Women Lawyers Association
Newport Beach
CA 92658
Get involved!
Become part of the OCWLA
Meetings
The first Tuesday of each month (unless specified)
About Us
Executive Officers
| President Patricia Lee-Gulley President-Elect Linda A. Iannelli Vice-President Cari Baum |
Treasurer Laura Hess Secretary Caroline Ann Molloy Immediate Past President Melinda Bell |
Board of Directors
| Betty Fracisco Jaimi Groothuis Misty Perry Isaacson Deirdre Kelly Sarah Nowels |
Solange Ritchie Allyson Thompson Michelle Tran Bettina Yanez |
Law Student Representatives
| Sahar Khanjan Michelle A. Philo |
Cassidy McGrath Nancy Rojas-Hill |
Affiliations
| Orange County Bar Association California Women Lawyers |
National Association of Women Lawyers |
History
Orange County Women Lawyers started in 1975, with five members, as the Women and Individual Rights section of the Orange County Bar Association. In the fall of 1973, a group of attorneys met for lunch to discuss the formation of the section. The original goal was to focus on the rights not only of women but also of all individual groups that may have experienced discrimination in our society or before the law. At the time, there were no women jurists sitting on the bench in Orange County. The group quickly grew to over thirty members, comprised of almost an equal number of men and women.
In 1979, OCWLA became an affiliate organization of the Orange County Bar Association. Its founding members wanted to stay true to the group’s original goals – the advancement of women in the legal profession and the support of diversity both on the bench and in law firm partnerships.
Today, with over 100 members and lifetime members, OCWLA has grown to fulfill not just the educational and marketing needs of its members, but also the needs of the community at large. OCWLA is a proud sponsor of the Public Law Center, El Viento Foundation, and the Collaborative Courts of the Orange County Superior Court.
Past Presidents
| 1975-76 | Marjorie E. Edwards | (Original year was July-July) |
| 1976-77 | Hon. Betty Farrell | |
| 1978-79 | Joyce Hastings | |
| 1979-80 |
Sonja Rhodes |
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| 1980-81 | Ann Avery Andres | |
| 1981-82 | Sharon McDaniel Corsiglia | |
| 1982-83 | Victoria Avey | |
| 1983-84 | Judy Curtin | |
| 1984-85 | Pamela Sisk Paul | |
| 1985-86 | Hon. Marjorie Laird Carter | (Calendar year changed to Jan-Dec in 1986) |
| 1987 | Jana T. Savage | |
| 1988 | Grace E. Emery | |
| 1989 | Alison Mellor Kott | |
| 1990 | Hon. Elaine Streger | |
| 1991 | Robin Reisdorf-Nigash | |
| 1992 | Jarriett B. Alexson | |
| 1993 | Veronica M. Gray | |
| 1994 | Bonnie L. McCarthy | |
| 1995 | Maryann Jones | |
| 1996 | Lucina Moses | |
| 1997 | Kate Rinaldi | |
| 1998 | Jean A. Hobart | |
| 1999 | Sandra Steele | |
| 2000 | Debra Cotton | |
| 2001 | Michelle Lents | |
| 2002 | Jeanne Thomas | |
| 2003 | Pearl Gondrella Mann | |
| 2004 | Helen Diamond | |
| 2005 | Judy Williams | |
| 2006 | Elizabeth Jones | |
| 2007 | Solange Ritchie | |
| 2008 | Terese Oliver | |
| 2009 | Betty Fracisco | |
| 2010 | Ashleigh E. Aitken | |
| 2011 | Melinda Bell |
| Justice Sheila Prell Sonenshine (ret) Honorable Betty Lou Lamoreaux Honorable Jacquelyn Thomason (ret) Justice Betty Elias (dec) Joyce Hastings |
Marjorie Edwards Mark E. Edwards Nora Morrison LaVerne June Bugna |