Puerto Rican Bar Association honors two Brooklyn judges
The Puerto Rican Bar Association of New York (PRBA) honored eight women, including a pair of Brooklyn judges, during its annual Flor de Maga celebration at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP in Manhattan on Wednesday night.
Hon. Lizette Colon, president of the Catholic Lawyers Guild of Kings County, and Hon. Joanne QuiƱones, past president of the Brooklyn Womenās Bar Association, headlined the awards.
Other honorees included Damaris Hernandez; Zila Reyes Acosta-Grimes; professor Carmen Julia Pacheco; Stephanie C. Robayo; Michelle Centeno, on behalf of the NY chapter of the National Conference of Puerto Rican Women; and Rosa Cruz-Cordero.
āThis year, the PRB is celebrating its 60th year anniversary,ā said Carmen A. Pacheco, president of the PRBA. āIt’s an important award for us ā the Flor de Maga ā and this is our diamond jubilee group of awardees.
āThis year’s awards are presented to women who exhibit leadership skills in their fields of expertise, have been role models to other women and girls and have been advocates for social change that create a more equitable society,ā Pacheco continued. āDedicated to helping women and girls achieve their dreams, these women have demonstrated their commitment to the PRBAās mission.ā
The programās theme was āBuilding on our legacy by linking the power of women.ā Betty Lugo, immediate past president of the PRBA, served as the mistress of ceremonies. Muhammad Faridi, a partner at Patterson Belknap, and Hon. Mary Ann Brigantti, the second female president of the PRBA, offered remarks.
āIn the beginning, the PRBA started as a networking group, a social group,ā Brigantti said. āIt was our only way of finding out where Puerto Ricans were working in Brooklyn, Queens or the Bronx. We had the PRBA just to meet who was practicing in each borough.ā
One by one, the honorees were presented with their awards and each gave a brief speech. Damaris Hernandez was not in attendance so her mother Rosa Hernandez, sister Yazmin Hernandez and husband Joseph Gilbert accepted the award on her behalf. Rosa Cruz-Cordero, from the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, also was not in attendance so her husband Edwin Cordero and goddaughter Taina Ortiz accepted on her behalf.
āI am honored and humbled at having been selected to receive this wonderful award, especially since some of it’s incredible trail blazers have been heavy-hitters ā the Hon. Sonia Sotomayor, the Hon. Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick and the Hon. Jenny Rivera,ā said Judge Colon. āAs an organization, you have done and continue to do an incredible job of nurturing and supporting wonderful members of the bar and the bench.ā
After she accepted her award, QuiƱones spoke briefly about Justice Sheila Abdus-Salaam, who died earlier this month, and asked for a brief moment of silence.
āShe made her mark on the legal community as a scholar, a mentor and a beacon of justice who should always be remembered,ā QuiƱones said.
There was one new award this year ā the Unsung Heroine Award ā which was given to President Pachecoās mother, who has helped at her law firm of Pacheco & Lugo as a volunteer office manager. Pacheco said her mother perfectly embodies the spirit of all mothers and unsung heroes who stand in the background while helping others.
āEveryone has a mother or other people in their lives who stand in the background,ā Pacheco said. āThey want it to be all about you and they do what needs to be done. They sacrifice to help you. My mother has done that, so I dedicate this award to her and for the person who stands behind all of us.ā