Albany Law School Announces 2019 Stoneman Award Recipients
Albany Law School announced today that Patricia E. Salkin, Class of 1988, and Kelley Ross Brown, Class of 1991, will join New York Solicitor General Barbara D. Underwood in receiving Kate Stoneman Awards at the law school's 25th anniversary of Kate Stoneman Day on Tuesday, April 30, 2019.
Albany Law School's prestigious Stoneman Awards are presented to individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to seeking change and expanding opportunities for women within the legal profession. The awards are presented in honor of Kate Stoneman, the first woman admitted to practice law in New York State and the first female graduate of Albany Law School, Class of 1898.
Kate Stoneman Day is free and open to the public. The program will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the 1928 Building, Dean Alexander Moot Courtroom (Room 421), at 80 New Scotland Avenue in Albany.
Previous Stoneman Award honorees include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, former New York Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye—who delivered the inaugural keynote in 1994—and other pioneers in the private sector, public service, and academia.
About the 2019 award winners:
• Barbara D. Underwood, Solicitor General of the State of New York, was previously announced as the Kate Stoneman Day keynote speaker. A longtime guardian of equal justice, Ms. Underwood was the first woman to lead the U.S. Solicitor General and N.Y. Attorney General's offices. She will receive the Miriam M. Netter '72 Stoneman Award.
• Patricia E. Salkin ’88 is provost of the graduate and professional divisions of Touro College—the first woman to hold that position. She was previously the first woman to serve as dean of the Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center. Ms. Salkin joined Touro after more than two decades as a faculty member and administrator at Albany Law School, where she led the Government Law Center as it grew into a nationally recognized academic and policy institute. At Albany Law, she was instrumental in promoting the legacy of Kate Stoneman as a founding member of the Stoneman Committee and the editor of the book PIONEERING WOMEN LAWYERS: FROM KATE STONEMAN TO THE PRESENT; she also played a significant role in securing the law school's endowed Stoneman Chair.
A pioneer in her practice area, she was the first—and is still the only—woman to serve as the author of two multi-volume treatises on land use and zoning law. Through her prominence in the field, she has been credited for paving the way for and inspiring an entire generation of women lawyers. Ms. Salkin has been described as "a champion for women" and "a mentor to hundreds, effecting change and advancing opportunities for others throughout her career" by ensuring they are invited to speak at programs and given opportunities to publish in her books and newsletters. She is a longstanding liaison to the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, and a recipient of NYSBA's Ruth G. Shapiro Memorial Award for Women in the Law.
• Kelley Ross Brown ’91 is a partner at the Rochester-based firm Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP. Described as "a fierce and tireless advocate" for women in the legal profession, Ms. Brown created and led the implementation of the Women's Initiative Program at Woods Oviatt Gilman. The program—a significant and sustained effort that has enhanced the culture of the firm—was established with four objectives: to promote the concept of "flexibility with accountability"; to create mentorship opportunities for all associates; to increase marketing efforts focusing on the contributions of the women attorneys; and to retain and advance the careers of talented women attorneys. The program later added a fifth focus: to add or revise the benefits that affect women in the workplace, which resulted in a significant increase in fully paid leave for caregiver attorneys.
Through her involvement as chair of the NeighborWorks Community Partners board of directors and as past-president and member of NeighborWorks Rochester, Ms. Brown works to improve the ability of local single mothers and families to access stable and affordable housing. She is also chair of the Monroe County committee of the LawNY Board, a member of the campaign cabinet for the Volunteer Legal Services Project's Campaign for Justice, a past trustee of the Monroe County Bar Association, and a member of the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys.
For more information on Kate Stoneman and Albany Law School's annual Kate Stoneman Day, visit katestoneman.org.
