Tom Mlakar (he/him) is the Deputy Director for Advocacy at The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland where he is responsible for the legal work at the firm. He has worked as an attorney with Cleveland Legal Aid since graduating from The Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University in 1992. He has held numerous positions at Cleveland Legal Aid and has broad experience in serving the needs of low income communities, including individual representation, impact litigation, and development of a regional intake and advice system. Tom has also served in a number of leadership positions in the Ohio and national legal services communities. He previously served on the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA) Board of Directors and the Civil Policy Group where he chaired the Recruitment and Retention sub-committee. Tom strives to be an ambassador for legal services in the community, for example, by his work as a former trustee of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, the Cuyahoga County Bar Association, and Community Legal Services, and as a current member of the Board of Managers for the Ohio Poverty Law Center. Tom and his wife (Ginger) have three children, two of whom now attend The Ohio State University and one whom is an accountant after graduating from The Ohio State University. His hobbies include golf, cycling and following Cleveland and OSU (of course) sports.  Tom may be reached at tmlakar@lasclev.org.