October Volunteer Spotlight – Terri Walters, ACP

NALA Volunteer Spotlight – October 2024
Terri Walters, ACP

As Chair of NALA’s Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Committee, Terri Walters, ACP, brings her extensive experience and passion for service to her role. The seasoned co-lead paralegal at Musick Peeler & Garrett, LLP, in downtown Los Angeles, she served on NALA’s DEI Committee for a year before stepping into her current position as Chair.

She is an Advanced Certified Paralegal (ACP^®) in Trial Practice. She has two eDiscovery certificates from the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS). Her formal education includes a paralegal certification in litigation and corporations from the UCLA School of Law and a BA in political science from California State University, Dominguez Hills, where she double minored in English and African American studies.

Terri’s volunteer journey with NALA began unexpectedly when “the Kristine Custodio Suero, ACP,” a well-respected leader within NALA and current Area 3 Director, encouraged her to join the DEI Committee. When Kristine’s term as DEI Chair ended, she passed the baton to Terri, who was thrilled to be chosen for the role.

Terri has contributed by writing various DEI articles for NALA’s website and one appearing in the Q3 September 2024 edition of Facts & Findings. Her goal as DEI Chair is to harness the knowledge, experience, and ideas of her committee members so they can share their expertise with NALA’s members. She hopes their DEI initiatives will thrive under the philosophy of, “Each one teach one.” This phrase originated among enslaved Africans who were denied education. When they learned how to read, it became their duty to teach someone else. It exemplifies the African identity and importance of sharing knowledge for the greater good.

What Terri enjoys most about her NALA volunteer experience is the opportunity to connect with paralegal professionals nationwide. As a NALA member, she loves the wealth of information, networking opportunities, and paralegal resources that NALA provides.

Her favorite NALA memory is from 2024’s conference in Louisville, Kentucky.

“I thought I was going to faint when they called me up on stage to be sworn in on the new Board of Directors,” she divulged. “Kristine gave me a pep talk, which helped me overcome my imposter syndrome.”

Terri is only the second DEI Chair to serve on NALA’s Board of Directors since the position was added to the Board in 2023.

Her journey to becoming a NALA Certified Paralegal (CP^®) was quite challenging. She was unaware of the distinction until a clarifying incident occurred.

“I had been a ‘certificated’ paralegal for almost two decades and did not decide to obtain credentials until my local paralegal organization pointed out that I erroneously posted online that I was certified,” she admitted.

After that, she made it a point to strive for her CP^® credential, which she earned in 2021.

Beyond NALA, Terri has been a member of the Los Angeles Paralegal Association (LAPA) since 2009. In 2021, she received the Maria Teresa Bravo Award for making a difference in the legal community through service with LAPA. She was also chosen to receive LAPA’s 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award for her dedication to the community, LAPA, and the paralegal profession. Terri is deeply committed to advocacy as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), and she has served as a Notary Public in California for 24 years.

In her downtime, Terri enjoys traveling, the theater, and cheering on her favorite football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. As a kid, her role model was Wonder Woman because she loved how a seemingly ordinary women could take off her glasses, let her hair down, and become a superhero, unbeknownst to her coworkers. However, since becoming a young mom at 21, her two daughters (Amber, a prominent real estate agent, and Zariah, a USC grad student) are her role models.

“We grew up together, and I am their biggest fan,” she shared.

With her dedication to community service and the paralegal profession, Terri embodies the spirit of NALA’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.