march 28, 2019 annual meeting candidate booklet no... · 2019-2020 executive committee candidates....

Board of Directors Candidate Booklet

MARCH 28, 2019

ANNUAL MEETING

2019-2020 Executive Committee Candidates

Jennifer Saubermann, President

Nicole Forbes, President-Elect

Kim Donlon, Vice President, Statewide Outreach & Membership

Sarah Gagan, Vice President, Operations

Kristy Lavigne, Treasurer

Heather Gamache, Secretary

Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts

Executive Board Statement of Intent

Jennifer Saubermann

President

Massachusetts Technology Collaborative

It is an honor to step into the role of WBA President for the 2019-2020 year. The WBA has been an integral part of my professional and personal life for the last 17 years, and I am proud and humbled to be chosen as the WBA’s next President.

Since graduating from law school I have been actively involved in the WBA, serving as a co-chair of the Government Lawyers’ Committee for six years, and as a Board mem-ber since 2007. I have been in an executive leadership position in the WBA for a num-ber of years, as Treasurer for four terms before becoming President-Elect in 2018. It is with this experience, and my firm commitment to the financial needs of the organiza-tion that I intend to lead the WBA.

I also bring a new perspective with me to the WBA Presidency as a long-time public interest and government attorney. My current position as Acting General Counsel at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, an economic development state public authority, has given me unique experience as both a government and in-house coun-sel lawyer. In addition, my time in the Massachusetts State House serving as the Gen-eral Counsel of both the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means, Legal Counsel for the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technolo-gies, and Director of Program Integrity and Deputy General Counsel at the Executive Office for Administration and Finance has given me a deep understanding of the im-portance of our legislative advocacy work, and the impact the WBA can have in shap-ing policies that promote gender equality.

I look forward to working with our members in the year ahead - using the power of our collective voice to influence policies and laws that make positive changes to better ourselves and all women in the Commonwealth.



Nicole Forbes

President-Elect

Globalization Partners

I am honored to accept the nomination for the position of President-Elect for the Executive Board of the WBA. The WBA has been an influential organization throughout my career, and I am honored to support its work and mission. I have been actively involved in the organization for 10 years and have served on the Board of Directors since 2013. I was involved in and co-chaired the Legislative Policy Committee and Public Relations Committee and was the Co-Editor in Chief of the Women’s Bar Review. Over the years, I have been involved in numerous WBA initiatives and events, from the Annual Legislative Breakfast to a Women’s Advo-cacy summit after the 2016 elections to working on the pay equity task force that helped draft, advocate for, and pass the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act. This past year, as Vice President of Membership & Statewide out-reach, I have worked to strengthen relationships with law firms and legal organizations and build the organi-zation’s member base. The WBA is vital organization providing a strong community of women lawyers, programming on profession-al development and issues facing women attorneys, opportunities for mentorship, networking, and business development, and leadership opportunities within the organization and the legal profession. However, the work of the organization goes far beyond this. We have been at the forefront of advocating for legislation and policy impacting women and families in Massachusetts, transforming substantive law in many areas. We encourage women to run for office, run for corporate board positions, apply for judicial appointments or state-appointed leadership positions. Given the current political climate, the work of the WBA is more important than ever, and I am grateful for the opportunity to continue its work. I look forward to growing our membership base, keeping our members actively involved in the organization’s work, developing strategic partners in the community, and continuing our advocacy alongside WBA President Jennifer Saubermann.

I am Deputy General Counsel at Globalization Partners, Inc., a global professional of record and global ex-pansion company that transcends the barriers to global business by empowering companies to expand inter-nationally without setting up a foreign entity or navigating the complex global legal environment. Prior to joining Globalization Partners, I worked at several law firms in Boston practicing employment law and busi-ness litigation and clerked for the Justices of the Superior Court of Massachusetts. I am a graduate of Maca-lester College and Northeastern University School of Law.


Kim Donlon

Vice President, Membership & Statewide Outreach

Major, Lindsey & Africa

I am honored to be nominated as the Vice President Membership & Statewide Outreach for the 2019-2020

board year. Membership is the lifeblood of this organization. The dues we all pay help support the WBA’s

amazing professional and legislative initiatives. And by participating in those professional and legislatives initi-

atives we become better lawyers and better people. I am excited that my mission this year will be to grow

our organization, and I ask for everyone to assist me by talking to women about what you like about the WBA

and inviting them along when you come to our wonderful programs and events. Together we can make it

happen.

I have been an active member of the WBA since 2012. I was a member of the Gala Committee from 2012 to

2015 before being selected to co-chair the annual fundraiser from 2016-2018. I was a member of the Com-

munications Committee in 2017 and was elected to the WBA Board of Directors in 2018.

I am a Director in the Partner Practice Group at Major, Lindsey & Africa, a global legal search firm where I

help lawyers navigate their next career move and help law firms recruit and retain top talent. Prior to joining

MLA, I practiced law in California and Massachusetts defending clients in complex product liability actions

around the world. I am a graduate of the University of Southern California and Southwestern University

School of Law



Sarah Gagan

Vice President, Operations

Latham & Watkins, LLP

I am honored to be nominated as the Vice President, Operations for the 2019–2020 Executive Board of the

Women’s Bar Association.

I have been actively involved in the WBA since 2016, and have served on the Board of Directors for the past year. In addition to serving on the Board, I have been a co-chair of the Law Firm Advancement Committee since 2016, helping to facilitate programs aimed at promoting women attorneys within law firms in Massa-chusetts. In 2018, in the wake of #MeToo, our committee commissioned a ground-breaking survey and re-port on workplace behaviors in law firms in Massachusetts. During my tenure as a member of the Board of Directors, I have learned a great deal about the hard work that goes into operating the WBA and how it implements its mission. I look forward to being able to contrib-ute even more to this important organization as the Vice President, Operations. I believe the WBA is vital to the support and advancement of women in the legal profession, and I will continue work diligently to serve the Executive Committee to promote the WBA’s mission. I am a partner in the Boston office of Latham & Watkins. I am also co-chair of the firm’s Internet and Digital Media industry group and co-chair of the Boston office’s Women Enriching Business (WEB) committee.



Kristy Lavigne

Treasurer

Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General

I am honored to be nominated as the Treasurer for the 2019 – 2020 Executive Board of the Women’s Bar

Association. The WBA has always been a critical organization and has become more so in the current cli-

mate. The WBA has made so many advancements for women in the legal profession, whether it be

through legislative means or through creating networks and friendships to name a few. I could not be

prouder of the WBA and its mission as well as its various and continuing accomplishments. I have been

an active member of the WBA since 2013, have served on the Board of Directors since 2016, and have

had the honor and privilege of also being the Treasurer since 2018. I have been involved in the Govern-

ment Lawyers Committee and the Gala Committee and I was a previous co-chair of the Government Law-

yers Committee. I participated in the Women’s Leadership Initiative in 2015 and forged many lasting ad-

visors and friendships. I am eager to continue this involvement as Treasurer helping to ensure and main-

tain the finances of the WBA so that its good work can progress.

I am an Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Bureau at the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney

General. I am a member of the Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Unit in the White Collar and Public

Integrity Division. Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office in 2013, I was an Assistant District Attor-

ney for the Cape and Islands’ District Attorney’s Office for nine years. I received my Juris Doctor from

Suffolk University Law School, and Bachelor of Arts from Stonehill College.



