Antoninette Naddour | Source

Antoinette Naddour is Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Veterans Legal Institute (VLI) where she oversees and has responsibility for the overall management of the firm including business development, outreach, public relations, marketing, strategic planning and a light legal caseload. She comes to VLI with a long-held passion to serve homeless and at-risk veterans and service members and has dedicated her career to that end. VLI is a military-centric public interest law firm providing direct services and leveraging pro bono support, the Veterans Legal Institute is a unique nonprofit that provides free legal services to former and active service members.

Prior to co-founding VLI, Naddour was an officer with the California State Guard for more than six years. She served in the rank of Major both as a Marketing Officer assigned to Strategic Communications (STRATCOM) as well as reserve JAG Officer assigned to Legal Support Command. In the past, she was a law lecturer at UCI School of Law for its Veterans Law Clinic.

Naddour is a graduate of the 2018 Presidential Leadership Scholars Class, a prestigious program that serves as a catalyst for a diverse network of leaders brought together to collaborate and make a difference in the world as they learn about leadership through the lens of the presidential experiences of George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson. During her tenure in this program, she focused on the improvement and further development of mobile legal clinics for low income veterans, a project that is shared freely throughout the nation to promote additional services for veterans in need.

She is a two term Director at Large with the Orange County Bar Association, a member of the Outreach and Pro Bono Committees and a member of the Orange County Women’s Lawyers Association. She is also a Board Member of the California State Guard Foundation and Board Advisor for Integrated Recovery Foundation, a group dedicated to providing housing and mental health service to women survivors of military sexual assault. Naddour is a member of the OC Veterans and Military Families Collaborative, Chair of its Legal/ Re-Entry Working Group, and for a long period of time served as Vice Chair of its Steering Committee.