CMCP joins the legal community in honoring the memory of Drucilla “Dru” Stender Ramey, one of the founders of our organization, who passed away on Monday, August 3, 2026.
In 1989, while serving as Executive Director and General Counsel of the Bar Association of San Francisco, Dru partnered with Wells Fargo and Pacific Telesis to create the California Minority Counsel Program—building a foundation for a community that, more than three decades later, continues to bring attorneys together, open doors, develop leaders, and expand opportunity throughout the legal profession.
Dru understood that meaningful change required more than good intentions. It required relationships, access, opportunity, and action. Her career was devoted to the achievement of equal opportunity and access in the legal profession, the justice system, and broader society. That commitment remains deeply embedded in CMCP’s mission and in the work we carry forward today.
We are especially proud that CMCP’s highest honor, the Drucilla Stender Ramey Majority-Owned Law Firm Award, bears her name—ensuring that her legacy continues to inspire law firms and legal leaders to turn commitment into meaningful action.
Every connection made through CMCP, every attorney whose career has been strengthened by this community, and every leader who creates opportunity for someone else is part of the legacy Dru helped build. CMCP exists today because Dru and our other founders had the courage and foresight to envision a legal profession with greater access and opportunity—and then set about creating it.
We are profoundly grateful for Dru’s vision, courage, and leadership. We extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends, colleagues, and the many people whose lives and careers she touched.
Thank you, Dru. Your vision lives on, and your legacy is forever woven into the fabric of CMCP.