Heather Gamache

Secretary

Prince Lobel Tye, LLP

I am honored to be nominated as the Secretary for the 2019 – 2020 Executive Board of the Women’s

Bar Association. The WBA is a vital organization for women attorneys in Massachusetts because it

provides a forum for women attorneys to come together to build personal and professional relation-

ships through meaningful committee work, networking events and activism. I believe the WBA is cru-

cial to the advancement of women in the legal profession, and I will work tirelessly to serve the Exec-

utive Committee in furtherance of the WBA’s mission. I have been an active member of the WBA

since 2014, and have served on the Board of Directors since 2017. In September 2015, I was accepted

into the Women’s Leadership Initiative and participated in the 2015/16 WLI class. Since 2016, I have

been a tri-chair of the Law Firm Advancement Committee. Through the Law Firm Advancement Com-

mittee I have assisted with program planning including the Summit on Women’s Initiatives in May

2017, and participated in administering the groundbreaking survey on workplace conduct and behav-

iors in law firms in the spring of 2018.

I am a partner in the litigation department at Prince Lobel Tye, LLP. Prior to joining Prince Lobel, I

worked at several law firms and served as a pro se staff attorney in the United States District Court

for the District of Hawaii. I received my Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School, and Bachelor

of Arts from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.


Meet the 2019-2020 candidates for the Board of Directors:

Carolyn Alenci

Jessica Babine

Kathleen Burns

Julie Dick

Melissa Garlick

Julia Harmatz

Kate Isley

Alexandra Mitropoulos

Krina Patel

Emily Robey-Phillips

Nancy Rothstein

Marlene Shiner

Victoria Spetter

Mindee Wasserman

Raquel Webster


AT-LARGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS CANDIDATE

Carolyn Alenci

Duane Morris, LLP

I. Commitment & Time: A. Please state your WBA involvement, including committee work, programs, and project

participation and initiatives.

I have been a member of the WBA since I began my legal career in Boston in 2010. I served as a panelist for an “all associates” event for the WBA’s Women in the Courtroom Committee that provided a candid conver-sation about challenges of work-life balance, dealing with difficult situations, opportunities for learning and growth, and client demands. In addition, I am a member of the communications committee, and, most re-cently, was honored to be a member of the WBA’s Women’s Leadership Initiative in 2017–2018.

B. What do you see as the WBA’s priorities?

One of the main priorities of the WBA is to cultivates and grow a strong association of lawyers that bolster, support, and teach each other and to help advance women leaders in the legal industry. The WBA also acts as conduit for change by broadcasting and acknowledging women’s unique issues and perspectives. Through its events and committees, the WBA seeks to bring women’s issues and concerns out into the community at large and to encourage an open dialogue with the public and all relevant stakeholders.

C. If elected to the WBA Board, how would you respond to the question, “why should I join the WBA?”

Because the WBA rocks! In all seriousness, the WBA is a community. It provides a place to build relation-ships and friendships that will last a lifetime. It is a judgment-free zone where you can seek mentoring, voice concerns, contribute to the discussion on issues in our industry, and give back to the Greater Boston area. Through membership in the WBA, I have met so many women with diverse backgrounds and life experiences who are willing to help and provide advice, encouragement, and perspective on everything from work/life balance, career development, and networking skills to dealing with difficult situations and developing leader-ship skills. Everyone that I have met is willing to lend an ear, provide a shoulder, or make an introduction, sometimes all in the same meeting.

II. Qualifications: A. What resources and talents will you share if elected to the WBA Board, and how?

Over the years I have developed a vast network that extends beyond the legal field that can be tapped into for various events and professional development opportunities and can help the WBA reach its goals and widen its sphere of influence, including contacts in fundraising, education, science, and the arts. Further, I have a background in technical and professional communications that can help in the review and design of written materials.

B. What would you like WBA members to know about your qualifications to serve as a board member that are not obvious from your above answers?

To succeed in this industry, I believe that our leaders need to be driven, dedicated, and detail-oriented. These are attributes that I have honed over the years and that would be beneficial to the WBA Board. I am known for thinking outside the box and for my love for learning new things, allowing me to provide a differ-ent perspective and insight on tasks. I am persistent and tenacious but also have the empathy that is needed to truly listen and understand the concerns of those around me.

C. List your current and past leadership roles outside of the WBA.

Some of my leadership roles outside the WBA include or have included co-chairing my firm’s Associates’ Committee when we successfully negotiated a new parental leave policy, co-chairing my office’s Women’s Impact Network for Success, acting as club secretary at my Toastmasters’ chapter, leading discussions con-cerning business development at our firm, leading joint defense groups, and organizing events such as a Girl Rising screening and professional branding workshops. I also take great pride in mentoring junior associ-ates, law clerks, and staff and, in fact, I received the Margery Reed Professional Excellence Award in October 2015 in part for my efforts in mentoring others. In addition, I participated in the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s Women’s Leadership Program and actively participate in outside committees and organiza-tions, including the Drug and Biologics Committee and the Peer Review Publications Committee for the Food and Drug Law Institute, and as a past member of the Summer Party Host Committee for the Museum of Fine Arts’ Museum Council.



Jessica Babine

Cornetta Babine LLC

I. Commitment & Time: A. Please state your WBA involvement, including committee work, programs, and project


Since February 2017, I have served as a co-chair of the Legislative Policy Committee (LPC), a committee to which I’ve belonged since 2012. Since first becoming a member, I have assisted in guiding the WBA’s legisla-tive agenda, monitored legislative issues, and worked on several priority issues. I have communicated with members of the Massachusetts Legislature on numerous occasions to advance the WBA’s agenda. I have drafted letters and testimony on WBA issues. I have assisted in planning and organizing the Legislative Break-fast. In 2017, I assisted in revamping the LPC’s agenda into the form that is currently used, and I work on a monthly basis to select the issues to place on the agenda with my fellow co-chairs and participate in the monthly meetings.

The New Lawyers Committee (NLC) was the first committee I joined in or around 2011. As a member, I assist-ed in organizing the NLC Fall Event that takes place each year, and have attended monthly meetings, as well as various fundraising and volunteer events. Since December 2016, I have served as co-chair of the NLC. In this capacity, I work collaboratively to organize and run the monthly meeting or event, arrange volunteer ac-tivities, and plan extensively for the Fall Event.

Since 2016, I have also been a member of the Solo and Small Firm Committee, attending events and meeting other attorneys in similar practice size.

Since joining, at each opportunity I’ve attended the Legislative Breakfast, the Annual Meeting and the Gala.


Given the shift in public awareness in the past few years, I believe it is important for the WBA to continue supporting legislation to assist and empower women and children throughout the Commonwealth. The WBA is in a unique position as a trusted voice on these issues at the State House, allowing it to advocate effectively for a just society. While the WBA does this by standing on the State House steps, physically and figuratively, it also does so by efforts to advance women in the legal profession. It is important to continue to maintain mentoring and networking programs within the organization and to support women in the broader legal com-munity.


I strongly support joining the WBA. The WBA has something for everyone. If they are just starting out, the NLC allows new attorneys to meet other new attorneys and feel comfortable at the larger events. For sea-soned practicing attorneys, I explain that the WBA has very effective business development programs, and that any of the committees – as well as the WBA as a whole – provides extensive networking opportunities. If an attorney is looking to transition positions, I relate to them examples I’ve seen first-hand of the relation-ships formed that have facilitated similar transitions in the past. If someone is just looking for a good cause to stand behind, I remind them of the WBA’s priorities and the WBA’s capabilities for helping women and children throughout Massachusetts. Something for everyone!

II. Qualifications: A. What resources and talents will you share if elected to the WBA Board, and how?

Networking is something that I have done extensively since opening my own practice. I am comfortable en-tering a room, striking up a conversation, and following up. I am also driven to stay organized, enjoy making lists of things to accomplished and getting those items completed. I would like to continue to use these skills to benefit the WBA. I will continue to stay active as a co-chair of the Legislative Policy Committee, and as a result will continue to have my hand on the pulse of the WBA’s priorities.

