2026 Defenders of Justice Awards

2026 Defenders of Justice Awardees

Bob Phillips

Lifetime Defender of Justice!

Bob Phillips is a native North Carolinian who has worked as a local television journalist, communications director for the Office of the Lieutenant Governor and for twenty-five years served as executive director of Common Cause North Carolina (CCNC). Highlights of Phillips’ work with CCNC include his advocacy for voting rights, ending gerrymandering, lobbying and ethics reform and curbing big money politics.

Phillips helped lead the effort for North Carolina to successfully toughen the state’s lobbying and ethics laws — no longer can big money special interest lobbyists spend freely to influence legislation. He also helped to expand voting rights, which include laws allowing same-day voter registration, Sunday voting, and pre-registration of 16 and 17 year olds.

Phillips worked to limit the influence of big money in politics by advocating for North Carolina’s public financing of statewide judicial elections, which curbed high dollar campaigns and helped produce the most diverse State Supreme Court in the state’s history, before the current majority party later rescinded the law after taking power. He also led efforts to end gerrymandering by building an unlikely coalition across the political spectrum, which resulted in the North Carolina State House passing a comprehensive redistricting reform bill in 2011 with overwhelming bipartisan support, though the current State Senate ultimately refused to take up the legislation.

Realizing the North Carolina General Assembly would not prioritize putting an end to gerrymandering, Phillips directed CCNC to seek relief through the courts. From 2016 to the present, Common Cause was a major plaintiff in a variety of historic lawsuits, including:

• Common Cause v Lewis – the first time a federal court struck down North Carolina’s maps based on partisan gerrymandering
• Harper v Moore – the historic decision by our State Supreme Court, which ruled that partisan gerrymandering is a violation of the state constitution
• Common Cause v Rucho — a challenge that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court – a ruling that could have banned partisan gerrymandering across the land – but as we all know too well, the High Court got it wrong in a narrow 5-4 unfavorable ruling

While the latter half of Phillips’ career in lobbying the legislature was spent largely playing defense, there were successes in other areas. One of Phillips’ proudest accomplishments was the launch of CCNC’s landmark outreach to North Carolina’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities  a place where Common Cause had never been but today has organizers and civic engagement programs at every HBCU campus across the state. During his 25-year tenure, Phillips substantially grew CCNC’s membership, dramatically expanded its annual budget, and increased the CCNC staff from one person to 15.

In retirement, Phillips plans to spend his time traveling the globe, spending time in the NC mountains and coast as much as possible, and continuing to be involved in some capacity toward building a better democracy for all in the state of North Carolina.

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Jackie McKinnon-McLean

Lifetime Defender of Justice for Education, Equity & Advocacy!

Jackie McKinnon-McLean has dedicated more than 35 years to advancing education, civil rights, and public service in North Carolina. A lifelong advocate for youth and community empowerment, she currently serves as a Dropout Prevention Specialist at Hoke County High School, where she mentors young people and champions educational opportunity.

For 22 years, McLean has served as president of the Hoke County NAACP, leading efforts to protect voting rights, advance equity, and strengthen civic engagement. In 2004, she launched the “Back to School–Stay in School” initiative, which continues to provide thousands of children annually with backpacks and school supplies.

Her advocacy also extends to juvenile justice. As a former officer of the North Carolina Court System and a 28-year volunteer Guardian ad Litem, she represented abused and neglected children in court proceedings and was recognized by the State of North Carolina as a “True Advocate” for her work in juvenile justice reform.

In 2018, McLean addressed more than 60,000 attendees at the Historic Thousands on Jones Street (HKonJ) Moral March on behalf of women’s rights and social justice. In 2023, she made history as the first African American woman elected to the Raeford City Council.

A graduate of John Jay College of Criminal Justice, McLean continues to serve on numerous boards and initiatives focused on youth, health, recovery, and community development. Her legacy reflects a lifelong commitment to justice, opportunity, and transformational leadership.

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Celia Pistolis

Lifetime Defender of Justice for Litigation!

Celia Pistolis is the Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of Legal Aid of North Carolina, where she manages the legal work for the state’s only civil legal aid program serving all 100 counties and oversees the work of about 200 attorneys who advocate for low‑income individuals and families across the state. A lifelong champion of access to justice, she has spent more than four decades shaping North Carolina’s civil legal landscape through strategic litigation, appellate advocacy, and statewide policy leadership.

Her contributions to our profession have been recognized with some of the most prestigious honors in the legal profession. She received the John B. McMillan Distinguished Service Award — the North Carolina State Bar’s highest honor for exemplary service and integrity. The NC Association of Women Attorneys recognized her with its Gwyneth B. Davis Award for promoting the participation of women attorneys in the legal profession.

She was inducted into the NC Bar Association’s Legal Practice Hall of Fame — becoming the first legal aid lawyer ever to receive that distinction. She also received the UNC Distinguished Alumnus Award — again, the first legal aid attorney in the award’s history — as well as most recently the Joseph Branch Professionalism Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Wake County Bar Association.

A native North Carolinian and first generation Greek-American, Pistolis holds both her BA in Classics with Honors and her Juris Doctor from UNC.

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