{"id":1124,"date":"2021-06-15T10:38:33","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T14:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/?p=1124"},"modified":"2022-02-22T10:18:30","modified_gmt":"2022-02-22T15:18:30","slug":"attorney-lester-e-taylor-iii-97","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/2021\/06\/15\/attorney-lester-e-taylor-iii-97\/","title":{"rendered":"Attorney Lester E. Taylor III \u201997"},"content":{"rendered":"

Attorney Lester E. Taylor III \u201997,\u00a0Partner and Education Law Practice Group Chair at Florio Perrucci Steinhardt Cappelli Tipton & Taylor, brings his expertise to serve his alma mater on the University Foundation Board while continuing a lifetime of commitment to community service.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYou might say that I\u2019ve come full circle, where Montclair State is concerned,\u201d says Lester E. Taylor III \u201997, recalling his days as a student ambassador for the Office of Admissions. As a new member of the Montclair State Foundation Board, he will be an ambassador to the broader community, helping to lead the University\u2019s efforts to ensure the continued accessibility and excellence of a Montclair State education.<\/p>\n

Although Taylor began his college career at Pennsylvania\u2019s West Chester University, he soon transferred to Montclair State to play football. \u201cI thought I was going to be a pro football player,\u201d he says with a laugh.<\/p>\n

Fortunately for the community and his future clients, Taylor pivoted to a political science and pre-law track. \u201cI loved the diverse, vibrant campus at Montclair State, but I also learned to work hard,\u201d he recalls. \u201cLooking back, I appreciate that my professors pushed me to be more competitive because it made me develop the necessary maturity to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Delores McMorrin, coordinator of the Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) Legal Studies Program at the time, saw Taylor\u2019s potential and encouraged him to pursue an internship in Washington, D.C. that was designed to develop minority leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe application was intense,\u201d Taylor recalls. \u201cI learned very quickly what I needed to do to be competitive in my field, including service, academics, and goal setting. As a result, though, I was able to work for a law firm in Washington, D.C. I received a rigorous introduction to government, legislation, and politics. It put me on my career path.\u201d<\/p>\n

After graduating from Howard University School of Law and serving as a clerk for the Honorable Zinora M. Mitchell-Rankin, Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Taylor returned to New Jersey to focus on representing boards of education and state, county and municipal public entities. Today, he is a Partner at the prestigious Florio Perrucci Steinhardt Cappelli Tipton & Taylor law firm where he is also the Chairman of the firm\u2019s Education Law Practice Group.<\/p>\n

As Taylor\u2019s career grew so did his commitment to community service. He currently holds board roles at Three Doctors Foundation, the United Way of Greater Newark, Sustainable Jersey, and the Jersey Water Works. He has also served as a Trustee for the Northern Region of the New Jersey Association of School Attorneys and as Mayor of the City of East Orange (2014-2017).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an honor and a privilege to add the ÌÇÐÄvlog Foundation to this list,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd it is a pleasure to join this community of thought leaders who are helping to shape the future of the state.\u201d he says. \u201cI look forward to giving back to the institution that positioned me to achieve success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pipeline from high school to college to career is nonexistent for too many New Jersey students,\u201d Taylor points out. \u201cOur priority at the Foundation is to raise the resources to provide a top-quality, affordable education for as many students as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFurther, we live in a different world than when I was a college student,\u201d he continues. \u201cThe level of awareness of civic engagement is high, yet we suffer from information overload. It is crucial for institutions like Montclair State to help students filter out the substantive information and use it to better their careers, and lives for that matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylor points to the growth of the University\u2019s endowment as an indicator of how much the community \u2013 alumni, friends, corporations and foundations \u2013 respect the institution. \u201cUnder Dr. Cole\u2019s leadership, the value of a Montclair State degree has increased exponentially,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cMontclair State is somewhat of a hidden gem that is poised to become even more competitive and accessible,\u201d Taylor adds, noting his plans to invite others to join him in supporting the University. \u201cThe amount you think you\u2019ll contribute, double it \u2013 Montclair State is worth it!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Attorney Lester E. Taylor III \u201997,\u00a0Partner and Education Law Practice Group Chair at Florio Perrucci Steinhardt Cappelli Tipton & Taylor, brings his expertise to serve his alma mater on the University Foundation Board while continuing a lifetime of commitment to community service. \u201cYou might say that I\u2019ve come full circle, where Montclair State is concerned,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":1125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-montclair-state-university-donors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1124"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1127,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1124\/revisions\/1127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/giving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}