NAWJ DISTRICT THREE ENERGIZES PENNSYLVANIA WITH OUTREACH TO INCARCERATED WOMEN, JUDICIAL COLLEAGUES AND EMERGING LEADERS INTERESTED IN THE LAW AND THE COURTS

Women in Prison

On June 23, 2017, members of NAWJ and the judges from the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania presented their 4^th Success In & Out Conference at the Riverside Correction Facility for women. Five judges as well as 20 agency representatives were present provided an afternoon of information and helpful hints to the inmates.  Remarks from attendees, “this conference was very inspiring and greatly appreciated” and “I learned that the sky is the limit” show the impact and value of sharing information and support to those about to re-enter society. NAWJ member Judge Doris Pechkurow chaired this program.

Hershey, Pennsylvania

On July 26, 2017,  approximately thirty judges from across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania gathered in Hershey, PA to meet with current NAWJ members, Judges Ann Butchart, Kim Berkeley Clark, Andrea Marceca Strong, Diane Thompson, Justice Debra Todd, former District Director Kathryn Hens-Greco, IAWJ Board Member Lisette Shirdan-Harris, and District 3 Director Barbara McDermott. Current members shared their experiences about their membership in the NAWJ.

Scholarship Outreach

Judge Pamela Dembe made a significant donation in support of District 3 awarding scholarship support to much needed help to law students. The District has created a scholarship committee and hopes to begin awarding scholarships in the spring of 2018.

Branching Out

On August 29, 2017, NAWJ members, along with members of the Women in the Profession Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Women’s Initiative of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, presented a Continuing Legal Education program entitled Branching Out. This program, which was based upon a program developed by District One,  included a panel discussion with  Justice Sallie Updike Mundy, Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and NAWJ,  Donna Bullock, Esquire, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Sara Manzano-Diaz, Esq., Executive Deputy Attorney General, Public Protection Division, and Christine Jacobs, Founding Board Member of Represent PA. The panel discussion was moderated by Debra Gross, Esquire, Chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association, and the Honorable Barbara A. McDermott, District 3 Director. In attendance were NAWJ members, Judges Ann Butchart, Susan Peikes Gantman, one of the planners of the program, Stella Tsai, and Rainey Papademetriou.

Welcome, New Members

District Three welcomed new members: Judges Lucretia Clemons, Joyce Eubanks, Rainey Papademetriou, and Stella Tsai from the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, Judge Lesa Gelb of the 11^th Judicial District of Pennsylvania. Judge Denise Hinds Roach of Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, and Iris Jones, Esq.  from Harrisburg, PA.

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For more information contact NAWJ District Director Judge Barbara McDermott at [email protected].