B. What would you like WBA members to know about your qualifications to serve as a board member that are not obvious from your above answers?

Serving on both the Essex County Bar Association Executive Board and the North Shore Women in Business Executive Board, I appreciate and recognize the hard work and dedication that it takes to be a board mem-ber. The WBA’s mission is something that I stand firmly behind, and my goal is to foster and participate in its continued success.


Essex County Bar Association, Executive Board (2017-present); Member (2015-present)

North Shore Women in Business, Executive Board (2017-present); Member (2016-present)

New England School of Law Bridge to Success Mentee/Mentor Program, Mentor (2009-present)

New England School of Law 2L Research and Writing Moot Court Judge (2009-2016)

New England School of Law Tax Moot Court Practice Judge (2009-present)

New England School of Law Mock Interview Program (2013)



Kathleen Burns

Nixon Peabody, LLP

I. Commitment & Time:A. Please state your WBA involvement, including committee work, programs, and project


As a young lawyer, I participated in many ABA events, and was also a member of the gala committee. I stepped away from many extracurricular activities for several years, but now that I have time again I look for-ward to re-engaging with the WBA. Last year I volunteered at the Gala, and I will co-chair the Law Firm Ad-vancement Committee in 2019. I look forward to connecting women lawyers in Massachusetts, and in partic-ular, I’d like to provide mentorship opportunities to new lawyers, because I learned so much from the WBA network when I was first out of law school.


I think the WBA is a wonderful community, and the overarching goal should be to connect women so that we can all contribute to our community and help one another. Maintaining and strengthening an engaged membership base should be a top priority, so that the organization can most effectively provide opportuni-ties for successful mentoring, learning, service and networking. We should provide a forum for women to help one another, so that we can achieve not just equal participation but equal success in the legal communi-ty.

C. If elected to the WBA Board, how would you respond to the question, “why should I join theWBA?”

The WBA is an amazing community of women, and we can learn so much by collaborating and supporting one another.

II. Qualifications:A. What resources and talents will you share if elected to the WBA Board, and how?

I take my responsibility to mentor new lawyers very seriously, and I would like to provide opportunities for other senior women lawyers to do the same. For example, I’d like to host a mentoring event for WBA mem-bers at my firm, Nixon Peabody. I enjoy collaboration, organization and planning, and I believe those strengths will be useful in creating and maximizing opportunities for women lawyers to network and support one another.

.

B. What would you like WBA members to know about your qualifications to serve as a boardmember that are not obvious from your above answers?

As a partner at a law firm and a mother of four children, I have learned so much from so many wonderful women mentors in my life and would love to pay it forward by passing some of that knowledge and experi-ence on to others. I have both a lot to learn and a lot of experience to share, and I would like to help the WBA create opportunities for other women to teach and learn from each other.


I am a partner at Nixon Peabody, and have chaired a number of firm committees over the years, including the Women’s Resource Group. I am a past member of the board of directors at First Literacy, and a current board member at Hingham Nursery School. I recently served on the host committee for a wonderful wom-en’s event called She4She to benefit Heading Home.


REGIONAL BOARD CANDIDATE

(Central Massachusetts)

Julie Dick

Community Legal Aid

I. Commitment & Time:Please state your WBA involvement, including committee work, programs, and project participation and

initiatives.

I became a member of the WBA upon admission to the Massachusetts Bar and have benefited from and en-

joyed a number of its programs and events – from the casual monthly Central Massachusetts social lunches to

the yearly Galas. I have also had the great benefit of connecting with the WBA’s affiliate, the Women’s Bar

Foundation, through their Family Law Project trainings and pro bono panel.


The WBA’s first priority should be advancing the resources and roles available to women in the Massachusetts

bar. Ideally this would include efforts to promote gender equity in the practice of law, as well as initiatives to

increase the resources and opportunities available to women attorneys. From the combined knowledge, ex-

perience and power developed within the WBA stems the second priority – to harness that knowledge, expe-

rience and power to advance the causes of women throughout the Commonwealth.


The WBA is a professional and social organization that opens doors to connect with colleagues in different

practice areas and have a voice in the growth of the Massachusetts bar and the laws and policies of the com-

monwealth. Connecting with each other allows us to put our various skills to work towards common goals –

who wouldn’t want to be at that table?


I am an active member of the bar living in Boston and working in Central Massachusetts. I’d like to use my ties

across the commonwealth to increase the programming and participation in Central and Western Massachu-

setts. Additionally, as a member of the LGBTQ community, I could continue to build relationships with other

bar associations and community organizations to foster allyship and mutual support.

B. What would you like WBA members to know about your qualifications to serve as a board member that are notobvious from your above answers?

C.

I strive to be an active and enthusiastic member of my community, and an energetic participant when

there is work to be done. I have extensive experience working to consolidate the activities of large

List your current and past leadership roles outside of the WBA.

Community Legal Aid Justice Workers, NOLSW, UAW, 2320, AFL-CIO: Secretary, Current

Harvard Law School Student Government: Member of Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Past

Lambda at Harvard Law: Member of Community Service Committee and Social Committee, Past

The Ohio State InterGroup Council: Co-President, Past



Melissa Garlick

Anti-Defamation League

I. Commitment & Time:A. Please state your WBA involvement, including committee work, programs, and project par-

ticipation and initiatives.

I became involved in the WBA shortly after graduating law school. I attended committee meetings, including

the New Lawyers Committee and the Legislative Policy Committee, and WBA events. I soon became involved

with the Amicus Committee, having an invaluable opportunity to be a part of a small group that contributed

to the WBA’s amicus brief in Commonwealth v. Pugh, SJC-10895 (2012), which urged the SJC not to recognize

a duty in criminal law of a birthing woman to her own unborn fetus during labor. The Amicus Committee rec-

ognized the potential for the SJC’s holding to have a broad impact on a woman’s fundamental right to priva-

cy. After that experience, I served as Amicus Committee co-chair from 2012 to 2014. As co-chair, I identified

and reviewed potential amicus opportunities for the WBA, including drafting and joining other briefs, and

prepared memoranda to the WBA board of directors regarding such opportunities, their relevance to the

WBA’s unique mission and priorities, and committee recommendations. I helped identify and coordinate the

WBA’s arguments in amicus briefs, identified potential drafters, and collaborated with organizational part-

ners. I also helped coordinate committee members to assist with research and editing of briefs, and orga-

nized annual events and opportunities for the amicus committee to network and learn more about appellate

work, including a panel event focused on tips and techniques for submitting effective amicus briefs. Amicus

work is core to the WBA’s policy work and my involvement in this work strengthened my commitment to the

WBA’s policy priorities. Amicus work is now a major aspect of my role at ADL. Although I stepped back from

a leadership role on the Amicus Committee when I transitioned to a new role at ADL, my path continued to

cross with the WBA, through lobbying and legislation and events, as the civil rights mission of ADL overlaps

significantly with that of WBA. In 2017, I led a successful panel of experts who examined the rise of hate

crimes, bigotry, and discrimination in the country at the WBA Women’s Advocacy Summit. This panel led to

a smaller roundtable discussion at which I spoke for the WBA on hate crimes.

