NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW MAGAZINE

Kelly Cooke ’19 refereed six women’s ice hockey games during the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan, Italy, including the epic gold medal game between the United States and Canada. Over the last eight years, Kelly has officiated on the sport’s grandest stages: at the gold medal game at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, seven straight World Championships and seven Frozen Fours, including three NCAA title games. Kelly also scored a new position for herself in 2025: senior legal counsel for venture capital/M&A with Boston Scientific.

Robert Brink ’83 recently retired after 27 years as executive director of the Social Law Library (SLL). He now holds the title of executive director emeritus and is consulting with the SLL’s new leader, Kyle Courtney, who most recently served as director of copyright and information policy for Harvard Library and is a longtime part-time faculty member at Northeastern Law. When the emeritus role ends in a year, Robert plans to continue as trustee of the Supreme Judicial Court Historical Society, pen some legal history articles, play “a lot more tennis” and travel with his wife.

Marisol Garcia ’97 has been appointed Massachusetts’ child advocate by Governor Maura Healey ’98, Attorney General Andrea Campbell and State Auditor Diana DiZoglio. Marisol brings 30 years of experience advocating for children and families, including two decades representing children in court and a decade of executive leadership in child welfare and behavioral health policy. Most recently as deputy director at Health Law Advocates, she developed and led its Mental Health Advocacy Program for Kids, a statewide legal services program that has represented thousands of families across the commonwealth. She began her five-year term as child advocate on June 1.

Marisol was honored at the Massachusetts State House in 2025 with a Latino Excellence on the Hill Award by the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus. The annual award celebrates the contributions and leadership of Latino individuals who are making a meaningful impact across the commonwealth.

Two outstanding advocates for LGBTQ+ families have been honored with the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association’s Leading Family Law Practitioner Award in consecutive years — Joyce Kauffman ’92 (left) in 2025 and Connie Vetter ’93 (right) in 2026 — each recognized for remarkable careers devoted to improving the lives of LGBTQ+ families.

Joyce received her award at the organization’s annual Lavender Law Conference and Career Fair in New York in July 2025. A founding member of the National Family Law Advisory Council of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights and former president of the board of directors of GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law), she has practiced family law for more than three decades in the areas of divorce, guardianship, adoption, mediation and reproductive technology.

Connie was honored at the July 2026 Lavender Law Conference and Career Fair for her work through more than three decades in Charlotte, North Carolina. She has been involved in groups including the Human Rights Campaign, Equality North Carolina, North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Attorneys, and Time Out Youth. Her many honors include the Julius L. Chambers Diversity Champion Award and recognition from the ACLU of North Carolina for advancing equal rights in the state.

Tiffany Williams Brewer ’99 made history when she took the helm of the ABA Litigation Section as the 2025–2026 chair — only the second African American and the second law professor to lead the 30,000-member group. A member of the Howard University School of Law faculty, Tiffany has a distinguished record of leadership across the legal, government and nonprofit sectors. She has served as a federal prosecutor, a US Senate staff member and a civil litigator in major law firms, as well as a senior executive in state government advising legislative leaders, cabinet officials and presidential campaigns. She is also an ordained pastor.

Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka ’80 was recently honored with the 2026 Roosevelt Award, which recognizes a bold and steadfast leader and public servant who reflects the guiding principles and legacy of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. The Roosevelt Awards Dinner is one of the signature events of the year for the Massachusetts Democratic Party. In addition, she received MetroWest YMCA and the Alliance of Massachusetts YMCAs’ Legislative Champion Award for her leadership and advocacy for the YMCA.

Kim Dougherty ’03, co-founder of the Justice Law Collaborative, received the Women’s Bar Association (WBA) of Massachusetts’ prestigious Lelia J. Robinson Award at the organization’s annual gala in October. Kim was selected for this high honor because of her nationally recognized work as a champion for advancing women’s rights and protecting vulnerable members of society, particularly women and children who have experienced trauma.

Meredith Lawrence has been elevated to the position of general counsel at Nutter’s Boston office, where she was most recently the company’s assistant firm counsel and director of client intake and conflicts.

