings lived experience to the position which gives authenticity to her position. Messam immigrated from Jamaica as a child to inner-city Cleveland, where she went to Cleveland Public Schools.

“Not only as a person of color, but my story of being an immigrant is the story of a lot of our clients, right? You know, I went to those city schools. I mean, it was me, in Cleveland Public Schools. So I think that the fact that I am here, as ABLE’s director, I can relate to that,” Messam added. 

Since taking over as executive director, Makeidah has offered the firm her guidance and expertise as they continue their work providing legal services to low-income individuals going through civil cases as well as agricultural worker and immigrant rights work.

“Having Makeidah here leading our organization for the past three months, we desperately needed this. We desperately needed somebody to come in who understands the work that we do, knows how to motivate folks to be their very best selves every single day and provide that guidance and passion,” Emily Desmond, communication specialist for ABLE said. “And I’m seeing it already in just three short months. We’re changing.”

For more information on ABLE, visit ablelaw.org.

Recent Articles