University Place Attorney Rhonda J. Brown Receives Washington State Bar Association's Angelo Petruss Award for Lawyers in Public Service

Seattle Washington, September 21, 2004 — The Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) announces that University Place Attorney Rhonda J. Brown received the 2004 Angelo Petruss Award for Lawyers in Public Service. Named in honor of the late Angelo R. Petruss, a senior assistant attorney general who died during his term of service on the WSBA Board of Governors, the Angelo Petruss Award is given to a lawyer in government service who has made a significant contribution to the legal profession, the justice system, and the public. The award was presented by King County Prosecuting Attorney Norm Maleng at the WSBA Annual Awards Dinner September 16 at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront Hotel.

Ms. Brown, who received her J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law, has been a member of the WSBA since 1987. Since 1991, she has been a review judge for the Washington State Employment Security Department, and since 2002 a consultant for the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs (WCSAP). At WCSAP, she is co-facilitator of the Community Voices Partners on Ending Violence Against Women with Disabilities, a program convened to evaluate access to sexual-assault services for women in Washington state, make recommendations, and develop educational material. She is also chair of the Pierce County Citizens' Advisory Board for Community Development Block Grant and Emergency Shelter.

"Rhonda is tireless in her activity on behalf of those with disability issues," said Government Lawyers Bar Association President AnnaLisa Gellermann, who nominated Ms. Brown for the award. Indeed, her contributions to disadvantaged people over the years have been considerable. From 1982 to 1984, Ms. Brown served as Housing Program coordinator for the Tacoma Area Coalition of Individuals with Disabilities. Prior to that, she was an adolescent psychiatric care worker for Camelback Hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona, and a central-intake assessor for Franklin County Children's Services, a child-protective agency in Columbus, Ohio. She co-organized the Disability Caucus, served on the Governor's Committee on Disability Issues and Employment, and is a former secretary of Washington Protection and Advocacy. She is also a former secretary of the Minority Concerns Task Force, two-term president of the Pierce County Community Development Corporation, president of the Tacoma/Pierce County Fair Housing Coalition, and president of the Fair Housing Center of South Puget Sound.

Ms. Brown is also a member of numerous community-based committees, including the Tacoma/Pierce County YMCA Camp Committee, the Pierce County Continuum of Care Prioritization Committee, the Pierce County Strategic Economic Development Citizens' Advisory Committee, and the Pierce County Review Committee for the Economic Adjustment Initiative. In addition, she has volunteered for the Emergency Housing Network, the Community Housing Resources Board, the Emergency Food Network, Pierce County Rape Relief, and Planned Parenthood of Arizona.

About the WSBA
The Washington State Bar Association is a private, nonprofit organization authorized by the Washington State Supreme Court to license the state's 28,400 lawyers. The WSBA both regulates lawyers under the authority of the Court and serves its members as a professional association—all without public funding.

As a regulatory agency, it administers the bar exam, provides record-keeping and licensing functions, and administers the lawyer discipline program. As a professional association, the WSBA provides continuing legal education for attorneys, in addition to numerous other educational and member-service activities.

The governance of the WSBA is vested in its 14-person Board of Governors. There are three governors from the seventh congressional district; one from each of the other eight districts; and three at-large members, one of whom represents the Young Lawyers Division. The president is Ronald R. Ward of Seattle. The board meets every six weeks at various locations around the state, and its meetings are open to the public. Much of the work of the WSBA is carried out through its 23 standing committees, 23 sections, and a Young Lawyers Division.

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