Luminary Circle Member of the Month: Los Angeles' Joan Kupersmith Larkin

As a woman in a historically male-dominated field, she knows just how difficult it can be to shatter glass ceilings, especially when there are few women in your industry you can turn to for support. At the time Joan entered law school, less than a quarter of all attorneys were women. For most, this would have presented a daunting challenge, but for Joan, who grew up with a mother who held a graduate degree in education and a sister who was one of the first women in computer programming and systems analysis, it served as motivation for blazing a trail for future generations of professional women.

Today Joan is a leader in her field and a proud mother to two sons, and, as such, serves as a role model not only to women hoping to pursue a career in law, but also have a family. She continues to open doors for future lawyers as the President and a Director of the Seyfarth Shaw’s Charitable Foundation, and formerly as a Vice President and a Director of the California Bar Foundation. Additionally, since being introduced to the Step Up in 2014 by LA Board Member Tara Crimin, Joan has become one of the organization’s greatest advocates and supporters. Not only is she an outstanding mentor to our girls, she recently made Step Up history as one of our first Investor-level members! She is truly an inspiration to us all and we are honored to have her support! Thank you Joan!