❑ WWBA State Director and Diversity and Inclusion Committee Co-Chair Janeen M. Thomas has recently been added as a Partner at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP, a national law firm with more than 40 specialties and a multitude of sub-specialties. She is based out of their New York office, where her practice focuses on insurance coverage litigation and miscellaneous professional liability matters. 

❑ Our very own Jennifer Robinson, Corresponding Secretary, delivered Juliet Celine Guzman on Tuesday, February 2, 2021, at 7:31 a.m. Baby Juliet weighed in at 6 pounds, 13 ounces, and is 19.5 inches long. Warm congratulations to Jen, Jason, and the newest WWBA member-in-waiting.

❑ Wendy Marie Weathers, Esq. has recently been added as partner at Clair Gjertsen & Weathers PLLC, a defense firm headquartered in White Plains. Practice areas include real estate, bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, landlord-tenant disputes, wills & estates, and civil litigation. The firm represents individuals and businesses in the New York metro area, Long Island, Hudson Valley, and Fairfield County, Connecticut. Wendy brings to the firm more than 20 years of experience representing both institutional lenders and borrowers in all aspects of the mortgage banking industry and residential foreclosures. She also currently serves as the President of the Westchester County Bar Association. WWBA congratulates Wendy on this partnership position and her enthusiastic welcome at Clair Gjertsen & Weathers PLLC, and we wish her well. 

❑ Kathy Marks has become General Counsel to the New York State Department of Health. WWBA congratulates Kathy on this terrific appointment, and we wish her well.

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Q: When and why did you become involved in the WWBA?

A: I was first introduced to the WWBA by my friend and former colleague, Jackie Hattar, via an invitation to the 2016 Annual Dinner and Installation of Officers. The entire event was such a delight and I found it incredibly refreshing to be in the company of such a friendly, dynamic and supportive group of women. This energy drew me in.  

Q: Which WWBA activities have you participated in?

A: Besides attending every Annual Dinner since 2016 and even “attending” this year’s virtual Installation Ceremony by Zoom due to the coronavirus pandemic, I have attended various programs hosted by the WWBA’s Diversity and Inclusion committee as well as the Holiday Party. In October 2019, I was honored to join the Board of Directors as Co-Chair of the WWBA’s Diversity and Inclusion committee. In this role, I, along with my co-chairs, Jackie Hattar and Stephanie Melowsky, organized a Panel Discussion on Diversity & Inclusion in the Legal Profession: Perspectives from the Bench and the Bar, featuring the Honorable Cheryl Chambers, Justice of the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department, and Mirna Martinez-Santiago, Esq., Founder and CEO, Girls Rule the Law, Inc. and Chair, New York State Bar Association’s Diversity Committee. This event, which was scheduled for March 2020, had to be postponed due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic at that time. 

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