Tirien Angela Steinbach was appointed associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), a new position created as part of the Dean’s DEI Initiative, launched in 2020. In this role, Steinbach has broad responsibility for designing new programming and strategy, bringing an equity analysis to institutional decision-making, and providing counseling to students. She also serves as the primary liaison between students, faculty, and staff on issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the student experience. Steinbach reports to the dean and serves as a member of the law school’s senior management team.

“We feel strongly that addressing issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion must be a foundation of legal education so that our students will be prepared to lead, innovate, and solve problems in the real world,” said Jenny Martinez, Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and Dean of Stanford Law School.

Prior to joining SLS, Steinbach served for 17 years as a lawyer, clinical supervisor, program director, and then executive director of the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC), the community-based clinical program for Berkeley Law School and largest provider of free legal services and policy advocacy in Alameda County. At EBCLC, Steinbach founded the Clean Slate Clinic, the nation’s first reentry clinic, and oversaw the creation and expansion of EBCLC programs. Most recently, Steinbach served as chief program officer at the ACLU of Northern California. SL