Hey, there! I'm
David Gray.
Legal Aid Business & Services Innovation
About Me
I have over 15 years of experience in business operations and marketing/communications.I'm currently the business project manager at a legal aid organization serving the Tampa Bay area. I focus on improving business operations and the delivery of legal services through collaboration, innovation, process improvement, technology, and project management. I'm also a project lead or advisor on several multi-year, six-figure Legal Services Corporation grants.I'm the co-founder and business director of a tech-forward, award-winning program empowering foster youth, which provides a groundbreaking free app and website, short-form videos, and training, giving Florida's foster youth access to easy, digestible information about life skills and independent living, going to court, placement, medical and mental health, LGBTQ+, money, education, and more.I'm the creator and curator of A2J Jobs, a FREE job board for access to justice careers that helps connect like-minded professionals and organizations improving access to justice and filling the much-needed roles serving low-income and vulnerable individuals, families, and communities across the United States.Before changing careers, I focused on marketing and communications, including marketing strategy, digital marketing, website design and development, public relations, branding, and creative design. During my career, I worked with over 200 companies, most notably second-stage growth companies, including working as a consultant, working at a marketing agency, and working in-house at startups, law firms, and corporations.I hold an MBA with a specialization in strategic innovation from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (LSSBB) certification, Legal Lean Sigma® Yellow Belt in Process Improvement and Project Management, and several nonprofit management certifications.I also volunteer with several organizations: Mentor – Access to Justice Tech Fellows Program, Board Member – The Outreach Free Clinic and Resource Center, Advisor – Digital Marketing Certificate Program at the University of South Florida.
Noteworthy Projects
A2J Jobs is a free job board for access to justice careers that helps connect like-minded professionals and organizations improving access to justice and filling the much-needed roles serving low-income and vulnerable individuals, families, and communities across the US. A2J Jobs includes a website, weekly email newsletter, and social media channels.FosterPower is a movement to improve the lives and futures of youth in foster care by creating access to information on their benefits, protections, and legal rights. FosterPower provides a groundbreaking free app and website, short-form videos, and training, giving Florida's foster youth access to easy, digestible information about life skills and independent living, going to court, and rights to placement, medical health, mental health, LGBTQ+, money, and education. (About $1 million in total funding since 2021).🏆 Awards:
• 2024 American Legal Technology Awards (Runner Up)
• 2024 Tampa Bay Inno Awards
• 2024 InnovAction Award
• 2023 Outstanding Non-Profit Champion for Children AwardA multi-year, six-figure Document Automation project to rewrite documents and forms, creating new workflows, and integrating document automation and case management software to provide internal document automation capabilities to better serve employees and clients.A six-figure Website Development project to increase access to justice using technology to inform, educate, empower, and guide individuals and families with legal problems to solutions. (In collaboration with DevCollaborative.)Other:
• Virtual Mailroom
• HR Recruitment/Applicant System
• E-signature Capabilities
• Staff Site (Lite "Intranet")
Speaking
FosterPower: How to Start a Movement by Designing with (not for) Your Audience
Legal Services Corporation, Innovations in Technology Conference, Charlotte, NC (February 1, 2024)No Budget, No Techie, No Problem
Legal Services Corporation, Innovations in Technology Conference, Charlotte, NC (February 2, 2024)Website Usability Testing on a Shoestring Budget
Legal Services Corporation, Innovations in Technology Conference, Virtual (January 12, 2022)Lean Legal Aid: An Introduction to Process Improvement, 8 Wastes & 5S
Bay Area Legal Services, Internal Training, Virtual (Ongoing)