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. |
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]
Wilkins 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]
Wilkins 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]
Wilkins 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]
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