Timothy Wilkins is an American lawyer and chair of the board of directors of New York Public Radio. He is a partner at the international law firm of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and was the firm’s first Black partner in the United States offices.[1]
Timothy A. Wilkins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Chicago, Illinois, US |
| Education | JD Harvard Law School BA Harvard College |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Employer | Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer |
| Organization | WNYC
New York City Economic Development Corporation New York Public Theater |
| Relatives | David B. Wilkins J. Ernest Wilkins, Jr. |
Early life and education
editWilkins was born in 1964 and grew up in Chicago, IL. He graduated from the University of Chicago Laboratory School in 1982.[1] Wilkins graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1986[2] where he majored in sociology and was president of the Harvard Black Student Association.[3]
Wilkins later earned a dual JD/MBA degree from the Harvard Law School and the Harvard Business School in 1993.[2]
Career
editWilkins began his career as an associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.[4]
He joined Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in 1999 and spent eight years practicing law in the Tokyo office handling international transactions.[5]
In 2016 Wilkins was named the Minority Lawyer of the Year in Private Practice by Chambers USA. He was listed as the highest-ranked lawyer on the Financial Times list of 100 Leading Ethnic Minority Executives[6] and recognized by Empower as a leader on issues of racial justice and equality.[7]
In 2019, Wilkins was selected to lead a global team at Freshfields focusing on sustainability,[8] environmental and social issues.[9] Their first assignment focused on ways to solve New York City’s sustainability issues,[10] such as waste, resources, climate change, and job creation.[11] He later co-founded the New York Circular City Initiative, a program to develop a circular economic system that promotes greater employment and a greener environment for the city, including its less advantaged neighborhoods.[12]
Personal life
editWilkins is the brother of Harvard Law professor David B. Wilkins.[13] His father, Julian Wilkins,[14] was the first Black partner at a major law firm in Chicago.[15] He is the grandson of J. Ernest Wilkins Sr. and the nephew of J Ernest Wilkins Jr.[16]
He is active in several initiatives to broaden diversity in the law.[17] He is the founding co-chair of the Steering Committee of The Opportunity Agenda, a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding equal opportunity.[4] In 2020 he was named among the EMpower Top 100 Ethnic Minority Executive Role Models.[12]
Wilkins has served on the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the New York City Bar Association[18] and was a member of the Council of Urban Professionals.[19] He has served on several non-profit boards including the New York Public Theater, the City Bar Fund of the New York City Bar Association, and Equality Now.[2] He was also a Committee Member of the Cyrus Vance Center for International Justice and was appointed to the board of New York City Global Partners[20] by Mayor Bill De Blasio in 2015. The mayor later named Wilkins to serve on the New York City Economic Development Corporation.[4]
In 2018, New York Public Radio, the owner of WNYC, the New York affiliate of National Public Radio, named Wilkins to their board.[21] In 2021, Wilkins was named as chairman of the board of New York Public Radio following a string of high-profile incidents involving claims of harassment and discrimination.[22][23]
References
edit- ^ a b "Lab Life" (PDF). Lab Life, the magazine for alumni, parents, and friends of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. Fall 2017. p. 47.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ a b c "Bloomberg News". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
- ^ "Black Alumni, Students Gather | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
- ^ a b c "Mayor de Blasio Names Board of Directors of NYC Global Partners". The official website of the City of New York. May 7, 2015. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
- ^ Rice, Lewis. "Reflections on the Journey: Voices from the Celebration of Black Alumni". Harvard Law Today. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
- ^ "Financial Times". www.ft.com. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
- ^ "Freshfields Lawyers Recognized For Leadership In Advancing Racial Equality And Sustainability". 2020-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
- ^ "'Sustainable companies have been the relative 'winners' during COVID-19'". The Lawyer | Legal insight, benchmarking data and jobs. 2021-06-22. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
- ^ "America's CEOs Stated A New Goal. Now Law Firms See Opportunities in Getting Them There". The American Lawyer. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
- ^ "Increase in clients' ESG transparency is driving law firms to create new sustainability practice areas". Thomson Reuters Institute. 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
- ^ "Freshfields Starts Sustainability Team Led by NY Partner (1)". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
- ^ a b "The EMpower Top 100 Ethnic Minority Executive Role Models 2020". finance.yahoo.com. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
- ^ Rice, Lewis (January 1, 2012). "Reflections on the Journey: Voices from the Celebration of Black Alumni". Harvard Law Today. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
- ^ Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. 1984-07-23.
- ^ "David B. Wilkins's Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
- ^ Wilkins, Carolyn Marie (2010-10-10). Damn Near White: An African American Family's Rise from Slavery to Bittersweet Success. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 978-0-8262-7240-9.
- ^ "Race, Sustainability, and Social Justice: A Conversation with the Wilkins Brothers". blackalumninetwork.hlsa.org. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
- ^ Bernstein, Jacob (2016-07-30). "The Disrupters: Making New York's Cultural Boards More Diverse". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
- ^ "Timothy Wilkins". www.cupusa.org. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
- ^ "New York City Global Partners". www.nyc.gov. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
- ^ Somers, Ryan (2018-07-20). "The corporatization of WNYC". City & State NY. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
- ^ "Wilkins New Chairman NYPR Board". Radio Ink. 2021-04-23. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
- ^ Wyllie, Julian (27 April 2021). "Comings and goings: Tracy Brown named WBEZ CCO, Ian MacSpadden becomes CTO for Arizona Public Media …". Current. Retrieved 2021-06-25.