PBCBA BAR BULLETINS PBCBA Bulletin - March 2020 | Page 3

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Run the World (Girls) Circuit Court Judges for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. Proof that we’ve seen vast improvements in the number of female leaders in our legal community is evidenced by the fact that we currently have ten female presidents of Palm Beach County voluntary bar associations. Please let me introduce the other nine to you: Jessica Callow 2019-20 PBCBA President We can thank Beyoncé for giving us the earworm of a song that shares its name with the title of this President’s Message. However, we can thank the female leaders in Palm Beach County’s legal community for paving a path that led to almost all the voluntary bar associations in Palm Beach County currently being led by women! In honor of Women’s History Month, this President’s Message is dedicated to the women who have reached the top of their bar association’s leadership ladder. In writing this article, I was struck by two things: the number of voluntary bar associations led by women, and how many of them are members of the Palm Beach County Bar Association (“PBCBA”). After I stopped fangirling over the trailblazers and superstars in our legal community, it seemed only appropriate to highlight some of these women and their achievements. Over the past 98 years, there have been only nine female presidents of the PBCBA. The first, in 1993, was JulieAnn Rico, General Counsel for the School Board of Palm Beach County. The tenth, in 2021, will be Julia Wyda. We also benefitted from the outstanding leadership of Sia Baker Barnes, the first African-American female president of the PBCBA; Michelle Suskauer, the first female president of The Florida Bar hailing from Palm Beach County; and Jill Weiss, the current president of Susan G. Komen Florida. Not to be outdone, the following past presidents: Judge Lisa Small; retired Judge Amy Smith; and the late Judge Meenu Sasser, all became Rina Clemens – Florida Association for Women Lawyers, Palm Beach County Chapter. Rina is a partner with Traub Lieberman and previously served on the Board of Directors for the Children’s Home Society and the North County Section of the Palm Beach County Bar Association. Danielle Sherriff – F. Malcom Cunning- ham, Sr. Bar Association. Danielle is an Assistant State Attorney in the Traffic Homicide Unit. She serves as Vice Chair of the Florida Bar Criminal Procedure Rules Committee and serves on the PBCBA’s Committee for Diversity and Inclusion and Lawyers for Literacy Committee. Kelsey Burke – Palm Beach County Hispanic Bar Association. Kelsey is an attorney at Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath and is chair of the PBCBA’s Law Week Committee. She is the recipi- ent of the Palm Beach County Women’s Chamber of Commerce’s Giraffe Award and the Palm Beach County Hispanic Education Coalition’s Public Service Leadership Award. Tami Augen Rhodes – Craig S. Barnard American Inn of Court. Tami is the founder of The Law Offices of Tami L. Augen, P.A. She served as the Subcommittee Chair for the Palm Beach County Family Law Advisory Group and moderated a family law session of the PBCBA’s Bench Bar Conference. Joanne O’Connor – Federal Bar Asso- ciation, Palm Beach County Chapter. Joanne, a shareholder with Jones Foster, is Board Certified in Business Litigation and was appointed to the West Palm Beach Federal Courthouse Committee. She previously chaired the PBCBA’s Professionalism Committee, Judicial Relations Committee and Bench Bar Conference. PBCBA BAR BULLETIN 3 Rebecca Brock – American Board of Trial Advocates, Palm Beach County Chapter. Rebecca, a shareholder with Kubicki Draper, is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law and serves on the Board of Trustees for the University of Florida’s Law Center Association. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the PBCBA’s North County Section. Bridget Berry – Guild of Catholic Lawyers of the Diocese of Palm Beach. Bridget is a shareholder with Greenberg Traurig and received the Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce’s "Woman of the Year" award. She also received the Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Service Award and is the current co-chair of the PBCBA’s Judicial Relations Committee. Holly Gershon – South Palm Beach County Bar Association. Holly is the founder of the Law Office of Holly Gayle Gershon and of counsel to the Haverman Law Firm. She is Board Certified in Marital and Family Law. Adriana Gonzalez – Palm Beach County Justice Association. Adriana is a share- holder with Gonzalez & Cartwright and is a past president of the Hispanic Bar Association. She is the first female president of the Palm Beach County Justice Association. We can all agree that the women highlighted in this article are an impressive group and the embodiment of successful and confident leadership. In honor of Women’s History Month, please join me in celebrating these women’s achievements. And to the up and coming class of female lawyers, I cannot wait to see what you will accomplish in the years to come. To paraphrase Beyoncé, I’m betting your persuasion can build a nation. Please reach out to me and the rest of the Board with any ideas, comments or concerns. We can be reached at [email protected]. PBCBA member highlight submissions for yourself or others should be sent to [email protected].