President's Message
I hope everyone has had an amazing summer. It has gone by way too fast, but it has been so much fun just the same. Everyone was out and about enjoying the sunshine and all the summer activities, from Taylor Swift concerts, traveling abroad, attending the State and County fairs and more.
Meanwhile, our committees have also been diligently working on bringing relevant and topical content to our membership.
In June, the Programs committee helped us celebrate Pride month by co-hosting a mixer with SacLegal. It was an enjoyable and relaxing event; I think just what we all needed. The organizations even handed out pride pins to our guests so they can share their support for the LGBTQ+ community beyond this event. It was an amazing turnout and so exciting to work with another affiliate organization.
Our Career Advancement and Retention committee co-hosted an online MCLE event with Leonard M. Friedman Bar Association in July talking about Antisemitism, Bias, and the Law. This was a highly topical event with speakers April Powers from Project Shema, and Philip AL Talbert of the US Attorney's Office Eastern District. We learned so much about the roots of antisemitism and got a better understanding of how to move forward. The MCLE addressed some much-needed topics and ended with some insightful questions.
The Programs committee hosted its final event of the year in August with Cruz Reynoso Bar Association, an MCLE talking about diversity in the legal profession both in the past and going forward. Retired Judge Emily Vasquez was our speaker and talked about how it feels to be a woman in the law. She addressed the need for work life balance and that we cannot allow childbearing to disqualify women from moving up in their career. It was a conversation that made us laugh and cry, but something we all needed to hear.
As we move into the last quarter of the year, we hosted our premier fundraising event Artfest in early September. This was an incredible event raising significant funds for our foundation. We will spotlight the even in more detail in a Special Edition newsletter
This month we will also be kicking off our membership drive and hosting a membership mixer. If you are not a current member, this is the time to come check us out, and if you are, bring a friend.
I want to take a moment to thank all the ladies on our Board for their hard work this year. We have done a lot so far and I look forward to finishing the year strong. I also must thank all the supporters of WLS. There is a tribe of people in our legal community that consistently support the organization and its mission. We feel your love and support and we thank you!
I hope everyone has had an amazing summer. It has gone by way too fast, but it has been so much fun just the same. Everyone was out and about enjoying the sunshine and all the summer activities, from Taylor Swift concerts, traveling abroad, attending the State and County fairs and more.
Meanwhile, our committees have also been diligently working on bringing relevant and topical content to our membership.
In June, the Programs committee helped us celebrate Pride month by co-hosting a mixer with SacLegal. It was an enjoyable and relaxing event; I think just what we all needed. The organizations even handed out pride pins to our guests so they can share their support for the LGBTQ+ community beyond this event. It was an amazing turnout and so exciting to work with another affiliate organization.
Our Career Advancement and Retention committee co-hosted an online MCLE event with Leonard M. Friedman Bar Association in July talking about Antisemitism, Bias, and the Law. This was a highly topical event with speakers April Powers from Project Shema, and Philip AL Talbert of the US Attorney's Office Eastern District. We learned so much about the roots of antisemitism and got a better understanding of how to move forward. The MCLE addressed some much-needed topics and ended with some insightful questions.
The Programs committee hosted its final event of the year in August with Cruz Reynoso Bar Association, an MCLE talking about diversity in the legal profession both in the past and going forward. Retired Judge Emily Vasquez was our speaker and talked about how it feels to be a woman in the law. She addressed the need for work life balance and that we cannot allow childbearing to disqualify women from moving up in their career. It was a conversation that made us laugh and cry, but something we all needed to hear.
As we move into the last quarter of the year, we hosted our premier fundraising event Artfest in early September. This was an incredible event raising significant funds for our foundation. We will spotlight the even in more detail in a Special Edition newsletter
This month we will also be kicking off our membership drive and hosting a membership mixer. If you are not a current member, this is the time to come check us out, and if you are, bring a friend.
I want to take a moment to thank all the ladies on our Board for their hard work this year. We have done a lot so far and I look forward to finishing the year strong. I also must thank all the supporters of WLS. There is a tribe of people in our legal community that consistently support the organization and its mission. We feel your love and support and we thank you!
