July 2007

Tales from the WSBA Leadership Institute: Honorable Mentors Tell Their Stories

by Judge Monica J. Benton

Nothing inspires like identifying a common trace between yourself and others who succeed. The WSBA Leadership Institute (WLI) offers students (known as fellows) an opportunity to hear personal histories of people who do just that. The culminating session of the year-long WLI program introduces the fellows to members of the judiciary. The following is a glimpse into the histories of the Honorable Ricardo S. Martinez, the Honorable Monica J. Benton, the Honorable Susan J. Owens, and the Honorable Theresa M. Pouley. We hope by hearing their stories, you will be encouraged to apply to become a WLI fellow or nominate someone you know who would benefit from this remarkable program.

Tribal Judge Theresa Pouley, who sits both on the Colville Appeals Court and as Tulalip Tribal Judge, identifies herself as a member of the Colville Confederated tribes. Her judicial philosophy incorporates native healing as part of an alternative sentencing program.

Judge Martinez sits on the United States District Court as a district judge. He frequently recalls his mother’s courage, as a woman married to a Mexican citizen, although she was a U.S. citizen living in Mexico. Pregnant, she determined to return to the United States so that her child would be born on American soil. At age six, Judge Martinez’s family moved to a small farming town, Lynden, Washington. Their settlement made them pioneers among Latino families who more often migrated throughout the United States for seasonal work. Judge Martinez became a stellar student and the first in his family to attend college and law school.

Justice Owens, a member of the Washington State Supreme Court, relates her unparalleled story of how, as a lawyer from a “one-stoplight town” on the Olympic Peninsula, she became the first and only woman elected judge in Clallam County. Having recently been re-elected statewide to the Washington State Supreme Court, she serves her second six-year term and continues to inspire others to higher office.

Judge Benton, a U.S. magistrate judge, surprises most listeners with her story of being a naturalized American citizen, born in Germany and later adopted by an African-American couple. Her father’s career with the U.S. Army meant she lived abroad until age nine. Yet unquestionably, her parents wanted her to become a U.S. citizen, despite the pernicious legacy of segregation they had experienced in their own lives. Judge Benton established a library within her chambers of historic documents and books from the civil rights movement in dedication to this prominent era in recent American history.

It is uplifting for a WSBA Leadership Institute fellow to hear these stories which illustrate pivotal milestones and tenacity, motivating fellows to succeed in their own personal and professional lives. The WLI educates, empowers, and equips its fellows by enabling them to learn about and from the great trailblazers. Applications for the next class of the Leadership Institute are online at www.wsba.org/lawyers/2008wli_-application.htm.