B. What do you see as the WBA’s priorities?The WBA is more important now than ever. At a time where the progress we have made on women’s rightsand equality, including affordable health care, reproductive rights, and equal pay are threatened, the powerof the WBA to bring together women lawyers working together for the advancement of all women is essen-tial. In these times, though, it can also be hard to prioritize. Particularly in this climate, I see advocacy, ami-

cus briefs, and community briefings and events on issues that have a direct impact or disproportionate im-pact on women as a core WBA priority. These issues include reproductive rights, sexual harassment and gen-der discrimination, domestic and gender bias-motivated violence, gender bias and inequities in the legal sys-tem, gender diversity, and family law issues. When advocating and discussing these issues, a WBA priority should be ensuring that we effectively look at and combat the multiple layers of prejudices and discrimination women face every day. Because dismantling gender discrimination and bias also requires dismantling all forms of discrimination and oppression, I also see a WBA priority to be using its unique voice and perspective on issues that also go directly to the WBA mission but involve broader discrimination and civil rights issues that also impact an equal and just society for women. These include immigration, federal judicial nomina-tions, and criminal justice and juvenile justice issues.

Many women lawyers are eager to get involved and advocate on these issues especially now. The WBA should continue to prioritize creating mentorship opportunities for younger lawyers as well as regular oppor-tunities for involvement, which will allow the organization to retain interest, grow membership, and strength-en its voice. Outside of policy priorities, the WBA should continue to prioritize development (fundraising) and membership to sustain a strong and diverse community of women lawyers.

C. If elected to the WBA Board, how would you respond to the question, “why should I join the WBA?”At a challenging time in my career as a new young lawyer with little legal experience at the time, the WBAgave me a strong community of women lawyers that cared about mentoring, challenging, and teaching me.The WBA provided me with legal writing, appellate, and leadership skills, creating opportunities and networksthat eventually led me to my current role at ADL. It allowed me to hone my passions in legislative advocacyand women’s and civil rights. Joining- and then becoming involved in the WBA- was one of the best decisionsI have made so far as a lawyer. It is a special organization comprised of strong women passionate about jus-tice and equality. If you join the WBA, I am confident you will have the same positive experience as I contin-ue to have.


Through my experience as WBA Amicus Committee co-chair, I became intimately familiar with the WBA’s pol-icy priorities, the WBA’s unique perspective and voice on amicus briefs, built critical relationships, and honed my legal and professional skills. Importantly, I also learned how to strategically craft and file effective amicus briefs and work with coalition partners.

Prior to joining ADL, I served as Legislative Director and Counsel to Massachusetts State Senator Jamie El-

dridge. I oversaw all aspects of the Senator’s legislation and budget priorities, including civil rights legislation,

and I became familiar with the WBA’s legislative priorities. My legislative and advocacy experience, state leg-

islative knowledge, and the relationships I built in and outside the State House in that role proved to be criti-

cal for my current role at ADL and I believe can be an important asset to the WBA board.

As Civil Rights Area Counsel at ADL (the Anti-Defamation League), a non-profit organization that works to

fight anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry and prejudice, I oversaw civil rights advocacy and legal work for

ADL’s northeast regional offices. I managed ADL’s amicus work in these regions, worked with coalition part-

ners, managed our state legislative work in these jurisdictions, lobbying significantly in Massachusetts for civil

rights priorities such as the transgender non-discrimination law that is now in effect, and I developed signifi-

cant subject-matter expertise on civil rights issues, including hate crimes, immigration, voting rights, LGBT

rights, and women’s rights. I have significant relevant experience with strategic legal, legislative, and public

relations issues and social justice work. I developed long lasting relationships with civil rights partners in

Massachusetts and throughout the Northeast area. Collaboration and coalition work is a core element to

effective justice and equality work, and is critically important to the WBA’s goals and mission.

My experience at a non-profit organization has also exposed me to and provided me with opportunities to

learn about effective fundraising. I have participated in donor meetings and donor communications regard-

ing our civil rights work, and have helped to identify opportunities for civil rights throughout the years as

well.

Now, as the National Civil Rights Counsel at ADL, I oversee and guide several of ADL’s civil rights priorities na-

tionally, including women’s rights, voting rights, hate crimes, and immigration. I coordinate ADL’s amicus

briefs on these topics, most recently having been involved in our joining coalition briefs opposing the Trump

administration’s efforts to weaken the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act and our filing briefs

supporting “sanctuary” cities around the country. I also prepare congressional testimony, public comments,

letters, and coordinate coalition opportunities in these areas. I monitor and oversee state legislation around

the country, provide counsel to regional offices and counsels in our offices around the country and provide

ADL with strategic and public relations counsel on our civil rights priorities. I have continued to develop rela-

tionships with civil rights and social justice partners around the country and taken an active role in donor

communications regarding our civil rights work as well as identification and cultivation of donors and com-

mittee members. I have testified before the US Commission on Civil Rights and train law enforcement on

hate crimes.

If elected to the WBA board, I have the skills and knowledge to help identify and coordinate legislative and

amicus opportunities for the WBA, opportunities to offer state and federal testimony and comments, new

coalition opportunities, recruit additional members to the WBA, and bring to the WBA subject matter exper-

tise on civil rights issues core to the WBA’s mission. I have directly relevant experience and passion for both

women’s rights issues and the WBA and a strong desire to share these resources and talents with the WBA-

an organization that helped create the opportunities for me to develop them at the start of my career.


I am uniquely qualified to serve as a WBA board member and bring relevant and diverse experiences to the

board. My advocacy and civil rights experiences can be an important asset to the board, the WBA’s mission,

and new WBA members. Particularly in this climate, as many women lawyers are looking for ways to help

advance justice and get involved, my leadership experiences with the WBA and my experiences both in the

State House and now in a national role at ADL provide me with significant expertise to offer public relations,

advocacy, and development counsel to the WBA. My civil rights subject matter expertise, and relationships,

coalition involvement, and unique perspective I can bring to the board can be important for the growth of

the WBA, achievement of its goals, and its continuing to provide that same strong community it has provided

to me throughout my career.


I also currently serve as an active member of the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Steering Committee of the

Boston Bar Association (BBA) and the Civil Rights and Social Justice Section of the Massachusetts Bar Associa-

tion (MBA). In 2013-2014, I was selected for the BBA’s Public Interest Leadership Program (PILP).



Julia Harmatz

The Energy Federation, Inc.

I. Commitment and Time

A. Please state your WBA involvement, including committee work, programs, and project par-ticipation and initiatives.

Participate in in-house counsel committee events, including by serving as a panelist; collaborate

with a board member (Gwen Nolan-King) and third-party organizations (WOP2020) and Center for

Women and Business at Bentley University to find opportunities to present how to gain a Director

position for members of the WBA.


Advancing women in legal, business, and workplace diversity from the classroom to the board-

room, to leverage the resources of the Center for Women and Business at Bentley University for

critical gender and inclusion topics that will help foster the growth and placement of WBA mem-

bers on Boards of Directors.

C. If elected to the WBA board, how would you respond to the question “Why should I join theWBA?”

Because when women lawyers have an equal opportunity to learn, grow, and connect with their

peers, they thrive. We support each other with referrals, professional networking, and friendship.

II. Qualifications:

A. What resources and talents will you share if elected to the WBA Board, and how?

As Secretary of my Corporation, I have experience with nonprofit corporate governance and compliance as well as the recruitment of new Directors. In addition, I have perseverance and no fear of asking what is need-ed for a goal.

B. What would you like WBA members to know about your qualifications to serve as a board memberthat are not obvious from your above answers?

I am a huge advocate for professional women. In conjunction with senior leadership, I have placed women as Directors on the Board of my company to create a female majority hold on the board. This in turn has ena-bled us to certify as a WBE/Non Profit which gives us leverage in responding to RFPs subject to federal regula-tions. In addition, I encourage young professional women to join Boards of Directors for organizations which they are passionate about. Finally, with my service as a Director with the Newton Mother’s Forum over the last two years, I directed funds allocated for catering for the organization to not only locally owned caterers and restaurants, but sought out women owned businesses to increase their profitability and visibility.


General Counsel.