August MCLE Program
by Programs Committee Co-Chairs Jennifer Domer & Jamie Mauhay Powers
Programs was thrilled to end their year with Judge Emily Vasquez (Ret.) who spoke about diversity in the legal profession. Together with the Cruz Reynoso Bar Association, we coordinated this last Programs CLE with Judge Vasquez, who spoke to us about how far the legal community has come since she graduated law school, but how far it has still yet to go—and how our allies in the legal profession can help lift women of color up in order to see the equity and equality we all long for.
We have been so lucky to have worked with so many of our colleagues and partner organizations to put on luncheons, mixers and events this year. We look forward to more collaboration next year and are thankful for the opportunity to feature such incredible and dynamic speakers such as Judge Bunmi Awoniyi, Judge Jill Talley, Judge Lauri Damrell, Judge Julie Yap, and of course Judge Vasquez.
Artfest 2023
by Development Co-Chair Brittany M. Johnson
Development’s premier event, Artfest, was held on September 7th at Sequoia at the Cannery. The sold-out event consisted of a silent auction, and for the first time, a live auction. The live auction had items such as trips to Mexico, a wonderful piece of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, a Thomas Kinkade, and a beautiful piece by Jeff Myers. The silent auction had great pieces from local artists, including an impactful photograph of the Black Lives Matter protest by Kachiside Madu. The silent auction also included gift baskets, gift cards, and an autographed San Francisco Giants baseball.
The annual event raises funds for scholarships for local law students and grants to local organizations serving the greater Sacramento area.
Development had a great turn out at Artfest and appreciates the support of our members and sponsors who make this event possible each year!
by Development Co-Chair Brittany M. Johnson
Development’s premier event, Artfest, was held on September 7th at Sequoia at the Cannery. The sold-out event consisted of a silent auction, and for the first time, a live auction. The live auction had items such as trips to Mexico, a wonderful piece of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, a Thomas Kinkade, and a beautiful piece by Jeff Myers. The silent auction had great pieces from local artists, including an impactful photograph of the Black Lives Matter protest by Kachiside Madu. The silent auction also included gift baskets, gift cards, and an autographed San Francisco Giants baseball.
The annual event raises funds for scholarships for local law students and grants to local organizations serving the greater Sacramento area.
Development had a great turn out at Artfest and appreciates the support of our members and sponsors who make this event possible each year!
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September Luncheon with the Diverse Women of the 3rd District Court of Appeal
by Career Advancement & Retention Co-Chair Kristin Blocher
On the 42nd Anniversary of the United States Senate’s confirmation of Sandra Day O’Connor as the first woman Justice of the United States Supreme Court, the largest and most diverse group of women Justices to serve on one Court of Appeal convened to speak to the Women Lawyers of Sacramento for its closing CLE program of 2023.
Prior to the current extraordinary Bench, in the history of California’s Court of Appeals for the Third District, five women total had served: Janice Rogers Brown who later served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Consuelo M. Callahan who would go on to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Tani Cantil-Sakauye who would later serve as the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court, Annette Abbott Adams, and Frances Newell Carr.
The Third District Court of Appeal made history in 2012 when the very first all-female panel of Justices heard a case on appeal. That panel included then Acting Presiding Justice M. Kathleen Butz, and Associate Justices Elena Duarte and Andrea Hoch. The momentous event was reported in the Sacramento County Bar Association’s July-August 2012 magazine, Sacramento Lawyer, by a local attorney, Shama Mesiwala. The article quoted then Presiding Judge of the Sacramento County Superior Court, Laurie Earl, stating: “These three women jurists are the embodiment of who we hope our judges will be. They are powerful women on their own and even more so when they come together.”
Eleven years later, in 2023, Justices Elena Duarte, Shama Mesiwala, Stacy Boulware Eurie, and Presiding Justice Laurie Earl make up the most diverse bench in the history of any Court of Appeal. They agreed to speak to Women Lawyers of Sacramento in a candid, compelling, and meaningful discussion on the giant strides the Court is making in its commitment to diversity.
Responding to questions posed by Moderator Justice Duarte and a few from the audience, the Justices shared their experiences that brought them to the Bench, and their observations on improvement in diversity and effective efforts to reduce bias in our judicial system. They opined that in addition to doing excellent work, building a reputation for hard work, integrity, and sincerity is important. The Justices also shared how they respond to sentiments that question their qualifications for the job because they have diverse characteristics, and how they keep up their confidence in a job that can challenge it every day.
