We were pleased to have Jeff Gordon, partner at the personal injury law firm Lesser, Lesser, Landy & Smith, PLLC, as our guest speaker.
Jeff is chairman of the Board of Directors for Champions Empowering Champions, a Boca Raton-based nonprofit organization that ensures college students who have experienced foster care or homelessness  are empowered to earn a degree and prepare for a rewarding career.
Champions Empowering Champions provides students at Florida Atlantic University a support network of mentors and peers, skill development and financial assistance for academic and living essentials. While less than 10% of foster youth graduate from college, 100% of students enrolled in the Champions program have graduated from FAU.
Jeff, who has been a foster parent to 20 children over the past 11 years, shared that the students are entitled to a tuition waiver, but they are financially responsible for everything else, including housing. Champions Empowering Champions has received grants from foundations to assist with housing for students, but in order to provide them with all their other needs (books, laptops, food, everyday essentials, etc.), the organization must do fundraising.
CBS 12 News recently did a story on the organization and spoke with students who are benefitting from it. You can watch the story here:
Jeff, who is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer with more than 35 years of legal experience in personal injury and wrongful death claims, is also Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Caregiving Youth. The nonprofit provides support to children who are caregivers to relatives or household members needing help due to illness, a disability or frailty.
In his free time, Jeff enjoys playing basketball in several leagues and is a guitarist in a classic rock band that performs throughout Boca Raton.
To learn more about Champions Empowering Champions, the American Association of Caregiving Youth or where to hear Jeff’s band play, email him at [email protected].