Save the Date for the 2022 Award: Friday, March 11, 2022
About the Award
Justice Betty Roberts (1923-2011) was a leader in Oregon politics, the first woman appointed to the Oregon appellate bench, and a beloved mentor and advocate for women lawyers.
Judge Mercedes Deiz (1917-2005) was a trailblazer in the Oregon Bar as the first Black woman to practice law in Oregon and the first woman of color on the Oregon bench. She overcame racial bias throughout her career, and created opportunities for those who might otherwise be marginalized by society, to access legal resources and careers.
The OWLS Roberts & Deiz Award honors the legacies of both Justice Roberts and Judge Deiz as promoters of those from non-dominant cultures (e.g. women, people of color, LGBTQ, and those with disabilities).
Screening and Selection Criteria
Any graduate from an accredited law school, residing or doing business in the state of Oregon, except a member of the OWLS Board of Directors, OWLS Foundation, or the OWLS Roberts & Deiz Award Dinner Committee, is eligible to receive the OWLS Roberts & Deiz Award, of which more than one award may be given out in a single calendar year.
Former nominees may be re-nominated. Award recipients are selected based on outstanding personal and professional contributions to promoting non-dominant cultures (women, people of color, LGBTQ, and those with disabilities) in either the legal profession or the community at-large.
While the committee considers leadership activities and service, activities and conduct that evidence a nominee’s efforts toward promoting those from non-dominant cultures will be more helpful to the committee and to the OWLS Board of Directors in selecting recipients.
Examples of the kinds of work OWLS hopes to recognize through the OWLS Roberts & Deiz Award include: mentoring and providing opportunities for lawyers from non-dominant cultures to thrive, working to bridge the gap between the legal profession and non-dominant cultures in the community at-large, and working behind the scenes as an unsung hero/leader to mentor and highlight the struggles of those outside the dominant culture, whether in the legal profession or the community at-large.
*Nominees do not have to physically reside or work in Oregon to be eligible for the OWLS Roberts & Deiz Award. However, their contributions to promoting individuals from non-dominant cultures must be in Oregon.
Nominations are submitted in October each year. Click here for 2022 nomination form.
Award Recipients
Chanpone Sinlapasai-Okamura, 2018
Elisa Dozono, 2019
Hon. Katherine Tennyson, 2019
Gina Johnnie, 2020
Doug Park, 2020