Founder of the Women's Leadership Forum for EFI.

Director, Newton Mother's Forum

VIP level fundraiser for Cupid Undies Run

Founder and Host-Annual Chili Fest for friends and family (this year 11 entries and 40 attendees)



Kate Isley

Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office

Trial Division

I. Commitment and Time

A. Please state your WBA involvement, including committee work, programs, and project partici-

pation and initiatives.

I have co-chaired the WBA communications committee for the past two years. We publish the Women’s

Bar Review, draft press releases and responses to legislation or other events important to the WBA mis-

sion. I am also active on the LPC. As part of the LPC, I monitored and attended coalition meetings re-

lating to the Paid Family and medical leave act which was signed into law in 2018. I am also a board

member.


To continue to promote legislation that protects women and families in the workplace and in society. To

continue to advocate and assist women in joining the bench. To continue to help women lawyers contin-

ue to practice in the way that makes sense for them as life pulls them in many directions. To confront

head-on gender disparities, discrimination, and harassment in the workplace.

C. If elected to the WBA Board, how would you respond to the question “why should I join the

WBA?”

Our committees are active, or programming is driven by our members and our legislative priorities are

meaningful to all women and families. Also, the WBA has many leadership opportunities that are imme-

diately available to all new members.

II. Qualifications


As a government lawyer, I am not allowed to fundraise, but I can and do contribute time. In the last two

years, I have been active on two committees and the board. I hope to plan a program celebrating the

centennial of the women’s suffrage movement in 2019 and 2020.

B. What would you like WBA members to know about your qualifications as a board member that are

not obvious from your above answers?

Prior to co-chairing the Communications committee, I served as co-chair of the Law Student Committee for

a number of years. I also planned and hosted an event at the federal courthouse for a few years entitled

Tips for Female Litigators. I am a litigator, now at the AG’s office, but with about 10 years of experience in

private practice. I am a mom of two daughters and I want them to be aware and active in our community.


Board Member-Artbarn Children’s Theater, Brookline, MA



Alexandra Mitropoulos

Hirsch Roberts Weinstein, LLP

I. Commitment & Time:A. Please state your WBA involvement, including committee work, programs, and project par-

ticipation and initiatives.I have been the co-chair if the law student committee since January 2018 and as such have chaired meetings of the group and coordinated events, including taking part on a panel at BC Law in Spring of 2018, discussing the impacts of the #MeToo movement on the legal community and what law students can expect when en-tering the community. I am also a frequent attendee at WBA events and the WBA Gala.

B. What do you see as the WBA’s priorities?One of the reasons the WBA is so important to me is because I see so many of its priorities aligning withmine. These include engaging new members and bringing the amazing community of women attorneys wehave in Boston, mentoring younger attorneys, and advocating for women in both the legal community and inthe commonwealth generally.

C. If elected to the WBA Board, how would you respond to the question, “why should I join the WBA?”I would answer the same way I answer now: “the WBA is an incredible community of women who love help-ing and mentoring other women. The WBA’s diversity ensures that there is a place for everyone, no matterwhat background you come from, where you are practicing, what your goals are, or what time commitmentsyou may have. At base, the WBA is a built in network that is there to help you grow, develop, and find otherswho will help you achieve whatever your next step (or steps) are in your career or even in your life. I wouldnot be where I am today without the WBA and you will not regret joining.

II. Qualifications:A. What resources and talents will you share if elected to the WBA Board, and how?I have extensive connections to the BC Law, Suffolk Law, and Northeastern Law communities, which I havebeen using this past year as the co-chair of the Law Student committee to gain new members and developprogramming, which I would continue to use as a member of the WBA board. Similarly, I have extensiveevent planning experience, having sat on the National Association of College and University Attorney’s Annu-al Conference Committee (which hosts over 2600 attorneys each year) for the past two years, running stu-dent organizations while in law school, and having planned four weddings, which I would use to help planevents for the WBA.

B. What would you like WBA members to know about your qualifications to serve as a boardmember that are not obvious from your above answers?I am extremely dedicated to the WBA and everything it stands for. I hope my passion for the WBA is reflectedabove, but I truly believe in the mission of the WBA and cannot think of a better way to help servethe organi-zation than to be a representative on the board.

C. List your current and past leadership roles outside of the WBA.BBA-Member-Young Lawyers Committee, Liaison to the College and University Section (2017-2019)National Association of College and University Attorneys: Annual Planning and Committee Member (2017-2019)Boston College Law School: President: Board of Student Advisors (planned all internal advocacy competitionsand regional mock trial competition) (2014-2015)Boston College Lynch School of Education: Vice President, Operations-Graduate Student Association (2014-2015)



Krina Patel

Biogen, Inc.



In the past year, I have served as the WBA Secretary and a member of the Executive Board, which consists of the six Officers of the organization.

I have also served on the WBA Board of Directors for six years. During that period, I have heightened the Board’s attention to legislative issues and worked to engage board members in WBA advocacy efforts. I have also routinely prepped the WBA leadership to testify at legislative hearings and attend legislator meetings.

Additionally, I have served as Co-Chair of the Legislative Policy Committee (LPC) for four years and have been an active member of the committee for nine years. I have contributed my professional expertise in legislative and political affairs and assisted the committee with preparing our LPC members for advocacy, monitoring WBA-priority bills, drafting communications to legislators, planning events including our WBA Annual Legisla-tive Breakfast, State House 101 training, and legislative briefings, and formulating action alerts to mobilize WBA members at critical points in the legislative process.

What I am most proud of is the strong LPC that I have helped build. We are fortunate to have such a strong group of dedicated volunteers with expertise in various policy areas who have learned the legislative and po-litical process and how to effectively engage in it to achieve change. In the past two years, working in Coali-tions with allied organizations, we have secured wins on legislation relative to pregnant workers’ rights, ac-cess to contraceptives, protecting access to confidential health care, removing archaic abortion and contra-ception access laws, gender-neutral pricing of disability policies, and paid family and medical leave. These achievements have enhanced the WBA’s prominence on Beacon Hill, such that legislators consistently turn to the organization as a trusted resource on the social and legal issues affecting women and their families.

Most recently, in my professional capacity, I served as Coalition Director for Freedom for All Massachusetts: the Yes on 3 ballot campaign where I managed a Coalition of over 1500 businesses, organizations and civic leaders in Massachusetts – all working to uphold the state’s transgender non-discrimination law that protects transgender people in places of public accommodations, including retail stores, restaurants, health care facil-ities and other public places. The WBA had played an instrumental role in passing the 2016 legislation that created these protections. Unfortunately, opponents of equality had secured enough signatures to place a

repeal of the measure on the Nov. 2018 ballot. I helped facilitate the WBA’s work to protect the law, which included serving on the Yes on 3 Coalition Leadership Committee and participating in various activities, in-cluding phone banks, canvasses, and writing letters to the editor. As a result of the efforts of many in the community, 68% of the Massachusetts electorate voted to uphold the law at the Nov. 2018 ballot.

I have also served as the Co-Chair of the WBA Public Relations Committee, where I drafted numerous press releases on landmark rulings, legislative accomplishments, judicial appointments and WBA annual events; managed the organization’s social media platforms; developed relationships with other organizations and coordinated media and marketing-related programming.

In addition to my Board and Committee work, I have also acted as a steward of the organization by attending numerous WBA programs and cross-networking events. I have also encouraged several of my contacts to sign up for WBA membership.


The WBA is the voice of women attorneys in the state working towards achieving the full and equal participa-tion of women in the legal profession and in society.

The question is what should the WBA focus on going forward, especially in light of the current political cli-mate and the very real threats that exist to basic civil rights and access to women’s health care, just to name a few.

