Today I want to offer a message of gratitude and thanks. We must give thanks to those who have set the bar, who have spoken up when it was unpopular to do so, and who lift us up, encouraging us to step forward into the light of each new day.

I would first like to thank some of the women of WLALA who shaped this organization in ways others had not done so before. I would like to expressly thank Kathleen McDowell (Past President 2003-2004) for her decades of devotion to the practice of law and for her service to not only this organization but also the National Conference of Women Bar Associations, and in particular her leadership in the annual Food From the Bar event. I would like to thank Angela S. Haskins (Past President 2010-2011) for inviting me to join WLALA, to Hon. Holly Fujie (current Board Member) for encouraging me to apply to be on the board, and Hon. Jessica Kronstadt (Past President 2020-2021) for encouraging me to apply for a leadership position in WLALA.

I wish to give thanks to those women attorneys who got me though law school and life with kindness and strength: Brenda Brooks Mansfield and Joy Illano Murphy.  I thank Maryam Danishwar (current Board Member) for being my first mentee, and from whom I have learned so much. At the same time, I recognize and thank Jaion Chung for encouraging me to join my current firm, for her friendship, and for her kindness.

I give thanks to the many, many past leaders of our sister-bars who have touched my life and have shed light on important issues affecting us all, but disproportionately affecting women of color, including Hon. Esther Ro, Ibiere Seck, and Ronni Whitehead.

Finally, I want to give thanks to the future leaders and members of this organization, most recognizable of these being Farah Tabibkhoei (President-Elect). I thank you for having the wisdom to respect the traditions of the past, but more importantly for breaking that tradition…for thinking outside the box…for not only breaking through the glass ceiling but BUSTING through it with the support of your allies.

I encourage you to reach out to your friends and colleagues. Thank them for the work they have done, and for the work that is yet to be done. 

Noelle Natoli
President, Women Lawyers Association of Los Angel