Woodley ’16 Recognized By City & State for Promotion of Diversity

Mishka Woodley ’16 is being honored by City & State this month for demonstrating corporate responsibility through the advancement of diversity and inclusion.

Woodley, an associate at Shenker Russo & Clark LLP, will receive the Overall Excellence in Promotion of Diversity Award at City & State’s annual Corporate Social Responsibility: Diversity & Inclusion ceremony on April 24 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City. The awards are presented to individuals and organizations that have made outstanding efforts in workplace diversity and inclusion; supplier diversity and procurement; and recruitment and retention.

“The inherent value of racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity in the workplace is undeniable. And awards, such as this, recognize the fact that we as individuals can be catalysts for change in our communities that far exceed the scope of our vision,” Woodley said. “I am both humbled and inspired by my recognition for this award. I could not have achieved this honor without the support and encouragement from my friends and colleagues at Shenker Russo & Clark.”

Woodley currently serves as co-chair of the Albany County Bar Association’s Diversity Internship Program, which over the years has connected hundreds of minority students at Albany Law School with paid internships at law firms in the Capital Region. According to the ACBA, “[m]any of the interns subsequently obtained full-time law firm employment and now are members of the Albany County Bar.”

Woodley also is a member of the Capital District Black and Hispanic Bar Association and the Capital District Women’s Bar Association, and serves as co-chair of the New York State Bar Association Health Law Section Membership Committee.

Prior to joining Shenker Russo & Clark, Woodley interned with the Honorable Mae D’Agostino of the Northern District of New York, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of New York, the New York State Attorney General’s Office Health Care Bureau, the New York State Joint Commission of Public Ethics, the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS), and Guardian Life Insurance Company.

As a student, Woodley served as secretary of Albany Law School’s Latin American Law Students Association (LALSA). In that role she organized the November 2015 panel entitled “Diversity: The Road to the Bench,” a community discussion about the importance of diversifying the legal profession from a judicial perspective.

Woodley earned her J.D. from Albany Law School with a concentration in Health Law in 2016. She also is an alumna of Clarkson University/Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, where she studied graduate-level bioethics specializing in health policy and law, and the University of Virginia.