St. Pete’s Finest: Oneshia Herring

ST. PETERSBURG – Oneshia Herring, Esq. has been named by The National Bar Association as one of this year’s “Top Trailblazers Under 40.” The award honors legal trailblazers who have achieved prominence and distinction in their fields, including the practice of law, academia, business, civic and charitable affairs, the judiciary, or politics, and have demonstrated a strong commitment to advancing the goals and mission of the National Bar Association.

Herring works in Washington, D.C. as policy counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending (CLR), a non-profit, non-partisan organization that works to protect homeownership and family wealth by fighting abusive lending practices toward low-income persons and communities of color.

In this capacity she works with federal and state lawmakers, regulators and partners to promote fair and equitable lending practices. She primarily focuses on legislative and regulatory policy issues related to mortgage lending, foreclosure prevention, debt collection and small dollar consumer credit products.

She helped draft and pass several important legislative efforts to combat foreclosure at the state level including Nevada Homeowner Bill of Rights, Colorado Housing Stabilization and Mortgage Accountability Act and others.

The awardees were honored during the Trailblazers Under 40 Gala July 26 in Atlanta, during the organizations 89th Annual Convention.  Attorney Herring is a proud graduate of Gibbs High School and the Pinellas County Center for the Arts (PCCA).  She is daughter of Wilmer Jay Herring and the late Carolyn Jackson Herring and granddaughter for Johnnie and Mildred Jackson.

Prior to joining CRL, Herring participated as a Congressional Fellow with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. (CBCF), a research, policy and educational institute that aims to improve the socioeconomic circumstances of African Americans and other underserved communities.

Herring began her fellowship as Policy Advisor and Legislative Counsel for the Honorable Alcee L. Hastings managing his legislative strategy on judiciary, housing and community development issues. During her second term, she worked on the Senate Housing, Banking and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development chaired by Senator Robert Menendez, where she worked intensely on the Choice Neighborhoods Act and several other housing reform bills.

She also worked as counsel with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Appellate Review Sector and Microsoft Corporation’s Legal and Corporate Affairs Division.

Currently Herring serves as Legislative Affairs co-chairperson of the National Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division, where she leads the division’s legislative and advocacy efforts. She is also a proud member of the North Carolina State Bar, National Association of Consumer Advocates, National Bar Association, Washington Government Relations Group and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.

Herring earned a B.S. from the Florida State University, an M.A. from the University of Central Florida and a J.D. from the North Carolina Central University School of Law.

Congratulations Oneshia for making St. Petersburg proud.