CAREY KERSTEN | July 22, 2015
Who, what, & where? Dena Hong, J.D. with honors from Emory in 1999; undergrad at Indiana University. I’ve been with UPS since 2004 and am currently Labor & Employment Counsel for the Corporate office. Before joining UPS, I was a Labor & Employment associate at Kilpatrick Stockton and a Litigation associate at Smith, Gambrell, & Russell. I’m the current Vice President of Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation’s Board of Directors and will the President in 2016.
How did you get involved with AVLF? I met Debbie Segal when I was in law school, and she introduced me to AVLF. I began volunteering at the annual winetasting event, and later on, I began handling some of the TPOs on behalf of victims of domestic violence. Later on, I was lucky enough to be considered for a position on the Board.
Give us your best elevator pitch. What does AVLF mean to you? While it is privilege to be able to use your time, skills, and resources to help someone else reach his or her fullest potential, what you learn through volunteerism is that it really enriches your life as well. We have more in common with our clients than we may sometimes think. We all have the same needs. We all want to be valued as human beings, and to contribute in meaningful ways. AVLF helps ensure that every person is able to live a life of dignity, and it’s a joy to be a part of that.
What is your favorite AVLF moment? My favorite moment is any time that I am present when our clients achieve justice for themselves and their families. It is truly an honor to be a part of changing someone’s life for the better.
What are you proudest of professionally? I am proud to have always been affiliated with organizations—like UPS and AVLF—that operate with such passion and integrity, and are committed to improving the lives of the people that live in their communities.
And personally? Of course, I would have to say that I am proudest of my family, and the wonderful people that my children are becoming. They are much more attuned to the suffering and misfortune they see around them than I was at their age. They seem to grasp the fundamental truth that the homeless person they see on the street could have been them—could have been any of us—and that it’s just not fair. But more than that, they understand their obligation to act in some way.
