Texas Legal Services Center Honored with the Marcia Johnson Change Agent Award

Texas Legal Services Center (TLSC) is proud to announce it has been honored with the Marcia Johnson Change Agent Award by the Earl Carl Institute of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University. This prestigious award recognizes individuals and organizations that have made a real difference in people’s lives by being “strong voices at the table,” both listening to and improving the lives of others.

Marcia Johnson (left), TLSC Executive Director, Karen Miller (right)

The award celebrates TLSC’s long-standing commitment to expanding access to civil legal aid across Texas, including: 

• the creation of statewide legal helplines & real-time chat services

• the deployment of legal kiosks

• the development of TexasLawHelp.org

• eviction prevention

• protecting Texans living in poverty from unlawful court fees

At the ceremony, TLSC Executive Director Karen Miller underscored the organization’s vital role as one of the only legal aid providers serving Texans statewide. She highlighted how TLSC’s services have evolved—from launching the state’s first telephone legal aid helpline in 1989 to pioneering today’s technology-driven tools that connect low-income Texans with the legal help they need.

TLSC was honored alongside a remarkable group of individuals and organizations advancing justice and equity across Texas. This year’s Marcia Johnson Change Agent Award recipients also include:

• Collective Action for Youth

• Harris County Eviction Defense Coalition, comprising Houston Volunteer Lawyers, Lone Star Legal Aid, the University of Houston Law Center Civil Justice Clinic, and South Texas College of Law Civil Clinic

• Harris County Public Defender Office, recognized for its Holistic Services and Participatory Defense initiatives

• Attorney Robert Jones

• Honorable Lora Livingston

About the Marcia Johnson Change Agent Award

The Marcia Johnson Change Agent Award is given to those who serve without glory, under the radar, doing the kind of community-driven work the Earl Carl Institute strives to support. Honorees exemplify dedication to progress and reform, legal and social policy advocacy, grassroots organizing, and education.

The award was established in the name of the Institute’s founder, Professor Marcia Johnson. Professor Johnson is a visionary who 1992 created the Earl Carl Institute for Legal and Social Policy, Inc. as a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Thurgood Marshall School of Law. Professor Johnson named the Institute after a founding law school, Professor Earl Carl, because Earl Carl epitomized the idea of accomplishment despite obstacles. She envisioned creating a training ground for law students that would ultimately give back to the community.

TLSC is deeply honored to stand alongside this year’s recipients and remains steadfast in its mission to ensure equal justice for all Texans.

(Left to right) Elliott Fontenette, TLSC Managing Attorney; Lisa Nelson, TLSC Staff Attorney; Cecile Carson, TLSC Associate Director; Marcia Johnson; Karen Miller, TLSC Executive Director; Kevin Dietz, TLSC Deputy Director