Thank you again to the incredible women of the Court of Appeal for the Third District for joining us for such a sincere, entertaining, inspiring, and hopeful conversation!
In Memory of Mary Jane Hamilton, BA, PhD, JD
by Susan Orton
Dr. Mary Jane Hamilton, the sixteenth president of WLS, died June 17, 2023, at home in Carmichael after a brief illness.
She led WLS through an expansionary period while maintaining robust support for its original mission.
Born into an Irish family in Rockford, Illinois, she attended grammar and high school there and received her BA from Sienna Heights College in Adrian, Michigan. She then earned MA and PhD degrees in medieval history from the Catholic University of America, where she was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. She taught at CSU-Sacramento while completing a law degree at UC Davis. She was admitted to the California Bar in 1975.
After an administrative fellowship at CSU-LA, she became the Assistant Dean of UC Davis Law School where, among other things, she served on the Admissions Committee. A signal achievement during her time as dean was the admission of a first-year class with over 50% women. During this time, she also served on the California Women Lawyers Board and was an active member of the Sacramento County Bar Association.
In the 1990s, she joined the Office of the California Attorney General where she specialized in appellate cases involving child support. (See, e.g., Elisa B v. Superior Court (2005) 37 Cal.4th 108.) She also helped WLS organize an oral history project.
But “MJ,” as she was known to many (also “Miggie” to many friends and family) was not all work. She enjoyed a richly textured life of travel, family, and art. In July 1971 she married Dave Reed, Captain in the US Air Force and later captain for Western and Delta airlines. He was her best friend and “Wingman” (her term) for over 52 years. Their travels spanned decades and continents—six trips to Africa, frequent visits to her favorite city of Paris, and regular hops to Hawaii. She also regularly attended the San Francisco Opera with WLS friends.
In retirement, she volunteered as a docent at the Crocker Art Museum and served on the board of the Kingsley Art Club.
In early May, she and Dave flew to the East Coast and joined the Crocker Directors Circle’s Brandywine River Tour. Near the end of the tour, she became ill and was hospitalized in Wilmington, Delaware. With Dave at her side—and excellent medical attention—she fought pulmonary failure caused by double pneumonia. She rallied to the extent that Dave brought her home to Sacramento by air ambulance. But even she could not survive the lung damage that had been done.
In a beautiful gesture, she had donated her body to science through the UC Davis School of Medicine for the purpose of education and research.
A memorial service was conducted in the Crocker Art Museum Ballroom on June 25, 2023.
by Susan Orton
Dr. Mary Jane Hamilton, the sixteenth president of WLS, died June 17, 2023, at home in Carmichael after a brief illness.
She led WLS through an expansionary period while maintaining robust support for its original mission.
Born into an Irish family in Rockford, Illinois, she attended grammar and high school there and received her BA from Sienna Heights College in Adrian, Michigan. She then earned MA and PhD degrees in medieval history from the Catholic University of America, where she was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. She taught at CSU-Sacramento while completing a law degree at UC Davis. She was admitted to the California Bar in 1975.
After an administrative fellowship at CSU-LA, she became the Assistant Dean of UC Davis Law School where, among other things, she served on the Admissions Committee. A signal achievement during her time as dean was the admission of a first-year class with over 50% women. During this time, she also served on the California Women Lawyers Board and was an active member of the Sacramento County Bar Association.
In the 1990s, she joined the Office of the California Attorney General where she specialized in appellate cases involving child support. (See, e.g., Elisa B v. Superior Court (2005) 37 Cal.4th 108.) She also helped WLS organize an oral history project.
But “MJ,” as she was known to many (also “Miggie” to many friends and family) was not all work. She enjoyed a richly textured life of travel, family, and art. In July 1971 she married Dave Reed, Captain in the US Air Force and later captain for Western and Delta airlines. He was her best friend and “Wingman” (her term) for over 52 years. Their travels spanned decades and continents—six trips to Africa, frequent visits to her favorite city of Paris, and regular hops to Hawaii. She also regularly attended the San Francisco Opera with WLS friends.
