WBA Selects Newest Class of Rising Stars for its Women’s Leadership Initiative
The WBA congratulates the members of its sixth Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) class!
The WLI is a program that brings together senior women attorneys and up and coming stars of the legal profession for leadership development and mentoring. The program is chaired by Erin Higgins, Partner at Conn Kavanaugh Rosenthal Peisch & Ford, LLP, and Meredith Ainbinder, Deputy General Counsel of Emerson College, along with Mary Ryan, Partner at Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP, as Senior Chair.
The 2020 Class includes women practicing in firms, government, and in-house, touching a wide variety of sectors/industries including the criminal justice system, higher education, legal services, and the financial services and biotechnology industries. With a record number of applicants this year, it is clear that the desire for leadership training and building connections with accomplished women lawyers is strong.
Congratulations to the 2020 Women’s Leadership Initiative members:
Azure Aronsson, Hogan Lovells LLP
Jessica Babine, Cornetta Babine LLC
Saraa Basaria, Todd & Weld LLP
Elizabeth Monnin-Browder, Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP
Margaret Caulfield, Alkermes
Meghan Cooper, Peabody & Arnold LLP
Michelle Detherage, Robins Kaplan LLP
Courtney Groh, Holland & Knight LLP
Amalia Jorns, Northeast Legal Aid
Nita Kumaraswami Klunder, Office of the Attorney General
Stephanie Lin, WilmerHale
Elizabeth McEvoy, Barrett & Singal
Maggie Morgan, Greater Boston Legal Services
Emily Musgrave, Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky & Popeo, P.C.
Rebecca Neale, Law Office of Rebecca G. Neale
Amy Sennett, Catalant Technologies
Naomi Shatz, Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein LLP
Emily Sy, State Street Bank & Trust Company
Allison Lukas Turner, Latham & Watkins LLP
Destinee Waiters, Suffolk University Office of the General Counsel
Jennifer Watson, Liberty Mutual
Whitney Williams, Middlesex District Attorney’s Office
WBA President Jennifer Saubermann remarked, “As a past graduate of the WLI program I am keenly aware of the wealth of knowledge that mentors are able to bestow to their mentees through this program, and the positive influence this can have on a woman’s career. I am thrilled that we are able to provide this experience to a new class of already accomplished women. The WBA is very grateful to Meredith Ainbinder, Erin Higgins, and Mary Ryan, and the outstanding mentors they have lined up, for their willingness to lead a new class. Programs like the WLI are integral to changing the practice of law by fostering the growth of women into leadership positions across all areas of the law, and the WBA is proud to offer this program to its members.”
About the Women’s Leadership Initiative:
The WLI was launched in 2009 by a group of leaders in our legal community eager to give back to the next generation of promising women attorneys. WLI alumni include Attorney General Maura Healey and other high-ranking government attorneys, law firm partners, and accomplished in-house attorneys. A new class of mentees is selected biennially.
The WLI is designed to provide participants with large-scale networking, group mentoring, and one-on-one career development opportunities. Each event leverages the experiences of accomplished women attorneys in Massachusetts interested in cultivating the next generation of women leaders. From no-holds barred Q&A sessions to events introducing participants to leaders in the Massachusetts legal and business communities, the WLI provides participants with opportunities to work with their role models and one another, build their networks, and further their careers.
