Hon. Tabor and retired AUSA Wright honored at I.O.W.A.—INBA awards luncheon

The Iowa Organization of Women Attorneys (I.O.W.A.) and Iowa Chapter of the National Bar Association (INBA) hosted members and guests at their annual luncheon on July 13 to present two awards that recognize exemplary women attorneys who personify the awards' namesakes. The Honorable Mary Tabor received the 2024 Arabella Mansfield Award and retired AUSA Stephanie Wright received the 2024 Gertrude Rush Award.

Judge Tabor was appointed to the Iowa Court of Appeals in 2010 after serving for 18 years in the Iowa Attorney General's Office, advancing to director of the criminal appeals division. Among her many accomplishments, Judge Tabor formalized the judicial clerkship process in Iowa, making the application and hiring process far more open, fair, and equitable for all law students. Throughout her career she has constantly and consistently enforced and interpreted the law fairly and without prejudice and treated others with compassion and kindness. Judge Tabor received a J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law, where she was managing editor of the Iowa Law Review, and began her legal career at the Federal Election Commission in Washington, DC.

Ms. Wright was the first African-American woman to serve as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa. She served in that high-profile role for an impressive 24 years, championing the civil rights of persons with disabilities, before retiring in 2018. Her dedication to social justice continued after her retirement, specifically when she discovered that her name was omitted from a publication on the history of the District Court (1882-2020)-the only individual so omitted. She took to rectify the situation and her perseverance in doing so ensured that her achievements were memorialized, instead of hidden, to encourage and inspire future generations. Ms. Wright received a J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law School and is committed to assisting veterans and others with complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Honorable Anuradha Vaitheswaran and the Honorable Celeste Bremer nominated Judge Tabor and Attorney Wright, respectively, and were both on hand to present the awards at the luncheon.

Left to right: Hon. Mary Tabor, Hon. Celeste Bremer, and Hon. Anuradha Vaitheswaran

Hon. Celeste Bremer and retired AUSA Stephanie Wright

Arabella Mansfield was the first woman admitted to any bar-the Iowa Bar-in the United States. Gertrude Rush was the first African-American woman admitted to the Iowa Bar and one of the founders of the National Bar Association in Des Moines when she and other African-American lawyers were denied admission to the American Bar Association. The Gertrude Rush Award is co-sponsored by INBA.

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