In retirement, she volunteered as a docent at the Crocker Art Museum and served on the board of the Kingsley Art Club.
In early May, she and Dave flew to the East Coast and joined the Crocker Directors Circle’s Brandywine River Tour. Near the end of the tour, she became ill and was hospitalized in Wilmington, Delaware. With Dave at her side—and excellent medical attention—she fought pulmonary failure caused by double pneumonia. She rallied to the extent that Dave brought her home to Sacramento by air ambulance. But even she could not survive the lung damage that had been done.
In a beautiful gesture, she had donated her body to science through the UC Davis School of Medicine for the purpose of education and research.
A memorial service was conducted in the Crocker Art Museum Ballroom on June 25, 2023.
WLS Grant Recipients
by Grants & Awards Committees Co-Chairs Krista Lister, Nicole Low, & Keely Nickelson
The Grants and Awards committee has awarded $1,500.00 grants to 10 local organizations across the Sacramento Area. Grants are awarded to organizations whose purposes and activities are related to any one (or more) of the following five categories: Women’s Issues; Children’s Issues; Education Programs; Access to Law; and/or Community Based Programs.
Food Literacy Center
Food Literacy Center’s mission is to inspire kids to eat their vegetables. They teach children in low-income elementary schools cooking, nutrition, gardening, and active play to improve their health, environment, and economy. The grant will be used to purchase notebooks, sun hats for students, and a solar water feature for the student garden located at their new Food Literacy Center headquarters where they teach weekly food literacy lessons.
Operation Protect and Defend
Operation Protect and Defend (OPD) is a non-profit program which seeks to reach schools with limited resources in underserved communities by sending volunteer judges and lawyers together into classrooms to inspire student engagement with civics and the legal system. OPD provides civic education to high school students who learn to address constitutional issues and basic government principles through OPD’s Dialogue program, including an essay contest and art competition where students demonstrate their understanding of the constitutional topic in writing or various art forms.
Sierra Nevada Journeys
Sierra Nevada Journeys’ mission is to provide STEM, professional development, and outdoor education to a diverse and dynamic community of elementary and middle school- aged students. The grant will help to fund their annual Girls in STEM/Professional Development weekend camp. This program was designed to help support and engage girls between the ages of 10 and 14 years from Title 1 schools with access to both high-quality STEM programming and professional development.
Opening Doors
Opening Doors, Inc. (ODI) mission is to enrich the Sacramento newcomer community by supporting every client on their path to stability, self-sufficiency, and belonging. The grant will help to sustain case management services for their clients.
Volunteers of America
Volunteers of America Northern California and Northern Nevada (VOA) requested funding to support the Legal Expertise and Advocacy Program (LEAP). The goal of LEAP is to provide a legal clinic to VOA’s shelters and program clients who have limited access to such essential legal services, including SSI/disability application and appeals, child support modification, credit repair, fines and fees advocacy, and criminal record remedies.
YMCA
The mission of the YMCA of Superior California is to inspire all to a healthy life, in spirit, mind, and body. They are dedicated to youth development, healthy living for people of all ages and social responsibility in addressing the critical needs of the communities they serve. The grant will support their Youth & Government Model Legislature and Court Program. The Y&G program is an educational hands-on leadership program for California high school students, centered on the law, civics, and the workings of the State legislative process.
Sisters of Nia
Sisters of Nia, Inc. seeks to empower socially and economically disadvantaged adolescent girls by providing cultural and educational programs designed to instill strong social skills, leadership development, and academic excellence in young ladies. The grant will support their annual youth leadership conference on August 19th. The goal is for the girls to leave the retreat feeling a sense of strengthened self-esteem, sisterhood, and problem-solving skills.
Child Abuse Prevention Counsel
The Child Abuse Prevention Counsel’s vision is that all children are safe and nurtured by their families and community. Their core activities include direct services, training and technical assistance, research and policy, and collaboration. They have a long-standing program supporting older foster youth who are failing in school, truant and have disciplinary issues. They pair the youth with mentors, of whom over half are former foster youth. The grant will increase the number of foster youth they can serve.
Room Redux
Room Redux performs local bedroom transformations for children who have experienced traumatic physical and/or sexual abuse, in an effort to improve and support their mental health and healing. The grant will go toward a bedroom transformation.
