Leadership & Administration

NAWJ's leadership is a reflection of its diverse membership, composed of women judges from all levels of the judiciary from across the nation. 

Hon. Toni Clarke
President

Hon. Toni Clarke

Circuit Court for Prince George's County

Upper Marlboro, Maryland

Bio

Hon. Karen Sage
President-Elect

Hon. Karen Sage

299th District Court

Travis County, Texas

Bio

Hon. Michelle Rick
Vice President of Districts

Hon. Michelle Rick

Michigan Court of Appeals

Lansing, Michigan

Bio

Hon. Pamela Washington
Vice President of Publications

Hon. Pamela Washington

Anchorage District Court

Anchorage, Alaska

Bio

Hon. Carmen Velasquez
Secretary

Hon. Carmen Velasquez

Queens County Supreme Court, Civil Term

Jamaica, New York

Bio

Hon. Heidi M. Pasichow
Treasurer

Hon. Heidi M. Pasichow

Superior Court of the District of Columbia

Washington, District of Columbia

Bio

Hon. Elizabeth White
Immediate Past President

Hon. Elizabeth White

Los Angeles Superior Court (Retired)

Los Angeles, California

Bio

Hon. Kathy King
Projects Committee Chair

Hon. Kathy King

New York State Supreme Court

Kings County, New York

Bio

Hon. Lisa Walsh
International Director

Hon. Lisa Walsh

11th Judicial Circuit, Civil Division

Florida

Bio

Hon. Ann Breen-Greco
ABA Delegate

Hon. Ann Breen-Greco

Independent Administrative Judiciary Professional

Chicago, Illinois

Bio

Hon. Mimi Tsankov
Committee Liaison

Hon. Mimi Tsankov

Eastern Region Vice President,

National Association of Immigration Judges

New York, NY

Bio

Hon. Amy Blake
District Director, 1 (ME, MA, NH, PR, RI)

Hon. Amy Blake

Massachusetts Appeals Court

Boston, Massachusetts

Bio

Hon. Leslie Stroth
District Director, 2 (CT, NY, VT)

Hon. Leslie Stroth

Supreme Court, Civil Term

New York, New York

Bio

Hon. Sandra Ann Robinson
District Director, 3 (DE, NJ, PA, VI)

Hon. Sandra Ann Robinson

State of New Jersey

Hackensack, New Jersey

Bio

Hon. Gwenlynn D'Souza
District Director, 4 (DC, MD, VA)

Hon. Gwenlynn D'Souza

D.C. Department of Employment Services

Washington, D.C.

Bio

Hon. Phinia Aten
District Director, 5 (FL, GA, NC, SC)

Hon. Phinia Aten

Magistrate Court of Rockdale County

Conyers, Georgia

Bio

Hon. Jennifer Smith
District Director, 6 (AL, LA, MS, TN)

Hon. Jennifer Smith

Division IV, Criminal Court, 20th Judicial District

Nashville, Tennessee

Bio

Hon. Miriam Perry
District Director, 7 (MI, OH, WV)

Hon. Miriam Perry

15th District Court

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Bio

Hon. Patrice Ball-Reed
District Co-Director, 8 (IL, IN, KY)

Hon. Patrice Ball-Reed

Circuit Court of Cook County

Chicago, Illinois

Bio

Hon. Julie Verheye
District Co-Director, 8 (IL, IN, KY)

Hon. Julie Verheye

St. Joseph Superior Court

South Bend, Indiana

Bio

Hon. Karen Romano
District Director, 9 (IA, MO, WI)

Hon. Karen Romano

Iowa District Court

Des Moines, Iowa

Bio

Hon. Rachel Pickering
District Director, 10 (KS, MN, NE, ND, SD)

Hon. Rachel Pickering

Kansas Court of Appeals

Topeka, Kansas

Bio

Hon. Gina Benavides
District Director, 11 (AR, OK, TX)

Hon. Gina Benavides

13th Court of Appeals

Edinburg, Texas

Bio

Hon. Colleen Clark
District Director, 12 (AZ, CO, NM, UT, WY)

Hon. Colleen Clark

Arapahoe County Court

Centennial, Colorado

Hon. Bride Seifert
District Director, 13 (AK, HI, ID, MT, OR, WA)

Hon. Bride Seifert

Homer Superior Court

Homer, Alaska

Bio

Hon. Pennie McLaughlin
District Director, 14 (CA, NV)

Hon. Pennie McLaughlin

Superior Court of California, San Diego County

San Diego, California

Bio

Nicole Erb, Esq.
Co-Chair

Nicole Erb, Esq.