Brigitte Amiri ’99 (left), deputy director at the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project, and Shoshanna Ehrlich ’82 (right), professor emerita at the University of Massachusetts Boston and legal consultant to Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts, have joined forces twice in recent months in Ms. magazine — first in an interview tracing how the first Trump administration’s efforts to restrict abortion access for immigrant minors foreshadowed the post-Dobbs playbook and then in a co-authored piece on the federal government’s rollback of abortion protections for minors in federal custody. “Notwithstanding our focus on the unrelenting attacks on reproductive access, it’s a joy to collaborate with Brigitte,” said Shoshanna.

Hugo Olor ’50 received Presque Isle, Maine’s Key to the City in 2025 — an honor most recently bestowed more than 80 years ago. A World War II veteran and longtime city attorney, 102-year-old Hugo was honored for a “lifetime of service, commitment and integrity” at a special council meeting held in October.

Elaine Epstein ’76 (left) and the Hon. Dana Fabe ’76 (right) were celebrated at the National Association of Women Judges’ annual conference last October in Boston. Dana, retired chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court, received the prestigious Joan Dempsey Klein Honoree of the Year Award, while Elaine, a family law attorney and senior counsel with Todd & Weld, was honored with the Florence K. Murray Award.

 Deanna Jantzen ’95 was recently honored with Northeastern University’s Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes graduates for their enduring contributions to the university. Over her remarkable 50-year tenure at Northeastern, Deanna held many roles, including three years as director of alumni/ae relations and development at the School of Law. Her dedication has been recognized with a Northeastern Torch scholarship established in her name.

After 33 years at the Center for Death Penalty Litigation (CDPL), 12 of those as executive director, Gretchen Engel ’92 retired last summer and celebrated in the fall with a major event featuring renowned public interest lawyer Bryan Stevenson. According to the CDPL board director, Gretchen’s “work and leadership have literally saved lives, improved life expectancies, extended hope, transformed the standard of capital defense across the state and beyond, and helped make CDPL a national model of vigorous litigation and compassionate representation.”

LAWYERS OF THE YEAR

Nancy Kelly ’84, Greater Boston Legal Services

Leonard Kesten ’83, Brody, Hardoon, Perkins & Kesten

Ralph Martin II ’78, Prince Lobel Tye

TOP WOMEN OF LAW

Melissa D’Alelio ’05, Robins Kaplan

Jennifer Denker ’16, Meehan, Boyle, Black & Bogdanow

Tara Dunn Jackson ’17, Mintz

Elizabeth Manchester ’05, Partridge Snow & Hahn

Professor Sharmila Murthy, Northeastern University School of Law

Rachel Stroup ’06, Zalkind Duncan & Bernstein

CIRCLE OF EXCELLENCE

Nicole Bluefort ’10, Law Offices of Nicole M. Bluefort

Jaclyn Kugell ’92, Morgan, Brown & Joy

Congratulations to our graduates on the Boston Business Journal’s 2025 Power 50: The Movement Makers list.

Willie Bodrick II ’20, Senior Pastor, Twelfth Baptist Church; President and CEO, American City Coalition

Betty Francisco ’98, CEO, Boston Impact Initiative Brooke Thomson ’04, President and CEO, Associated Industries of Massachusetts

Congratulations to the 2026 Northeastern Law honorees celebrated by the Massachusetts chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.

Lifetime Achievement Award
Robert Warren ’89

Lawyer Award
Elliot Oberholtzer ’23

Student Award
Marjorie Piani ’26

1970s

Ellen M. Doyle ’72
Steven T. Greene ’73
E. Burke Giblin ’75
William Julius Champion ’78
Diane Finkel Paulson ’78
Martha Van Oot ’78

1980s

Richard G. McAllister ’86
Paul Liu ’87
Mary Ellen Thompson ’89

1990s

Jeniene Andrews Matthews ’96
David S. Rothstein ’97

2000s

Leon S. Graubard ’05

2010s

Erica L. Virtue ’11