President's Message
WLALA Board Member Judge Sandra R. Klein Honored by Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles at First Annual Gold Gala
By Stephanie Rettier, Law Clerk to the Honorable Sandra R. Klein
July 2019
On Saturday evening, June 8, 2019, the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles held its first annual Gold Gala at Westfield Century City’s open-air Atrium. The venue was a perfect backdrop to celebrate the 326 young women who received their Gold Award, which is the highest and most prestigious honor bestowed on a Girl Scout. Young women who earn Gold Awards have transformed “an idea and vision for change into an actionable plan with measurable, sustainable, and far-reaching results.” During the Gala, the Girl Scouts of Great Los Angeles also presented Woman of Distinction awards to the Honorable Sandra R. Klein, journalist Lisa Ling, and CEO Pattie Sellers.
Judge Klein was honored for creating the Girl Scouts Justice Patch and for co-founding a Girl Scout Troop for girls experiencing homelessness. Judge Klein created the Justice Patch Program after discovering that Boy Scouts could earn a badge and learn about the law and legal profession by meeting judges and lawyers but Girl Scouts did not have a comparable opportunity. To date, Judge Klein has hosted visits to her courtroom by more than one-hundred-and-fifty Girl Scouts, who are working towards earning the Justice Patch. Judge Klein also partnered with Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles’s community outreach team to establish a troop for girls experiencing homelessness at a local shelter. She and Loyola Law School Professor Laurie Levenson currently volunteer as the troop’s co-leaders.
Judge Klein was joined by her husband Richard Faulkner, mother June Klein, bankruptcy court colleagues Chief Judge Maureen Tighe and Judge Erithe Smith, bankruptcy court staff Kimberly Rubal and Stephanie Rettier, Daisy Girl Scout (and Stephanie’s daughter) Eva Freijerio, childhood friend Janice Harris and her daughter Julia, mentor Professor Laurie Levenson and her husband Doug Mirell, all of whom beamed with pride as Judge Klein accepted her award. Judge Klein closed her remarks by quoting Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Lowe who said that “[t]he work of today is the history of tomorrow, and we are its makers.” I am personally grateful for individuals like Judge Klein who work so tirelessly in the present to ensure a better tomorrow for others. She is truly a Girl Scout at heart.
