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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Phoenix Legal Action Network

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 820711172
AZ · NTEE I80
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Rekha Nair, Executive Director / CEO ($81,222) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 72 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 63rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Rekha Nair — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

72 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 72 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$9 total compensation of comparable organizations → $410,885 $81,222
$29,23710th
$44,86625th
$67,508Median
$91,95975th
$116,40090th
$81,222This org · 63rd
p10$29,237
p25$44,866
p50$67,508
p75$91,959
p90$116,400
$81,222

Comparable organizations

Each figure is Form 990 Part VII columns D + F (reportable pay plus other compensation and benefits; column F may include amounts from related organizations), normalized to AZ cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateRevenueMatched titleComp
(reported)
Comp
(adjusted)
FY
Oregon Health Justice Center OR$263,336 Attorney/partner $105,769 $99,203 2024
El Centro Hispanoamericano NJ$264,706 Executive Director $49,660 $44,780 2024
Great Lakes Expungement Network MI$258,107 Executive Director $40,516 $42,237 2024
Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation DC$257,339 Managing Dir $132,000 $116,989 2024
Wyoming County - Attica Legal Aid NY$267,246 Vice Preside $31,756 $28,235 2025
New Covenant Legal Services MO$256,169 Executive Di $60,000 $64,183 2024
Allegany Law Foundation Inc MD$268,405 Executive Director $57,073 $55,482 2023
Pikes Peak Justice & Pro Bono Center CO$255,069 Executive Director $74,255 $71,912 2024
Frontline Legal Services LA$268,828 Co-executive Director $75,000 $83,408 2024
Equal Citizens Foundation DC$269,229 Treasurer $36,000 $31,906 2024
Opening Doors International Services Inc TX$251,057 Executive Dir. $55,000 $55,565 2024
The Rise Foundation By Envoy Inc IL$250,000 President And Executive Directo $132,563 $135,512 2023
Washington Wage Claim Project WA$281,506 Staff Attorney $183,961 $166,343 2024
Peoples Law Center WI$281,834 Executive Director $138,000 $149,858 2023
Lex Rex Institute CA$281,879 Ceo And Attorney $471,140 $410,885 2024
Columbia Gorge Casa OR$282,100 Executive Dir. $59,267 $55,588 2024
Cottage Street Youth Law OR$241,380 Executive Director $102,200 $95,855 2024
Montgomery County Bar Foundation AL$283,016 Executive Director $90,360 $98,593 2024
Inland Empire Latino Lawyers CA$239,060 Executive Director $84,635 $73,811 2024
Casa Of Berks County PA$238,542 Executive Di $53,297 $53,679 2024
South Lake Tahoe Family Resource Center CA$288,622 Executive Dir. $50,002 $44,895 2023
Columbia Basin Dispute Resolution Center WA$288,772 Executive Dir. $53,000 $49,340 2023
Legal Assistance Of Dakota County MN$293,191 Executive Di $88,625 $91,057 2023
Justice For Our Neighbors Of The PA$294,362 Executive Dir. $32,917 $34,132 2023
Benton Franklin Legal Aid Society WA$294,679 Executive Dir. $63,815 $57,703 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AZ cost of living and 2023 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.

Methodology

Comparable organizations were drawn from electronically filed IRS Form 990 returns and matched on sector (NTEE code), budget (a size-adaptive revenue band that tightens as the organization grows), and geography (same-state first, broadening only when too few peers qualify); every organization within the band forms the peer set. To compare fairly across regions and years, peer compensation is normalized to AZ cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023) and to the subject's filing year (CPI-U). The figure benchmarked is Form 990 Part VII, Section A, columns D + F — reportable pay plus other compensation, benefits, and deferred amounts (column F may include amounts from related organizations) — with the chief executive matched by role. Related-organization amounts (column E) and institutional trustees are excluded. Full methodology: peerbasis.org/methodology.

Sample, role match & sensitivity

Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:

BasisSubject percentile
Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default63rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)67th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted64th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted57th

If the percentile moves materially across these definitions, the result is sensitive to methodology choices, and the board should weigh which basis best fits its facts.

Rebuttable presumption of reasonableness · 26 CFR 53.4958-6

Compensation paid by a tax-exempt organization is presumed reasonable — shifting the burden to the IRS — when three requirements are met. This report supplies the comparability data for the second. The board should record the following in its minutes concurrently with its decision:

Draft board minutes — executive compensation

  1. The compensation of the Executive Director / CEO (Rekha Nair) was approved in advance by [the Board / Compensation Committee], composed of members with no conflict of interest with respect to the arrangement.
  2. Prior to its determination, the authorized body obtained and relied upon appropriate comparability data, namely the PeerBasis Compensation Comparability Determination dated June 9, 2026, comparing compensation against 72 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (I80), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $81,222 is reasonable (approximately the 63rd percentile of comparable organizations) and documented the basis for this determination concurrently, on [date], by a vote of [__ for / __ against].

Sources: IRS Form 990 e-file data (apps.irs.gov); IRS Business Master File (NTEE classification). Every figure traces to an original public filing — click any organization above to verify it on ProPublica. PeerBasis is a service of Prismind Analytics; its methodology is published, was commissioned for independent adversarial review, and discloses its own limitations. This report is comparability data to support a board's good-faith determination under IRC 4958; it is not legal or tax advice. Generated by PeerBasis on June 9, 2026.