Women’s Empowerment
Women’s Empowerment’s mission is to educate and empower women experiencing homelessness with the skills and confidence necessary to secure a job, create a healthy lifestyle, and regain a home for themselves and their children. The grant will help fund job readiness, training, and retention programs so women can earn enough to afford housing for their families.
by Grants & Awards Committees Co-Chairs Krista Lister, Nicole Low, & Keely Nickelson
The Grants and Awards committee has awarded $1,500.00 grants to 10 local organizations across the Sacramento Area. Grants are awarded to organizations whose purposes and activities are related to any one (or more) of the following five categories: Women’s Issues; Children’s Issues; Education Programs; Access to Law; and/or Community Based Programs.
Food Literacy Center
Food Literacy Center’s mission is to inspire kids to eat their vegetables. They teach children in low-income elementary schools cooking, nutrition, gardening, and active play to improve their health, environment, and economy. The grant will be used to purchase notebooks, sun hats for students, and a solar water feature for the student garden located at their new Food Literacy Center headquarters where they teach weekly food literacy lessons.
Operation Protect and Defend
Operation Protect and Defend (OPD) is a non-profit program which seeks to reach schools with limited resources in underserved communities by sending volunteer judges and lawyers together into classrooms to inspire student engagement with civics and the legal system. OPD provides civic education to high school students who learn to address constitutional issues and basic government principles through OPD’s Dialogue program, including an essay contest and art competition where students demonstrate their understanding of the constitutional topic in writing or various art forms.
Sierra Nevada Journeys
Sierra Nevada Journeys’ mission is to provide STEM, professional development, and outdoor education to a diverse and dynamic community of elementary and middle school- aged students. The grant will help to fund their annual Girls in STEM/Professional Development weekend camp. This program was designed to help support and engage girls between the ages of 10 and 14 years from Title 1 schools with access to both high-quality STEM programming and professional development.
Opening Doors
Opening Doors, Inc. (ODI) mission is to enrich the Sacramento newcomer community by supporting every client on their path to stability, self-sufficiency, and belonging. The grant will help to sustain case management services for their clients.
Volunteers of America
Volunteers of America Northern California and Northern Nevada (VOA) requested funding to support the Legal Expertise and Advocacy Program (LEAP). The goal of LEAP is to provide a legal clinic to VOA’s shelters and program clients who have limited access to such essential legal services, including SSI/disability application and appeals, child support modification, credit repair, fines and fees advocacy, and criminal record remedies.
YMCA
The mission of the YMCA of Superior California is to inspire all to a healthy life, in spirit, mind, and body. They are dedicated to youth development, healthy living for people of all ages and social responsibility in addressing the critical needs of the communities they serve. The grant will support their Youth & Government Model Legislature and Court Program. The Y&G program is an educational hands-on leadership program for California high school students, centered on the law, civics, and the workings of the State legislative process.
Sisters of Nia
Sisters of Nia, Inc. seeks to empower socially and economically disadvantaged adolescent girls by providing cultural and educational programs designed to instill strong social skills, leadership development, and academic excellence in young ladies. The grant will support their annual youth leadership conference on August 19th. The goal is for the girls to leave the retreat feeling a sense of strengthened self-esteem, sisterhood, and problem-solving skills.
Child Abuse Prevention Counsel
The Child Abuse Prevention Counsel’s vision is that all children are safe and nurtured by their families and community. Their core activities include direct services, training and technical assistance, research and policy, and collaboration. They have a long-standing program supporting older foster youth who are failing in school, truant and have disciplinary issues. They pair the youth with mentors, of whom over half are former foster youth. The grant will increase the number of foster youth they can serve.
Room Redux
Room Redux performs local bedroom transformations for children who have experienced traumatic physical and/or sexual abuse, in an effort to improve and support their mental health and healing. The grant will go toward a bedroom transformation.
Women’s Empowerment
Women’s Empowerment’s mission is to educate and empower women experiencing homelessness with the skills and confidence necessary to secure a job, create a healthy lifestyle, and regain a home for themselves and their children. The grant will help fund job readiness, training, and retention programs so women can earn enough to afford housing for their families.