White & Case LLP

Washington, District of Columbia

Sarah London, Esq.
Co-Chair

Sarah London, Esq.

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP

San Francisco, California

The Honorable Mary Becnel
Member

The Honorable Mary Becnel

Retired Judge

LaPlace, Louisiana

Elizabeth Cabraser, Esq.
Member

Elizabeth Cabraser, Esq.

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein

San Francisco, California

Kelly Dermody, Esq.
Member

Kelly Dermody, Esq.

Lieff, Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein

San Francisco, California

David Horrigan, Esq.
Member

David Horrigan, Esq.

Relativity

Boston, MA

Robert Kaufman, Esq.
Member

Robert Kaufman, Esq.

Proskauer Rose LLP

New York, New York

Thomas Leighton
Member

Thomas Leighton

West, a Thomson Reuters Business

Eagan, Minnesota

Afsoon McClellan
Member

Afsoon McClellan

Afsoon Khatibloo McClellan

Director of Global Association

LexisNexis

Heather McDevitt, Esq.
Member

Heather McDevitt, Esq.

White & Case LLP

New York, New York

Diane McGimsey, Esq.
Member

Diane McGimsey, Esq.

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP

Los Angeles, California

Donna Melby, Esq.
Member

Donna Melby, Esq.

Paul Hastings

Los Angeles, California

Elaine Metlin, Esq.
Member

Elaine Metlin, Esq.

Retired

Washington, District of Columbia

Christopher Poole
Member

Christopher Poole

JAMS

Irvine, California

Cathy Winter-Palmer
Member

Cathy Winter-Palmer

Retired

Corvina, California

Laurie Denham, CAE
Executive Director

Laurie Denham, CAE

Laurie Denham, Principal at Denham Advisors, is an independent consultant and has been in the association sector over seventeen years. She was president of the American Society of Transportation and Logistics (AST&L) for 13 years, expanding the organization from a domestic to an international association, and elevated its certification program to a three-tier career pathway working with high schools, community colleges, and universities. Ms. Denham managed the AST&L merger with APICS and remained as the Senior Director of Academic Relations. She became Vice President of Education at the Transportation Intermediaries Association prior to opening Denham Advisors. During her tenure with AST&L, she was also the General Manager for the US office of Association Global Services, an international association management company. She has experience in small and midsize associations focusing on strategic planning, member engagement and programming. Ms. Denham is a Certified Association Executive and holds a Masters of Science in Social Work Degree from the University of Tennessee.

Francie Teer
Director of Development

Francie Teer

Francie Teer believes in the power of philanthropy to improve society. As a development professional she has experience working in the private education and youth serving sectors in addition to the social justice space. Over the last 9 years, she served as Development Officer for the National Center for State Courts where she spearheaded Lawyers Committee giving, Individual giving and Giving Tuesday campaigns along with co-leading annual Judicial Excellence Events including the William H. Rehnquist Award Reception & Dinner in Washington DC. She’s excited to work with NAWJ and embraces the mission to promote the judicial role in protecting the rights of individuals under the rule of law.

Francie is married to husband Ed, and is mom to Jacob and Sadie. They live in Williamsburg, Virginia, with an unruly cat named Oscar.

Janelle Mihoc
Membership Coordinator

Janelle Mihoc

Janelle Mihoc, a Client Associate with the Collie Gorg Group has experience in a variety of professions with the consistent theme of providing high-level customer service in a detail-oriented, proactive manner. Prior to joining the Collie Gorg Group, she spent time working at a veterinary hospital, non-profit organizations and nearly eight years as a U.S. Department of State contractor with the Bureau of Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs.  Ms. Mihoc’s desire to continue learning and growing on the job has afforded her many opportunities to advance in each of the positions she has held.  She aims to provide each of her clients with the same level of exceptional results-driven service. Ms. Mihoc has a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from Indiana University.

Connect With Us

Facebook Twitter