From the President

Dear Members, Colleagues, and Friends,

Get ready for a treat because we are covering March and April in today’s newsletter!

March was Women’s History Month and while we had (and have) much to celebrate, there is also much to consider as we are living in a time where reproductive rights are being challenged across our nation. But let’s start with the good news and celebrate:

• Jennifer McClellan became Virginia’s First Black Congresswoman
• Nicole Foxhas recently been selected to serve as a judge in the Henrico County General District Court
• Stephanie Grana is the inaugural recipient of RTD/Richmond Raceway inaugural Women Who Drive Richmond 2023 Award Honoree
• Susheela Varky was named to the YWCA 2023 Class of Outstanding Women Awards Honorees in the category of Law and Government
• Julie McConnell is the recipient of the Phoebe P. Hall Mentorship Award
• Miriam Airington-Fisher and Misty Whitehead (our Diversity and Inclusion Chair!) are both in the 2023 class of Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s Influential Women of Law

We extend our sincerest congratulations to these amazing women for their accomplishments!

Now on to those things we should consider…

The impacts felt because of the overturning of Roe v. Wade continue to trouble me both personally and professionally. Thus, I’ve been giving thought to the U.S. Supreme Court’s review of medication abortion and the overall landscape for abortion access. Here are two resources to learn a bit more:

• Guttmacher Institute
• Center for Reproductive Rights

Upcoming events:

• Our Legislative Breakfast is coming up next Wednesday, April 26, and will provide us an excellent opportunity to discuss the issues of the day with Delegate Jeffrey M. Bourne, (District 71), Delegate Carrie Coyner (62nd District), Senator Siobhan S. Dunnavant (District 12), and Senator Ghazala F. Hashmi (District 10).
• Our Reception and Annual Woman of Achievement Award Presentation will be held on Wednesday, May 24, 2023 from 5:15 until 7 p.m. at the Willow Oaks Country Club as we honor our 2023 Woman of Achievement Award Winner, enjoy some networking time and hold MRWBA's Annual Business Meeting. 

Podcasts:

• BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour (for an international perspective on issues facing women)
• Womanica (bite-sized profiles of history-making women)

Books:

• We Should All be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 

Sherry Fox
MRWBA President

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Legislative Breakfast Planned for April 26th

Make plans to join MRWBA, and emcee Juan Conde, for our Annual Legislative Update. The program this year will be offered over breakfast, and will be focused on questions and issues that are of importance to our members instead of each Legislator talking about what they thought was important during the General Assembly session.