Poyner Spruill presents Resolution and Memorial honoring Cheslie Kryst

Tate Ogburn a partner at Poyner Spruill LLP in Charlotte, North Carolina, presented during a joint session of the federal and state courts in North Carolina and ratified by the U.S. District Court for Western North Carolina and the North Carolina Superior Courts in a memorial honoring the life and memory of Cheslie Kryst, a friend and colleague who died by suicide in January 2022. Cheslie helped draft the firm’s DE&I plan, served as the firm’s Diversity Advisor, and she was formerly a member of the Litigation team. Cheslie was well known for her involvement in the local community, especially through her championing of people from underrepresented backgrounds.  This memorial event is a time-honored tradition where the brothers and sisters of the bar pay homage to the life and times of one of their own in the legal profession, one who has shared this unique discipline that binds them together. They came together to recognize that life and those achievements as a matter of public record.

• View the memorial event here: Cheslie C. Kryst Memorial – 10/13/2023 – YouTube
• Read the Resolution here: Cheslie Kryst Resolution and Memorial

This resolution highlights the tremendous impact that Cheslie made on the world and the ongoing ripples for serious mental health discussions nationwide.

In 2022, Poyner Spruill partnered with Wake Forest University School of Law to establish the Cheslie C. Kryst Advocacy and Social Justice Law Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded annually to students from underrepresented backgrounds who demonstrate a passion for the pursuit of social justice and civil rights causes after graduation.  To make a gift to the Cheslie C. Kryst Advocacy and Social Justice Law Scholarship, please visit wfu.law/cheslie.

Additional information

Additional coverage highlighting the mental health foundation and the diversity scholarships established in her honor:

• view article on people.com
• view article on SHRM

Support/Donate Mental Health Scholarships

• Cheslie C. Kryst Advocacy and Social Justice Law Scholarship
• National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) Scholarship