2025 Van Allen Service Celebration
This year, in honor of our 75th anniversary, MVA celebrated both public service and milestone tenures in one special event by hosting the 2025 Van Allen Service Celebration on September 17. This event served as an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our employees and community partners who are making significant service contributions.
Award recipients include:
Caroline Yingling as the 2025 recipient of the Sally and Bill Van Allen Public Service Award. This award honors an MVA attorney who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to amplifying others and providing volunteer pro bono and/or public services for disadvantaged clients. Caroline’s dedication reflects the spirit of service that the award embodies and continues the firm’s tradition of advancing access to justice in our community.
Melissa Nazario was honored with the Outstanding Volunteer Staff Member Award. This award recognizes the contributions of an MVA non-attorney staff member who has distinguished themselves by devoting significant time and effort to outstanding service within the Charlotte community. Melissa’s commitment to giving back exemplifies MVA’s values and her positive impact has been felt well beyond the firm.
Edna Marte as the 2025 recipient of the MVA Together Award. This award recognizes an individual who is a true champion of MVA’s core values, consistently exemplifying respect, excellence, inclusion, leadership, and empowerment. Edna’s dedication to bringing these values to life in her daily interactions across the firm and in the broader community is an inspiring example of leadership and collaboration.