I strongly believe that legislative and political advocacy should become a heightened priority of the organiza-tion. We need to be even more active and engage our members in the type of grassroots organizing and lob-bying that helped women secure the rights we enjoy today. We are a bar association that has the benefit of being steps away from our state capitol, and legislators need us to be actively involved and inform them of the social and legal issues affecting women and their families. We have made tremendous progress on this front in the previous legislative session, and I look forward to the WBA’s continued growth in this area.

In addition to working from the outside, we need to have a strong group of champions inside. In the same way we work to increase women representation in the judiciary, we also need to work to increase women representation in other areas of government. Women only make up 28% of our state legislature. And, we know that women representation in the legislature does make a difference when it comes to state policies affecting women, children and families. Whether it is partnering with existing organizations dedicated to women and politics, or instituting a complementary program, we need to be developing a pipeline of women lawyers running for public office AND supporting their candidacy.

I would also like to see the WBA continue efforts to develop a more diverse membership and partner with affinity bar associations on events and initiatives. The WBA Women of Color Committee has done some great work in this regard.


The WBA is an activist bar association. Our organization provides an opportunity for members to both share information and learn about the issues facing fellow women attorneys and women in our communities and an opportunity to help address those issues and have a part in making change. Through my involvement in the WBA, I discovered certain issues that moved me and inspired me to act. And, the WBA provides various channels by which members can “do something” – through participation in numerous committees, and activ-ities such as advocating at the State House, drafting amicus briefs, and directly providing legal services through the Women’s Bar Foundation (WBF).

Another convincing reason to join the WBA is the access to a passionate and accomplished network of wom-en always willing to listen and help. When I was searching for new professional opportunities, the WBA served as an integral resource, a support system and my greatest advocate

II. Qualifications:


One of the main ways that the WBA carries out its mission is through legislative advocacy, which is a passion and expertise of mine. I combined my public policy and legal training and have practiced legislative affairs in my career for over ten years.

As a Board member, I will continue to contribute my personal knowledge of and experience advocating in the Massachusetts State House. I will guide the organization to be organized, efficient, coordinated, strategic and impactful in its legislative advocacy efforts. Most importantly, I will work to strengthen our grassroots advocacy – ensuring that we leverage our membership of over 1500 women attorneys to achieve the full and equal participation of women in the legal profession and in a just society.

Also, I am unique because I have utilized my legal education and training to practice as a government affairs professional. The law degree is so versatile and women attorneys occupy many different fields and positions. As a Board member, I hope to continue to represent the interests of women attorneys who do not practice law in the traditional sense.

B. What would you like WBA members to know about your qualifications to serve as a board memberthat are not obvious from your above answers?

I graduated from the Emerge Massachusetts six-month political training program for democratic women. This program not only taught me the importance of why women should run, but also practical skills such as public speaking, fundraising, and message development – all of which will also help me to serve as an effec-tive WBA leader.

Early in my legal career, I created a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization called Boston Young Healthcare Profes-sionals, which serves as a forum for emerging and passionate health care leaders to connect, collaborate, and share knowledge and experiences as well as to use their career to positively impact the community. As a founding Board member, I guided the organization on corporate governance issues, including what it means to be a board member serving a not-for-profit organization. I am proud of how much the organization has grown and how much I’ve been able to learn along the way, including compliance issues for tax-exempt or-ganizations, finance, strategic partnerships, programming, marketing and communications, and civic engage-ment. I believe that this experience creating and leading a non-profit organization will continue to enable me to serve as a well-rounded WBA board member.


Past: Co-Founder & Executive Board Member, Boston Young Healthcare Professionals, Inc. Steering Committee At-Large Member, American Constitution Society for Law & Policy – Boston Lawyer Chapter President, Health and Biomedical Law Society, Suffolk University Law School President, Multicultural Students Association, University of Southern Maine Graduate School

Board Member, Chrysalis Youth Action Fund Advisory Board at Maine Initiatives

K



Emily Robey-Phillips

Jones Day



I began attending WBA events while I was still in law school. In 2017, I graduated from law school and joined the Gala Committee at the first WBA meeting. I also assisted, but did not join, the Law Students Committee in making a connection with my school’s Women’ Law Association. As a member of the Gala Committee, I assisted in Gala preparations.


In my view, the overarching WBA priority is to help women support other women, not just in the legal com-munity, but beyond it with our legislative work. I believe, however, that what needs particular attention is supporting a diverse community—specifically, supporting communities of women who have been historically excluded. Thus, the WBA should focus on making the legal community more welcoming and accessible to women of color, the LGBT community, and others.


The WBA has so much to offer. I personally joined for the community: my law school’s Women’s Law Asso-ciation was an integral aspect of my law school career, and I wanted something that similarly helped women support women. The WBA, of course, has more to offer: networking opportunities, help finding open posi-tions, events about a wide range of topics, and more. With such a wide array of opportunities, I think anyone can find something that helps her in the WBA.


My prior leadership work has given me valuable experience – and allowed me to demonstrate success – in recruiting, building connections with other organizations, and helping organizations grow financially. When I joined my law school’s ACLU chapter executive board, I focused on recruitment and grew the organization by at least 90 people within one semester. Similarly, in college, I took over a near-defunct honors organization and expanded it to become the most popular organization for the relevant major. As co-Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Journal of Law & Gender, I focused in particular on recruiting a more diverse membership and leadership, in part by working with other affinity organizations. We enjoyed dramatic success: the executive-board the following year was the most diverse in the Journal’s history. This dovetails with another of my strengths: building networks between organizations. As co-Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Journal of Law &

Gender, I focused on networking with other organizations, such as the Black Law Students Association and the Native American Law Students Association. I believe that our work was better, and the students we reached more diverse, because of this networking. We also saw an uptick in event attendance, not only be-cause several organizations were promoting events, but also because cooperation made the content of the events more attractive to a larger audience. Of course, an additional benefit was cost-sharing, which less-ened the financial burden on the Journal. This brings me to my final point: my work strengthening organiza-tions’ finances. Just before I took on the co-Editor-in-Chief role, all Harvard Law student organizations suffered a dramatic loss of funding. I worked with my executive board to ensure we still published on sched-ule and, as discussed above, cooperated with other organizations to host more events than ever before, de-spite less financial assistance from the school.


Young Lawyers Division, Massachusetts Bar Association, Director (2018 – present) Assistant instructor (black belt), Hapkido (2014 – present) Harvard Journal of Law & Gender Co-Editor-in-Chief (2016-2017) Article Editor (leading a team of students and an author to edit and prepare an article for publication) (2015-2016) Harvard Law School American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Chapter, Vice President of Operations, 2016-2017 Harvard Legal Entrepreneurship Program, Team Leader (2015-2016) Sigma Iota Rho (National Honors Society for International Studies), Georgia Institute of Technology Chapter, President (2012-2013) Technique, Georgia Institute of Technology student newspaper, Senior Associate Editor (training and leading editors) (2012-2014)



Nancy Rothstein

Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office



I have been a member of the WBA since 2013 and, as of 2018, I am one of the tri-chairs of the Government Lawyers Committee where I have been active in planning networking events for government lawyers. I have also attended a number of WBA-sponsored events, including the annual Gala. Having started my ca-reer in another state, the WBA was instrumental in helping me network with Boston women attorneys and navigate the Boston legal community.


I see the WBA as a forum for women in the legal profession to come together and network and help each other advance in the legal community. By offering extensive networking, leadership, and mentoring oppor-tunities, the WBA creates an environment where women can thrive, grow, and achieve successes that may have seemed otherwise unattainable. The WBA also plays an important and immense role in promoting equality of women and access to opportunities, both in the legal world and from a legislative prospective as well.


