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Robert Gnaizda

August 06, 1936 - July 11, 2020

We are creating a memorial page to celebrate the life of Bob Gnaizda. Sharing your stories and photos of Bob here will bring us great comfort, so please share those memories here. Please go to https://www.nationaldiversitycoalition.org/ to donate to our new project in Bob's honor.

OBITUARY
Bob Gnaizda was an exceptional man: a fighter for justice, an advocate for the underdog, a family man, an insatiable lover of chocolate. Please tell us in what ways Bob touched your life.  For anyone wishing to support our...  see more
1,314 Visits

Posts & Photos

  • Charles Halpern
    Charles Halpern:
    August 5, 2020
    I met Bob in 1969, when we were both organizing novel organizations that came to be known as public interest law firms. He was pulling together Public Advocates in San Francisco, and I was launching the Center for Law and Social Policy in Washington,...  more
  • Mishka Migacz
    Mishka Migacz:
    August 4, 2020
    My first job out of law school was at the Greenlining Institute where I worked for Bob. He championed social and economic justice and he fought tirelessly for it. He didn't hesitate to use his talents and brilliance, and his fiery rhetoric, to drive...  more
  • Chris Vaeth
    Chris Vaeth:
    August 4, 2020 · via iPhone
    Bob Gnaizda was a mentor to so many of us at Greenlining. He was a fierce advocate for racial and economic justice and a brilliant strategist. His humor was disarming, his impatience endearing. He taught us by throwing us into the fire (like, go testify...  more
  • Shalini Swaroop
    Shalini Swaroop :
    July 31, 2020 · via iPhone
    Of course Bob was known for his amazing advocacy. And Bob also made singularly delicious sandwiches, had unbelievable anecdotes (like successfully negotiating with Fidel Castro to hold a baseball series in Cuba with the A's only to have Reagan say no),...  more
  • Robert Atkins
    Robert Atkins:
    July 26, 2020
    I externed with Bob in 1978; he helped me locate my first post law-school position with Erickson, Beasley, and Hewitt, which led to my career as a civil rights attorney representing Federal employees. He was a wonderful mentor and friend, although I...  more
  • Michael Peevey
    Michael Peevey:
    July 25, 2020
    I met Bob through Jim Lorenz, founder of CRLA, in the late 1960`s. I was Research Director of the California AFL-CIO and active in the struggle to organize farm workers into a union in Delano, California, and elsewhere. Bob was an early CRLA lawyer in...  more
  • Jon Frauenfelder
    Jon Frauenfelder:
    July 18, 2020
    "Uncle Bobby" was like a grandfather to our two daughters Lissie and Becky. Here are some pictures of when Claudia and Bob visited us in Shanghai in spring 2008. Our girls miss Bob very much, and will always remember his wit, wisdom, and above all...  more
  • Landon Taylor
    Landon Taylor:
    July 18, 2020
    And here is my favorite photo of Bob and Claudia! Passion - Courage - Inspiration
  • Landon Taylor
    Landon Taylor:
    July 18, 2020
    Bob Gnaizda is one of the most incredible men I have ever met. He was (and still is) a mentor that dramatically impacted my professional career and personal conviction about choosing purpose over money or title. We first met back in 2002 when he wrote...  more
  • Rhondi Schmidt
    Rhondi Schmidt:
    July 18, 2020 · via iPad
    Bob was a true gentleman, an advocate for social justice and was always interested in your opinion about current issues and politics. But besides being this active cerebral guy, he was also just a regular guy. He simply adored Claudia and supported her...  more
  • Christopher Kerosky
    Christopher Kerosky:
    July 17, 2020
    Bob was my mentor in 1983 when I was a law student at Berkeley. He was a force of nature who never ceased to impress me with his creativity, his brilliance and his commitment to social change. But he also took particular interest in all of his students...  more
  • Andrew Seko
    Andrew Seko:
    July 17, 2020
    I only met Bob a few times while working with Claudia, but his intelligence, humor, and passion always came through so clearly. The world was brighter for his presence.
  • Dennis Jones
    Dennis Jones added 2 photo(s) to the memorial Robert Gnaizda:
    July 16, 2020
  • Dennis Jones
    Dennis Jones:
    July 16, 2020
    Yolanda and I met Bob shortly after he and Claudia got together. Claudia is one of my oldest and dearest friends so it was natural that we would get to know and spend time with Bob. He and Claudia visited us several times in Colorado, the first in winter...  more
  • Elliott D. Buchdruker
    Elliott D. Buchdruker:
    July 14, 2020
    He was a great guy and we enjoyed having him as a client. We will miss him greatly.

    It was an honor to know him. He was an outstanding lawyer and a credit to the public interest community with many outstanding accomplishments that only he could have...  more
  • Jane Macfarlane
    Jane Macfarlane:
    July 14, 2020
    Bob absolutely adored Claudia You could see and feel it in the way he would look at her. I would tease her that when he said the word “Claudia” , it was with such reverence it sounded like he was saying “the Madonna.” A wonderful loving man...  more
  • Heidi Pickman
    Heidi Pickman:
    July 13, 2020
    I knew Bob because I worked for his wife Claudia. He was a great partner to her and always would give her ideas of ways to make a difference and have impact. I appreciated Bob's intelligence, counsel, and encouragement. He was always pushing us to be...  more