Timothy A. Wilkins

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Timothy A. Wilkins
Born
Chicago, Illinois, US
EducationJD Harvard Law School

MBA Harvard Business School

BA Harvard College
OccupationAttorney
EmployerFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
OrganizationWNYC

New York City Economic Development Corporation

New York Public Theater
RelativesDavid B. Wilkins

J. Ernest Wilkins, Sr.

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]

Early life and education[edit]

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]

Career[edit]

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]

Personal life[edit]

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]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Lab Life" (PDF). Lab Life, the magazine for alumni, parents, and friends of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. Fall 2017. p. 47.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  2. ^ a b c "Bloomberg News". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  3. ^ "Black Alumni, Students Gather | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  4. ^ a b c "Mayor de Blasio Names Board of Directors of NYC Global Partners". The official website of the City of New York. May 7, 2015. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  5. ^ Rice, Lewis. "Reflections on the Journey: Voices from the Celebration of Black Alumni". Harvard Law Today. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  6. ^ "Financial Times". www.ft.com. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  7. ^ "Freshfields Lawyers Recognized For Leadership In Advancing Racial Equality And Sustainability". 2020-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  8. ^ "'Sustainable companies have been the relative 'winners' during COVID-19'". The Lawyer | Legal insight, benchmarking data and jobs. 2021-06-22. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  9. ^ "America's CEOs Stated A New Goal. Now Law Firms See Opportunities in Getting Them There". The American Lawyer. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  10. ^ "Increase in clients' ESG transparency is driving law firms to create new sustainability practice areas". Thomson Reuters Institute. 2021-06-09. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  11. ^ "Freshfields Starts Sustainability Team Led by NY Partner (1)". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  12. ^ a b "The EMpower Top 100 Ethnic Minority Executive Role Models 2020". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  13. ^ Rice, Lewis (January 1, 2012). "Reflections on the Journey: Voices from the Celebration of Black Alumni". Harvard Law Today. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  14. ^ Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. 1984-07-23.
  15. ^ "David B. Wilkins's Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  16. ^ Wilkins, Carolyn Marie (2010-10-10). Damn Near White: An African American Family's Rise from Slavery to Bittersweet Success. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 978-0-8262-7240-9.
  17. ^ "Race, Sustainability, and Social Justice: A Conversation with the Wilkins Brothers". blackalumninetwork.hlsa.org. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  18. ^ Bernstein, Jacob (2016-07-30). "The Disrupters: Making New York's Cultural Boards More Diverse". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  19. ^ "Timothy Wilkins". www.cupusa.org. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  20. ^ "New York City Global Partners". www.nyc.gov. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  21. ^ Somers, Ryan (2018-07-20). "The corporatization of WNYC". City & State NY. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  22. ^ "Wilkins New Chairman NYPR Board". Radio Ink. 2021-04-23. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  23. ^ Wyllie, Julian (27 April 2021). "Comings and goings: Tracy Brown named WBEZ CCO, Ian MacSpadden becomes CTO for Arizona Public Media …". Current. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
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