Ballard Spahr's Virginia Essandoh Named to Black Trailblazers List by City & State PA

Virginia G. Essandoh, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at national law firm Ballard Spahr, has been named to the City & State Pennsylvania 2025 Black Trailblazers list.

“From city halls to the halls of academia, from courtrooms to boardrooms, these Black Pennsylvanians are progress embodied,” City & State Pennsylvania, a statewide news source, wrote in its special February 24 edition. “Whether advancing communities, educating the next generation or championing a more inclusive world for us all, these honorees include government go-getters, groundbreaking entrepreneurs, and compassionate community leaders.”

A graduate of the University of Illinois – Chicago School of Law and former senior legal industry management consultant, Virginia has led Ballard Spahr’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts for more than 15 years. She serves as diversity chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association and is a fellow of the College of Law Practice Management, a Behavioral Coaching Institute certified master coach, and a former member of the Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee of the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.

Virginia also focuses efforts “outside the office on giving back as the co-founder, vice president, and secretary of the Elpis Children’s Foundation,” an organization that supports private adoption in the United States and the care of orphaned children in Ghana, City and State Pennsylvania notes.

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