April 2025 President's Letter

Greetings Friends!

I am proud to be at the head of leadership for our beloved organization.  Every day I am amazed by the great work being done by members across the country to promote the mission of the National Association of Women Judges.  I am grateful to Past-President Sage, all of the former NAWJ Presidents, the NAWJ executive board, the NAWJ Resource Board, Resource Board liaison David Horrigan, and all of NAWJ’s membership.  I separately wish to thank our extraordinary Executive Director, Laurie Denham, for her commitment to NAWJ.  Her loyalty to our mission is evident in all that she does to promote NAWJ and to forge partnerships with other affinity bar organizations.  Until you work by her side, you may have no appreciation just how dedicated Laurie is!  And her dedication is infectious, as evidenced by the superior work done by our National Office team  – Francie Teer, Brian Gorg, and Janelle Mihoc.  I can attest first hand how hard each of them works to ensure NAWJ shines.  And I would be remiss if I didn’t also acknowledge the wonderful partners with whom we work, be they webinar presenters or other affinity organizations who have invited NAWJ to collaborate with them on common topics of interest.

It is hard to believe that I am already half-way through my presidency.  During this time, so much has transpired.  We have most committee leadership and membership roles filled.  At the suggestion of former President Lisa Walsh, the Ethics committee has been revived.  It is comprised of past presidents.  They are led by Justice Dana Fabe and Judge Toni Clarke.  We are in good hands.

We are actively recruiting interested and engaged judges to step up to the role of District Director for Districts 6 and 9.  To accomplish this, Vice President of Districts, Vivian Medinilla, Laurie, and I have hosted Zoom meetings with members of those districts.  We have conveyed that while we look to fill these positions, members in those districts are not forgotten.  We have had great discussions, and hopefully soon they will each have a District Director.  Meanwhile, it has been fun getting to know our membership.

I wish to give a special shout out to the judges in District 7, and in particular, the Michigan contingency.  Led by DD Miriam Perry and State Chair Zenell Brown (who also co-chairs our membership committee with NY Justice Kathy King), they assembled a group of attorneys who engage with an Afghani woman judge and her family in Michigan.  The result is that these attorneys have established a 501(c)(3) so that there is now a financial resource for Afghani judges residing in the US.  Several of these attorneys and their firms will join us at the midyear opening reception.  They will be recognized and they will provide additional details for NAWJ members interested in contributing to this new support mechanism.

In terms of networking and promotion of NAWJ, it is a regular order of business for the President and Executive Director.  I’d like to share just a couple of those experiences since our October annual meeting in San Diego. 

In November, Laurie and I attended the 2024 National Asian Pacific American Bar Association conference.  There, we engaged with over 2,000 of NAPABA’s membership.  NAWJ hosted a well-attended mixer during this event.  We shared our mission, our values, and we invited NAPABA members to join us.  At this conference, Laurie and I experienced one of NAPABA’S flagship programs of re-enacting cases of significance.  It was powerful, and something we hope to replicate with NAPABA.

In January we worked on content for the 2025 midyear.  Many people, including my chambers staff and several extraordinary undergraduate and law students worked tirelessly to secure speakers, develop program descriptions for each presentation, and coordinate dry runs ahead of conference.  Please join me in thanking Barb Stewart, Manvi Kumar, Andrew Palmer, Jonah Grove, and Rashminder Sandhu.  If you attend the midyear, you will likely see them working hard.

In February, I represented NAWJ before several national groups.  At the gracious invitation of Former NAWJ President Anna Blackburn-Rigsby, I attended a joint meeting of the Council of Chief Justices and Council of State Court Administrators Public Engagement, Trust and Confidence Committee.  I shared general information about our organization and fielded questions.  Michigan’s Chief Justice, Beth Clement, also invited me to speak at the NCSC Clear Group who was examining how courts can better facilitate access to justice.  I was asked to showcase NAWJ’s MentorJet program.  They were impressed!

March took Laurie and me to the Academy of Court Appointed Neutrals, or ACAN, conference.  It was held in Washington DC.  ACAN’s executive director, Merril Hirsh, is an NAWJ Member and good friend.   Through that partnership, I provided a celebratory ‘Congratulations’ video, which ACAN played at its banquet. 

Later this month, as we celebrate Women’s History month, I will represent NAWJ at two events.  The first is 69^th Annual Commission on the Status of Women conference, where I will speak on the topic of Women in the Judiciary – Striving for Gender Balance.  The second involves the Pan American Committee of Judges on Social Justice.  There, I will be on a panel discussing the Democratic Failures and Attacks on Judicial Systems.  It is certain to be an engaging group.

April brings the biennial IAWJ conference in Cape Town, South Africa.  NAWJ will be well-represented.  Currently, our contingency is over 40 members.  We are certain to have an enriching time with our international sisterhood!

On the horizon I will represent this organization at the Lavender Law conference, the National Foundation for Judicial Excellence conference, the ABA annual conference and so much more!  Stay tuned for details.

Meanwhile, thank each one of you for living NAWJ’s mission, for promoting my theme of Access to Justice is Justice for all, and for being remarkable at all you do.  I am excited to see what progress we make to promote NAWJ these next 6 months. 

For those able to make the midyear in Ann Arbor, I look forward to seeing you and hosting you at the University of Michigan Law School.  For those unable to attend, I will see you in Boston for our annual conference in October.  It will be excellent!  

Respectfully submitted,

The Honorable Michelle Rick
President, National Association of Women Judges