2025 FRANCES NEWELL CARR achievement AWARD
nominations Accepted until September 26, 2025
The Frances Newell Carr Achievement Award is a prestigious annual award given by Women Lawyers of Sacramento to an outstanding lawyer, judge, or scholar in the Sacramento community in celebration of the awardee’s professional achievements, commitment to furthering legal opportunities for women in the law, and contribution to the lives of women and children in our community.
The Frances Newell Carr Achievement Award was established by WLS in 1994 to honor the late Justice Frances Newell Carr (October 27, 1923 – January 16, 1992), who was a founder and the first president of WLS in 1962. Justice Carr was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the Sacramento County Superior Court and was the first woman judge appointed in the county. In 1978, she was elected the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, and in 1980, she was appointed to the Third District Court of Appeal, where she served until her passing in 1992. In addition to her professional achievements, Justice Carr had vision and commitment to her community.
The 2025 Frances Newell Carr Achievement Award for Professional Excellence will be presented in December.
If you would like to nominate an individual for the award, please send your nomination materials to the WLS Grants and Awards Committee at: [email protected]. Nominations will be accepted until Friday, September 26, 2025.
In your nomination, please address how the proposed nominee has met the following four criteria: (1) served in the community; (2) achieved professional excellence in their career; (3) assisted women to pursue legal careers; and (4) personally advanced opportunities for women in the law. Each nomination also should include curriculum vitae of the nominee, and three letters of recommendation, with each letter supporting at least one of the four criteria regarding the nominee. Nominations that do not include this information will not be considered. In addition, if two nominees are otherwise equally deserving candidates, preference may be given to an active WLS member nominee.
Previous recipients of the award include: the Honorable Alice Lytle (1994), Virginia Mueller (1995), the Honorable Cecily Bond (1996), Charity Kenyon (1997), the Honorable Faith Geoghegan (1998), Marian Johnston (1999), Professor Martha West (2000), Joan Stone (2001), Lily Spitz (2002), the Honorable Judy H. Hersher (2003), the Honorable James Mize (2004), Pauline Gee (2005), the Honorable Emily Vasquez (2006), Windie Olivia Scott (2007), Dean Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker (2008), Karen M. Goodman (2009), Jean McEvoy (2010), Ruthe Ashley (2011), the Honorable M. Kathleen Butz (2012), Patricia Sturdevant (2013), the Honorable Kimberly J. Mueller (2014), the Honorable Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye (2015), the Honorable Thadd A. Blizzard (2016), Jennifer Duggan (2017), Jerilyn Paik (2018), Fredericka McGee (2019), the Honorable Elena J. Duarte (2020), and the Honorable Shama Mesiwala (2021), Dean Marybeth Moylan (2022), the Honorable Jaya Badiga (2023), and the Honorable Bunmi Awoniyi (2024).
The Frances Newell Carr Achievement Award was established by WLS in 1994 to honor the late Justice Frances Newell Carr (October 27, 1923 – January 16, 1992), who was a founder and the first president of WLS in 1962. Justice Carr was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the Sacramento County Superior Court and was the first woman judge appointed in the county. In 1978, she was elected the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, and in 1980, she was appointed to the Third District Court of Appeal, where she served until her passing in 1992. In addition to her professional achievements, Justice Carr had vision and commitment to her community.
The 2025 Frances Newell Carr Achievement Award for Professional Excellence will be presented in December.
If you would like to nominate an individual for the award, please send your nomination materials to the WLS Grants and Awards Committee at: [email protected]. Nominations will be accepted until Friday, September 26, 2025.
In your nomination, please address how the proposed nominee has met the following four criteria: (1) served in the community; (2) achieved professional excellence in their career; (3) assisted women to pursue legal careers; and (4) personally advanced opportunities for women in the law. Each nomination also should include curriculum vitae of the nominee, and three letters of recommendation, with each letter supporting at least one of the four criteria regarding the nominee. Nominations that do not include this information will not be considered. In addition, if two nominees are otherwise equally deserving candidates, preference may be given to an active WLS member nominee.
Previous recipients of the award include: the Honorable Alice Lytle (1994), Virginia Mueller (1995), the Honorable Cecily Bond (1996), Charity Kenyon (1997), the Honorable Faith Geoghegan (1998), Marian Johnston (1999), Professor Martha West (2000), Joan Stone (2001), Lily Spitz (2002), the Honorable Judy H. Hersher (2003), the Honorable James Mize (2004), Pauline Gee (2005), the Honorable Emily Vasquez (2006), Windie Olivia Scott (2007), Dean Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker (2008), Karen M. Goodman (2009), Jean McEvoy (2010), Ruthe Ashley (2011), the Honorable M. Kathleen Butz (2012), Patricia Sturdevant (2013), the Honorable Kimberly J. Mueller (2014), the Honorable Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye (2015), the Honorable Thadd A. Blizzard (2016), Jennifer Duggan (2017), Jerilyn Paik (2018), Fredericka McGee (2019), the Honorable Elena J. Duarte (2020), and the Honorable Shama Mesiwala (2021), Dean Marybeth Moylan (2022), the Honorable Jaya Badiga (2023), and the Honorable Bunmi Awoniyi (2024).