I would respond that the WBA is a treasure trove of opportunities that will enhance your legal career and your life. Through events, meetings, and discussion forums, members have a chance to interact with and develop relationships with diverse women lawyers at all stages of their careers. These networking opportu-nities, combined with educational and professional development opportunities will help to open doors for you professionally and connect you to a community that will champion and support you throughout your ca-reer.


I have been practicing law for 25 years in two different states. I was an Assistant Prosecutor for over ten years in Newark, New Jersey, where I specialized in sexual assault cases and became a passionate advocate for victims of violent crime. After moving to Massachusetts, I was initially an adjunct law professor and then worked as Enforcement Division Counsel at the State Ethics Commission. In my current job, I am an Assistant Attorney General assigned to the Human Trafficking Division, where I once again get to seek justice for ex-ploited victims. I would bring to the WBA Board my passion for doing work in which I truly believe along with my perspective, life experiences, and work ethic.


I am the single mother of two teenage girls and, as such, I have learned to multitask in order to balance ca-reer, family, and life. After moving to Massachusetts for family reasons, I was in a situation that forced me to “start all over” in an unfamiliar and new legal community and forge a different path. These experiences have given me strength and an overall positivity and belief that anything is possible with hard work and dedica-tion. I spend a lot of my time mentoring younger lawyers and individuals in order to help the next genera-tion to forge their own paths as I did more than once.


Mentor, Attorney General’s Office Mentoring Program

Intern Hiring Committee Chair, AGO Human Trafficking Division

Intern Supervisor, AGO Human Trafficking Division

Volunteer Faculty/Trainer, National Institute of Trial Advocacy

Board of Directors, Friends of Art and Music Education of Sharon

Parent Representative, Sharon High School Theatre Company



Marlene Shiner

Law Office of Marlene M. Shiner

I. Commitment & Time:A. Please state your WBA involvement, including committee work, programs, and project participation

and initiatives.

I have been a member of the Ontario, Canada Bar for 20 years and a member of the Massachusetts Bar for 11 years. During that time, I have spent much of my time at home raising my four daughters and, as a result, have not been involved in the WBA. I started my own full-time practice only one month ago and one of the first things I did was to join the WBA. Perhaps it is ironic that to hold a position on the WBA Board, one must first be involved with the WBA. This irony arises from the diffi-cult choices women must make when they become attorneys. They need to decide to what they are going to devote themselves, especially if they have compelling competing interests such as four chil-dren at home.

For me, one of the hardest choices was whether to practice law or stay home and raise my children. I decided on a hybrid of the two. Rather than practicing law full-time, I stayed connected to the law through education and through practicing part time. When my first two children were very young (3 and 1), I undertook a J.S.D. (the highest degree in law) at Cornell Law School. I spent a year in resi-dence at Cornell and was then permitted to write my dissertation from home. I spent five years completing my dissertation in which I argued for the legally enforceable right for children in their family home. When I graduated from Cornell Law School with my J.S.D., I was 9 months pregnant with my fourth child. For 7 years after completing my dissertation, I practiced family law part-time. In 2014, I was hired by the leading divorce financial software in the U.S. called Family Law Software. Each of my professional positions from 1997 to 2018 allowed me to work part-time and to spend the rest of the time raising my children.

This brings me to today and the decision this past January 2019 to open a new full-time practice with two teenagers still at home. I recount the above to say that I would have been devoted to working with the WBA had I worked as a full-time lawyer for all these years but I have only started to do full-time legal work in the past month. This is the reason that I only joined the WBA in the last month. It is also the reason that I would make an exceptional WBA Board Member -- I understand the choices that women lawyers must make every day and I can bring this understanding to a membership posi-tion on the Board.


As a result of my own experience as an attorney who struggled with remaining connected to the law

without having to invest in it 100%, I see one of the WBA’s priorities as helping women understand how

difficult it is to make the choices that being a lawyer presents to us. In the past six months, one female

associate sought my advice about freezing her eggs so that she could remain on the partner path. I

consider this a significant decision and I have no judgement of it. I believe that one of WBA’s priorities

should therefore be to help women understand the challenges that being traditional lawyers present to

them and to help them to negotiate these challenges. Other WBA priorities I see are connecting wom-

en to each other in ways that provide them with friendships, camaraderie, safe places to engage with

each other and mutual professional relationships which can provide them with referrals and with sup-

port to grow in their practices and give them the courage to make non-traditional decisions about their

practices in ways that do not lead them to be penalized but rather be respected and honored.

C. If elected to the WBA Board, how would you respond to the question, “why should I join the WBA?”Unfortunately, sexism still exists in our society. While law firms, government agencies, educational bod-ies may work very hard to rid themselves of sexism, these organizations can still be either willfully or unwilfully sexist. One example that has been shared with me recently is a situation where a firm has an equal number of male and female partners but only the male partners have associates. Of course, this may be attributed to the amount of work each lawyer is tasked with, but it may also be attributed to unwilful blindness to sexism. More importantly, I would argue that women’s lives are complicated in a way that most men cannot understand (for good reason because they are not women) and that women in the WBA can understand. Having a safe space like the WBA to share the intersectionality of being a woman and a lawyer can be critical to succeeding in the law. While this is true for most women, it is especially true for women of color, transgender women, non-binary, gay women and the many other categories of women that exist in our world. In fact, each woman is unique, and the WBA understands that women cannot and must not be categorized to be given equal rights in the workplace or elsewhere in society. By joining the WBA, you receive support for who YOU are and, even more importantly, are blessed with the opportunity to give support to those who may need it from you because of your unique and authentic self.


I have a large individual network of contacts on LinkedIn and even more importantly from both my work with Family Law Software and my work as a legal scholar at Cornell Law School. I have more than 2400 LinkedIn connections which I use regularly to meet people and form connections that allow me to help others grow their practices and to help me grow mine. I enjoy meeting professionals whose areas of practice are different than mine and I value perspective taking and communication. By using LinkedIn to meet people, I can see things from others’ perspectives, and this allows me to share my point of view with new connections as well. One of these points of view will be the importance I place and that should be placed on the goals of the WBA.

In my position at Family Law Software, I spoke to literally hundreds of lawyers per week in Massachu-setts and across the U.S. I am a very good communicator and I have no trouble expressing my interests and what I feel is important including the goals of the WBA. I remain in contact with many of the users of Family Law Software in Massachusetts. I am not only prepared to share my passion for the WBA’s goals with them but to ask them for their support of the WBA.

I have been connected to Cornell Law School for 13 years since I graduated from there with my JSD. I am very familiar with the necessity of fundraising both as a member of the Cornell community and as a mother of children in college. In my years prior to becoming a lawyer, I was the Executive Director of a non-profit and one of my key responsibilities was raising money. I am not afraid to ask for money when I believe in the cause. Currently, I am training for the Boston Marathon for a charity and am re-quired to raised $5500. In the past, I have run for charities that have required me to raise close to $10,000 and I have succeeded.

With respect to my talents, as a researcher and scholar, I can offer the WBA excellent research and writing skills. In addition to doing my J.S.D., I was the Junior Editor of my law school’s Law Journal (Osgoode Hall Law School) and worked as an editor and writer for Canada’s leading text on children and the law. While in law school I won first prize in a national family law essay competition and I am head of the publications section of the Massachusetts Bar Association Family Law Section Council, to which I was appointed this year. As a result of my work with Family Law Software, I can contribute my talents with numbers including creating and analyzing cash flow spreadsheets, net worth spreadsheets and budgets up to an including the next 50 years. Additionally, just after completing law school, I was hired by the Canadian Federal Department of Justice as a policy advisor for its child support team. At that time, Canada had just introduced new child support guidelines and my job was to analyze the new case law coming out of the courts to determine whether it comported with the policy objectives of the Guidelines. I was required to submit monthly reports analyzing the judicial interpretation of the new Guidelines. I can therefore offer to the WBA my talents as a researcher, writer, editor, policy analyst and interpreter of complicated financial scenarios.

