Abby Kuzma joins Board of Directors
December 15, 2011
ORLANDO-The GCM Board of Directors (Greg Guevara, Chairman) voted unanimously on Friday, November 18, to add Abigail Lawlis Kuzma, J.D. as a director for a one-year, renewable term. Her deep Christian faith and commitment to public service bring experience, compassion, and vision to her seat on the board.
“We are thrilled to have Abby Kuzma join the GCM board,” said Mr. Guevara. “With her heart for God and her rich experience in serving various Christian organizations, including the Indianapolis-based Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic which she founded, she will bring an invaluable voice to our board. Given the breadth of her other commitments, it is a privilege to have her join with us on our journey of serving churches and missionaries.”
Currently serving as the Director and Chief Counsel for the Consumer Protection Division for the State of Indiana, Abby Kuzma 's legal career includes public policy in federal and state government, as well as strong advocacy and compassion against the evils of human trafficking and poverty.
In Washington, she has served on the staff of U.S. Senate Committee of the Judiciary, as minority chief counsel for the Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks, and as legislative staff for Senator Richard Lugar, R-Ind. Her legal work has been recognized repeatedly: Ms. Kuzma was awarded the Indiana Bar Foundation Pro Bono Publico Award in 1998, the 2002 Indiana State Bar Association Women in the Law Achievement Award, the Christian Legal Society’s Christian Legal Aid Staff Member award in 2004, the Starkey Entrepreneurial Woman Award in 2005, the Indiana University School of Law Distinguished Service Award in 2006, and the Indianapolis Bar Association Antoinette Dakin Leach Award in 2008. In 2011, she was awarded the St. Thomas Moore Woman for all Seasons Award.
Her commitment to Christian compassion and justice is particularly noteworthy. Kuzma co-founded and was the executive director of the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic, a faith-based, non-profit corporation which provides legal representation and preventive law education to low-income families in central Indiana. Founded in 1994, the Clinic directly serves more than 13,000 clients per year and was recognized with the 2004 Indiana Achievement Award for Impact in the Community for its immigrant-outreach program.
Showing a particular concern for human trafficking, in 2009, she was appointed co-chair of the Indiana Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (IPATH). In May 2011, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller announced that the National Attorneys General Training and Research Institute (NAGTRI) had chosen Kuzma for an International Fellowship Program. Kuzma and five other Fellows from the United States were joined by 16 Fellows from Bosnia, Canada, Czech Republic, Iraq, Israel, Mexico, Russia, Taiwan and Ukraine to discuss and analyze the issues involving human trafficking from a global perspective.
Kuzma holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin and is a graduate of the Indiana University School of Law.
Abby is married to Ben Kuzma, and they have three children. She serves at Trinity Church in suburban Indianapolis.
GCM
Founded in 1989, Great Commission Ministries partners with missional churches to provide trained and funded church planters and missionaries in their own context. GCM is a 5013(c) non-profit charity and a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability since 1993. For more information, contact info@gcmweb.org.
