Fellows Spotlight
Benjamin Taylor
(Phoenix, 2019)
Attorney, Partner
Taylor & Gomez Law, LLP
1. Can you please describe your work and how public policy impacts how you manage your organization?
I work as a personal injury, civil rights, and criminal defense attorney. I am currently the president-elect of the Arizona State Bar Board of Governors. One of the committees I am on selects people who interview potential Superior and Appellate Court judges. Making sure that our legal system gives everyone an equal opportunity is my passion.
2. Do you have a favorite quote that is meaningful to you?
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” This quote reminds me that as an attorney, you have to stand up for what is right all the time.
3. Is there a book you would recommend to the Fellows?
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.
Fellows probably read the book in high school or college, but it is worth a reread if you have forgotten. A lot of the same issues that the author Ralph Ellison wrote about in 1952 are still happening today to African Americans. The book makes people take a step back and realize what life is like to step in another person’s shoes that has a different skin color as you.
4. How has the Fellows Network been useful to you?
I have met a lot of new friends that have helped me further my career and personal life. The network is very powerful, and it is always nice to have business and friendships with people in the Fellows Network.
5. What do you see as potential opportunities strengthening civic health in Arizona?
People need to be able to look past differences and focus on what makes us similar. We all want good health care, a safe place to live, and to be financially stable. People may be from a different political party, but we need to respect everyone’s opinion and figure out a way to work together so that we all succeed.
View all Flinn-Brown Fellow profiles here.