Who We Are
Public Advocates Inc. is a nonprofit law firm and advocacy organization that challenges the systemic causes of poverty and racial discrimination by strengthening community voices in public policy and achieving tangible legal victories advancing education, housing, transportation equity, and climate justice.
What We Do
We’ve been called “the small but noisy law firm.” We take that as a compliment, as long as we can create a California where every resident has the building blocks to thrive: Excellent public schools, affordable housing, reliable public transportation, and clean water to drink and air to breathe. Since our founding, we have won significant legislative, budget, and regulatory advancements for investments in public school education, housing justice, transportation justice, and climate justice that centers the needs of community members who have been long ignored and disinvested in. Public Advocates uses a multi-prong strategy, where our state advocacy works in tandem with our powerbuilding, communications, research, and litigation to win these advancements.
Education Equity
An Education System Built For All of Us
Ensuring that every Californian receives a quality education that will prepare them for college, careers, and the future–in an educational environment that is a place of belonging, joy, and curiosity.
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Housing Justice
The rights you enjoy shouldn’t depend on your zip code
Making sure that every Californian has a healthy, affordable place to live, and that our communities are places for people to thrive, not playgrounds for the wealthy to extract profit.
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Transit Justice
Investing in the transportation needs of low-income communities of color
Meeting the needs of low-income communities by fighting for increased funding to operate more public transit service for low-income riders and improved working conditions for bus operators.
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Climate Justice
We believe it’s time to create a more just, livable world with healthy communities.
Advancing social equity and environmental justice goals in metropolitan regions throughout the state and combating poverty and pollution by securing state funding for affordable housing, public transportation, and other investments that address unmet needs in low-income communities.
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mission and vision
We make rights real. We make a difference by holding public officials accountable, influencing policy, and transforming legal rights into everyday realities.
our history
Public Advocates Inc. is one of the oldest public interest law firms in the nation. Founded by Robert Gnaizda, J. Anthony Kline, Sid Wolinsky and Peter Sitkin in the fall of 1970, we opened our doors in September 1971 to begin serving the people of California.
We began in part as a reaction to the rigid restrictions on the scope of California Rural Legal Assistance representation and were initially funded with generous support from the Ford Foundation and the Zellerbach Family Foundation. California had a need for a broad-based public interest law firm to address civil rights issues affecting the daily lives of low-income communities and we have been working to fill that need since our first day on the job.
Public Advocates has been on the front lines of the struggle for social justice for nearly 50 years, focusing our distinctive blend of policy, legal advocacy and community partnership on the root causes and effects of poverty and discrimination and expanding rights and opportunities for low-income people, people of color and immigrants.
our supporters
The friends and allies of Public Advocates invest boldly to ensure that we can respond to urgent needs and emerging issues that low-income and communities of color across the state face everyday. Thank you to our supporters:
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