The name of the award honors founding OWLS president Katherine O’Neil’s steadfast dedication and long-term volunteer service to organizations which promote women in the legal profession. The inaugural award was presented to Katherine H. O’Neil at the Oregon Women Lawyers 20th anniversary celebration, September 25, 2009.
The OWLS Board of Directors selects recipients of the Katherine H. Volunteer Service Award. Award recipients are selected based on 8 cumulative years of service with the OWLS board, an OWLS chapter, or an OWLS committee, the Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation, the National Conference of Women’s Bar Associations, the National Association of Women Lawyers, or the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession.
Here are past recipients of the Katherine H. O’Neil Volunteer Service Award:
Katherine H. O’Neil, 2009
Terri Kraemer, 2011
Phylis Myles, 2012
Laurie Craghead, 2013
Kathryn Root, 2014
Heather Weigler, 2015
Cristina Sanz, 2019
Judge Angela Lucero, 2023
Justice Aruna Masih, 2024
Judge Debra E. Velure, 2025
Mary Dougherty, 2026
The Board of Oregon Women Lawyers (OWLS) is thrilled to announce the selection of Mary Dougherty as the 2026 recipient of OWLS’ Katherine O’Neil Volunteer Service Award.
Mary has been a steadfast member of OWLS continuously since 2008, having served on the OWLS Board of Directors, the Queen’s Bench Chapter board, as co-chair of both the Transformation Committee and Member Advancement Committee (MAC), and as the virtual chapter leader of OWLS Online and other efforts to increase member connectivity during the pandemic. Through her leadership and tireless commitment, Mary has been instrumental in advancing OWLS’ mission, revitalizing the annual OWLS Chapter Summit, ensuring the success of OWLS CLEs, leading efforts to connect members with chapters and committees through Fall Into OWLS and Spring Into OWLS, strengthening connections among chapters statewide, and creating meaningful opportunities for members to connect, learn, and grow.
In addition to her formal leadership roles, Mary has contributed to OWLS through ongoing volunteer service, program development, and member engagement. She has both directly mentored and helped connect members with mentoring opportunities, supported the involvement of newer attorneys, and shared her institutional knowledge to advance OWLS projects and organizational initiatives. Her work to bring new members to OWLS, strengthen chapter relationships, develop programming, and encourage volunteer participation reflects her longstanding commitment to OWLS and its mission.
Mary embodies the spirit of the Katherine O’Neil Volunteer Service Award through her selfless dedication to OWLS and her enduring commitment to strengthening the community of women in the legal profession. OWLS is grateful for her extraordinary contributions and invites you to join us in celebrating Mary with this well-deserved honor.
OWLS looks forward to celebrating Mary and her contributions to OWLS. Stay tuned for details about the gathering and award presentation!
