CWL Committees
Meet the CWL Committees
The Board of CWL oversees numerous commitees that ensure that the organization stays true to its mission of advancing women in the legal profession and ensuring that our voice is a powerful one.
Below is a list of each of each CWL committee, the mission of each committee, the chair person and commitee members. We encourage you to join a committee, meet fantastic and energetic CWL members and help us advance our mission.
ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION
Chair: Prudence Hutton
Members: Nanci Nishimura, Naomi Dewey, Jacqueline Frederick, Cherri Allison, Susan Formaker, Teresa Beck, Hon. Claire Vermillion
Duties: To gather information from sister organizations regarding the status of women and develop and implement an advocacy agenda to advance and promote the interests of women in the law.
AFFILIATES COMMITTEE
Co-Chairs: Christine Goodman and Betty Fracisco
Members: Prudence Hutton, Noelle M. Natoli-Duffy, Mary Luros
Duties: To initiate, coordinate and oversee outreach to and communications with potential and current affiliate organizations; encourage coordinated affiliate activities and solicit submissions about them for newsletter and website; organize and oversee certification process for CWL affiliates
AMICUS COMMITTEE
Chair: Lara Krieger
Members: Meehan Rasch, Athena Roussos
Duties: To identify and recommend issues to CWL Board for potential CWL amicus participation; organize drafting of amicus briefs by CWL members; review requests that CWL sign onto the amicus briefs of others and make recommendations to the Board.
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Chair: Neda Mansoorian
Members: Christa Anderson, Tara Flanagan, Nanci Nishimura, Nancy O'Malley, Kelly Robbins, Eliza Rodrigues, Kristen Sagafi, Mala Sahai, Laurel Sevier, Patricia Sturdevant, Jodi Swick, Marta Vanegas
Duties: To plan and conduct an Annual Conference, offering MCLE credits, for
members of CWL and its Affiliates.
ANNUAL DINNER AND MEMBERSHIP MEETING COMMITTEE
Chair: Eliza Rodrigues
Members: Kelly Robbins, Laura Dewey, Nanci Nishimura, Nancy O'Malley, Christa Anderson, Christine Goodman, Kathleen McDowell
Duties: To organize CWL’s Annual Dinner, the organization’s major fundraising event where the new officers and board are sworn in, usually held on Thursday, the first night of the CA State Bar Annual Meeting.
AWARDS COMMITTEE
Co-Chairs: Laura Dewey and Christa Anderson
Members: Nancy O'Malley, Eliza Rodrigues, Naomi Dewey, Prudence Hutton, Paula Rosenstein, Tara Flanagan, Hon. Claire Vermillion
Duties: Publicize the criteria and deadlines for nominations for CWL awards, solicit and evaluate nominations, recommend recipients to the board, publicize award winners; nominate candidates for awards from other organizations.
BYLAWS COMMITTEE
Chair: Cherri Allison
Members: Susan Formaker, Betty Fracisco
Duties: To act as expert on all questions regarding the CWL bylaws; to research and make recommendations regarding proposed revisions to the bylaws.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Chair: Kathleen McDowell
Members: Amelia Burroughs, Prudence Hutton, Jacqueline Frederick
Duties: To identify and promote community service projects to benefit women and children by affiliates in the local and statewide communities, and to disseminate materials statewide through the newsletter, website, and other means.
CONFERENCE OF DELEGATES COMMITTEE
Chair: Megan Lewis
Members: Erin Weber
Duties: To advocate for women and children and represent CWL at the State
Bar’s Conference of Delegates; recommend CWL support of affiliates and other groups’ proposed resolutions and organize support for their approval at the State Bar Conference of Delegates.
CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP
Chair: Christa Anderson
Members: Kristen Sagafi, Wendy Behan
Duties: To identify and contact corporations and law firms and work to obtain their sponsorship of CWL’s goals and programs.
CWL FOUNDATION COMMITTEE
Chair: Nancy O’Malley
Members: Patricia Sturdevant, Eliza Rodrigues, Nanci Nishimura, Neda Mansoorian, Jodi Swick, Jacqueline Frederick, Wendy Behan, Naomi Dewey
Duties: To work as a liaison between CWL and CWL Foundation in order to gain its support for CWL undertakings and to investigate ways to increase funding.
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Chair: Jodi Swick (Treasurer)
Members: Susan Formaker, Meehan Rasch
Duties: To assist the Treasurer in projecting an operating budget for the calendar year; to consider and report to the board on proposals for the expenditure of funds not contemplated in the budget; and assist the Treasurer in the management of CWL monies.
