Born and raised in Fairfield in the 1960s, Lora Fong saw few people who looked like her. And even though she was a fourth-generation 
American whose father fought in the Second World War, she was the target of anti-Asian sentiment.
Fong, an assistant New Jersey attorney general who serves as the first chief diversity officer for the Department of Law and Public Safety, said she grew up feeling conscious of her “otherness.” As a result, she developed a sensitivity to the importance of diversity and inclusion and has devoted much of her career in the private and public sector to improving those measures.
“We have come a long way, but by no means are we done. There is so much left to do. I think societal change takes generations. None of this work, the pursuit of justice, of equality, is going to be consummated in any of our lifetimes. We just have to keep at it, and we have to have patience, perseverance and tenacity,” Fong said.
On Friday, Fong will receive the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) Diversity Committee’s 2020 Mel Narol Award at the virtual Diversity Summit. The award is given to individuals or organizations whose work has advanced diversity and inclusion for women and diverse lawyers.
Maria P. Vallejo, co-chair of the NJSBA Diversity Committee, said, “Lora is the perfect person to be receiving this award. Her impact is so widespread and has been throughout her career. She is the rare individual who truly can effect change, not only in the state but nationwide.”
Fong said she was humbled and honored to receive the award, and called herself “just a foot soldier” in efforts to improve diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and to improve race relations and gender equality.
“It’s very validating to me, not only as an individual but about the kind of work I’ve been focusing on and the significance of those efforts,” she said.
Fong had a successful career as a systems engineer working on multi-million dollar projects at IBM before she decided to attend Rutgers University Law School.
“I wanted to do something that made a difference,” she said.
In addition to leading legal teams in technology services and commercial litigation at numerous firms and companies, she spearheaded diversity and inclusion initiatives, including as general counsel at DiversityInc. Media, where she led the diversity and inclusion consulting practice whose clients included Fortune 500 companies.
“Before you start to see measurable change you have to shift the culture,” Fong said.
Fong joined the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office in 2016, and developed the diversity and inclusion program for a department that has 8,000 employees—including 3,000 sworn police personnel—across 15 divisions. The program includes training programs and tracking and data analysis to create systemic change.
Fong served on the NJSBA Board of Trustees for six years, and was a co-chair of the NJSBA Diversity Committee, where she convinced the board to expand the number of at-large seats for diverse attorneys after undertaking an analysis of a decade of membership demographics.
“Lora made vast and lasting contributions to our profession and the state bar. She was a commanding voice as an advocate for change, diversity and inclusion while serving on our board of trustees,” said Evelyn Padin, immediate past president of the NJSBA.
“Without her, I am not sure that the state bar’s diversity mission and successes would be where it is today,” she added.
Among her many accolades, Fong was also president of the Asian Pacific Lawyers Association of New Jersey and served on the New Jersey State Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights.