The Bar Association of San Francisco Congratulates its Former Board Member Kamala Harris on Becoming the Democratic Nominee for President of the United States
August 27, 2024—The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF) congratulates and celebrates former Board Member and Bay Area local, Vice President Kamala Harris, for her historic acceptance of the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. Madam Vice President Harris started her legal career as a Deputy District Attorney in Alameda County, and moved to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office in 1998 where she made an immediate impact in the San Francisco legal community.
In 2001, Madam Vice President Harris was a founding member of BASF’s No Glass Ceiling Task Force whose goal was to increase opportunities for women to serve in leadership positions within the San Francisco Bay Area legal profession. In just a few years, the Task Force successfully motivated participating Bay Area law firms and corporate law departments to increase the number of women lawyers in partnership and other leadership positions far above national averages. In addition, she was a member of the BASF Juvenile Justice Task Force.
![Kamala and Tanya Kamala Harris with VLSP Director Tanya Neiman in the early 2000s](https://www.sfbar.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Kamala-and-Tanya.png)
![SF DA Kamala Harris L to R Tony West, Maya Harris, and then SF DA Kamala Harris in 2007](https://www.sfbar.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/SF-DA-Kamala-Harris.png)
In 2002, Madam Vice President Harris joined the BASF Board of Directors, where she continued her commitment to underrepresented populations in the legal community and access to justice for under-resourced community members. Madam Vice President Harris broke her first barrier as an elected official in 2003 when she was elected as the first woman of color to serve as the San Francisco District Attorney. She would continue to break barriers and bring her values and commitment to justice she formed in the Bay Area to more Americans as the Attorney General of the State of California, a United States Senator representing California, and as the Vice President of the United States of America.
Congratulations to Madam Vice President Kamala Harris and her family for this achievement.