Reena Shah

Reena K. Shah

Maryland Access to Justice Commission

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A long-time advocate of social justice and social change, Reena has served as Executive Director of the Maryland Access to Justice Commission (A2JC) since November, 2015. She has led major access to justice initiatives in Maryland, including serving as co-chair of the Innovations in Tiered Legal Services Task Force and the Affordable Law Task Force, chair of the legislatively-mandated Access to Counsel in Evictions Task Force and vice-chair of the Maryland Attorney General’s COVID-19 Access to Justice Task Force. Under Reena’s leadership, the A2JC has grown its visibility, influence and capacity through its institutional partnership with the MSBA and other high-level partnerships, including with the Office of the Attorney General.

Prior to coming to A2JC, Reena was a staff attorney in the Housing and Consumer Law Unit and then, the first director of the Human Rights Project at Maryland Legal Aid. She went to law school after a few years in public policy and international development, during which she worked on Capitol Hill for U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), in a local Kenyan non-governmental organization, and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal.

Reena earned a B.A. from The George Washington University, an M.P.A. from Princeton University, and a J.D. from University of Maryland Carey Law School. Reena is active in her community, having served on the boards of the Women's Law Center of Maryland and University of Maryland Carey Law School. She was recognized by The Daily Record in 2024 as an Influential Marylander and in 2021 as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women. She is also the recipient of the Executive Director’s Award of Maryland Legal Aid’s Equal Justice Council, the Association for Bar Professional's (NABE's) LexisNexis Outreach Community Award, Maryland Legal Aid’s Diane Kinslow Award for outstanding service to her clients and the Daily Record’s "Leading Woman" Award.

Reena is married with three children. She loves to travel and embraces adventure.