JUDICIAL COMMITTEE
Chair: Nanci Nishimura
Members: Meehan Rasch, Amelia Burroughs, Tara Flanagan, Kelly Robbins, Dena Bez, Wendy Behan, Mary Luros
Judicial Advisor:
Duties: To work to increase diversity on the bench; evaluate candidates for judicial appointment; review and revise judicial evaluation procedures when necessary; plan, implement and coordinate, along with the Judicial Advisor, CWL’s “So, You Want to be a Judge?”TM seminars; initiate So You Maybe Want to be a Judge Someday program for newer lawyers and conduct outreach to law school students to educate them about possible future judicial careers.
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
Co-Chairs: Rebecca Roberts and Joanne Schulman
Members: Christine Goodman, Rebecca Dietzen
Family Law - Laura Dewey
Abortion/choice - Paula Rosenstein
Employment - Amelia Burroughs
Human trafficking - Nancy O'Malley, Claire Vermillion
Domestic Violence - Cherri Allison, Nancy O'Malley, Tara Flanagan, Christine Levin
Health Care - Pat Sturdevant, Janice Rocco
Equality/civil rights/gay marriage - Paula Rosenstein
Open Courts - Nancy O'Malley, Pat Sturdevant, Jacqueline Frederick
Duties: To develop CWL’s Legislative Agenda for CWL Board approval; organize evaluation of proposed and pending legislation and recommend positions to CWL Board; lobby legislators to further CWL’s position on proposed and pending legislation; draft inserts to CWL newsletters setting forth CWL’s legislative activities.
MEMBERSHIP
Chair: Kelly Robbins
Members: Tara Flanagan, Nanci Nishimura, Mary Luros, Wendy Behan, Laura Dewey, Naomi Dewey, Wendy Ray
Duties: To attract new and lapsed members to CWL and investigate additional member benefits.
NEWSLETTER
Chair: Naomi Dewey
Members: Natasha Chee, Tara Flanagan, Solange Ritchie, Lara Krieger, Laura Dewey, Erin Weber, Noelle Panossian
Duties: To produce CWL newsletter on a quarterly basis.
NOMINATING COMMITTEE
Chair: Nancy O’Malley (Immediate Past President)
Members: Pat Sturdevant
Duties: To notify board members of deadlines for officer elections and encourage or solicit persons to nominate themselves.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA JUDICIAL RECEPTION COMMITTEE
Chair:
Members: Nancy O'Malley, Natasha Chee, Denae Budde, Tara Flanagan, Eliza Rodrigues, Lisa Reep, Robin Pearson
Duties: To organize the Northern California Judicial Reception and work with CWL’s Executive Administrator to procure sponsors and generate attendance.
PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
Chair: Eliza Rodrigues
Members: Nancy O’Malley, Patricia Sturdevant
Duties: To compile information for regular performance review for CWL personnel; communicate evaluations to CWL personnel; analyze whether additional CWL personnel are necessary; recruit any additional personnel ; research answers to personnel questions posed by CWL employees; formulate official CWL policies on personnel matters for approval by the CWL Board.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA JUDICIAL RECEPTION COMMITTEE
Chair: Deferred along with Northern California Judicial Reception Committee
Members: Wendy Ray
Duties: To organize the Southern California Judicial Reception and work with CWL’s Executive Administrator to procure sponsors and generate attendance.
TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE
Chair: Natasha Chee
Members: Mary Luros, Wendy Behan, Naomi Dewey, Erin Weber, Tara Flanagan, Hon. Claire Vermillion, Wendy Ray
Duties: To maintain and update website, including job postings, templates for CWL sponsored programs that Affiliates can replicate, mentoring opportunities statewide, an on-line member directory and direct links to the CWL newsletters and to Affiliate websites and programs; to ensure that CWL office has requisite equipment and software to complete its tasks; to research and recommend new ways for CWL to use technology to reach new and existing members.
CWL FOUNDATION BOARD
Chair: Nancy O’Malley
Members: Patricia Sturdevant, Eliza Rodrigues, Nanci Nishimura, Neda Mansoorian, Jodi Swick, Jacqueline Frederick, Wendy Behan, Naomi Dewey
Duties: As a 501(c)(3) charitable organization the CWL Foundation educates lawyers and the general public regarding women in the legal professional and legal issues pertaining to women. The Foundation works in collaboration with Affiliate Women Bar Associations and Women Sections of local Bar Associations to identify second and third year law students who have demonstrated a commitment to the advancement of women in the legal profession. In collaboration with the Affiliate Associations, students are identified for educational scholarships and stipends to help meet the educational and financial needs of women who share CWL’s goals and ideals. It also undertakes projects to determine and publicize ways in which CWL has helped the advancement of women, children and the legal profession over the past 30 years.