B. What would you like WBA members to know about your qualifications to serve as a board member thatare not obvious from your above answers?

I arrived in the United States from Canada two weeks after 9/11. I was in the U.S. on a student VISA and I decided when the VISA ran out, two years later, that I wanted to stay in the United States. As a result of 9/11, most doors to immigrating to the United States were closed but there was the option still open of applying for a National Interest Waiver. One was able to gain a green card if he/she/they could show that their work was in the U.S. National Interest. Part of the process was gathering recom-mendations from ten experts in the field of my expertise stating that I should be allowed to stay in the United States because my work was in the U.S. National Interest. I reached out to the leading experts in the United States and was successful in getting letters from all of them. They expressed their belief that my work in the area of children’s rights during divorce was in the U.S. National Interest. I also met the other qualifications for a National Interest Waiver and the U.S. granted me a green card and even-tually U.S. citizenship as a result of what it deemed to be the essential nature of my scholarship. I would also like to point out, though it may be obvious, that my work on behalf of children also includes extensive work on the role of the women in the family and the inextricable link between women and the children in the family. I wrote several chapters in my dissertation on the relationship between women and children and I feel that my work in this area supports my application as a Board Member of the Women’s Bar Association.

C. List your current and past leadership roles outside of the WBAMember of the Mass Bar Association Family Law Section CouncilVolunteer Attorney for GLAD Volunteer Attorney for Volunteer Lawyers Program (VLP) Grant writer for organizations devoted to immigrant children gaining access to legal representation Executive Director of the Non-Profit Canadian Association for Ethiopian Jewry Junior Editor of the Osgoode Hall Law School

Contributing Editor and writer for leading text on Children and the Law Creator and leader of the Mock Trial Program and Running Program at a Middle School in Water-

town MA Leader in the understanding and utilization of the leading divorce financial planning software in

the U.S. Recipient of Cornell Scholarship for my excellent grades in law school and my promise a future le-

gal scholar Mother of four daughters

REGIONAL BOARD CANDIDATE

(Middlesex County)


Victoria Spetter

The Law Firm of Victoria C Spetter, PC



I have been a member of the WBA since I moved to MA 8 years ago. I have become progressively more in-

volved in the WBA each year. I began by joining and becoming active in the Solo & Small Firm, Middlesex

Cnty, and Greater Boston Committees and by joining a Mentoring Circle. In March of 2015, I was honored to

be elected to serve on the board, and in March of 2017, I was honored to be elected for a second term. As a

board member, I had the pleasure of helping plan some panels, including a panel on Brock Turner, and the

Advoc Summit.


First and foremost, the WBA's priority is to help women advance both professionally and personally. This is

true for all women, attorneys and non-attorneys alike. The WBA does this by supporting reproductive rights,

pay equity, gender equality and an end to sexual discrimination. This is accomplished by promoting legisla-

tion through the LPC, working to get more women on the bench, working to combat domestic violence, and

supporting the advancement of women in the law, and in society.


The WBA is THE place to be if you are a woman and an attorney. The WBA is THE place to be if you advocate

on behalf of female attorneys. It is helpful in a myriad of ways. As a member of the WBA, you

meet and form relationships, both personal and professional, with many female lawyers. You support other

women, and they support you. This is true in terms of job advancement, job satisfaction, assisting client's,

etc. From networking, to list-serve discussions, to great programming, the WBA has it all. Finding a mentor,

or a mentee, is an enriching experience. The WBA helps us to stay informed, connected and happier.


I am a sole practitioner, and have developed a large professional network. I am active in my community, and

have developed many relationships there. I am a member of and attend many group meetings, such as the

128 group, the Business Lawyers Group, and several advocacy related groups. I encourage those I meet to

join the WBA, attend Gala or a committee meeting, and donate funds if they are able to do so.


I am a family and criminal law attorney. I devote a large portion of my practice to representing those mem-

bersof our society who are indigent, and do not have funds to secure private counsel. I also provide free as-

sistanceto women who are victims of domestic violence. I began my career working as a public defender,

and doing legal services work. I only began my private practice 16 years ago, when my second child was

born. I bring the voice of the unheard to the table, to be sure it IS heard. I am licensed in NY, FL & NJ, and

also bring my experience practicing in other states to the table to help inform our MA practices.


I frequently participate on panels training my fellow attorneys, including chairing programs at MCLE training new CPCS attorneys and bar advocates, sitting on panels, training mediators, etc. I am one of three parent liaisons for the class of 2020 at Newton North HS. I am a former member of the steering committee of the Newton Network, a professional women’s group. I am a former President of the Newton Mother’s Forum.


Mindee Wasserman


Wasserman Investors



I am a lifetime member of the WBA and a contributor to the WBF. I have supported the pro bono activities,

worked on the gala committee, and attended many events. B. What do you see as the WBA’s priorities?

The primary priority of the WBA should be support of its membership. This includes: educational opportuni-

ties, networking systems, social opportunities, and the opportunity to discuss and act on leading issues. The

WBA should honor outstanding members each year. The association should provide pro bono services for women’s legal issues. And the WBA should be a voice for women in the community.


It provides a networking opportunity for women lawyers, and that is important. It is an organization that can

promote women’s issues whether that is: family issues, elder care, equal opportunities in education or equal

opportunities in law practice, in both pay and advancement.

II. Qualifications:


I have financial skills, a passion for civil rights, healthy living, and a love of the arts. I would like to see more

women financially knowledgeable and even independent. Whether the finances are handled by the woman,

her spouse, or an independent professional financial advisor; women, even women lawyers, need to be

more involved and proactive. I would also like to see more sponsorship and involvement in the arts.


I work alone or in groups. I am hardworking. I can take the initiative.



Raquel Webster

National Grid


participation and initiatives.I have served on the WBA board for two terms. In this capacity, I have served as a panelist for WBA events, a liaison for the women of color committee, and I have worked with fundraising for the annual Gala. I have also attended Board meetings and WBA events

B. What do you see as the WBA’s priorities?Advancing women in the legal profession, fostering mentoring relationships between women lawyers, ad-vancing legislation that addresses matters that impact women and which are important to women, and ad-vancing women in leadership positions

C. If elected to the WBA Board, how would you respond to the question, “why should I join theWBA?”You should join the WBA because this organization will enable you to build meaningful relationships withwomen who go out of their way to help each other personally and professionally.

II. Qualifications:A. What resources and talents will you share if elected to the WBA Board, and how?I am on several other boards and am very active in my community. I will continue to advance the mission ofthe WBA in my role as a board member. I will also leverage my personal and professional relationships toadvance the mission of the WBA.

B. What would you like WBA members to know about your qualifications to serve as a boardmember that are not obvious from your above answers?I am very committed to the WBA, and although I have already served two terms, there is much to be done.Therefore, given my history with the WBA, I am well-equipped to serve another term and am excited at theopportunity to do so.


Board member, Northeastern University Alumni Board Hearing officer, MA Board of Bar Overseers Board member, Boston Bar Association Former Boston Bar Association Public Interest Leadership Program Fellow Board member, MA Women’s Political Caucus Member, MA Black Lawyers Association Council member, Women’s Workforce Council Member, WBA Women’s Leadership Initiative Boston Bar Association Public Interest Leadership Program Recruitment and Selection Committee

march 28, 2019 annual meeting candidate booklet no... · 2019-2020 executive committee candidates....

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