CELEBRATING THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE OREGON WOMEN LAWYERS FOUNDATION
Trudy Allen
Secretary/Historian
Oregon Women Lawyers was formed in 1989 with a 501(c)(6) (educational) status under the Internal Revenue Code. One of OWLS’ goals was to provide scholarships and grants to women and minorities (as the term was stated at the time) who faced obstacles in accessing and participating in the justice system. In the early 1990s, Diane Rynerson, OWLS’ first Executive Director, received a number of inquiries from OWLS members about whether they could make donations that would qualify for charitable tax treatment, and Diane had to let them know that it wasn’t possible at that point. This inspired the OWLS board to move ahead with forming a separate “sister” organization that would afford donors the opportunity to qualify for favorable 501(c)(3) tax treatment for their donations.
So, the OWLS board set the process in motion for forming the Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation (“OWLS Foundation” or “the Foundation”) by creating a “Steering Committee” to determine next steps. This committee had its first meeting on April 19, 1996 and began strategizing for the formation of the OWLS Foundation.
Core members of the Steering Committee were:
Jane Angus, Ann Bartsch, Antonio DeMeo, Hon. Paul DeMuniz, Elizabeth Harchenko, Patricia (who goes by “Trish”) Heatherman (now Patricia Nelson), Kay Kinsley, Janet Knauss (now Janet Larsen), Hon. Susan Leeson, Marilyn Litzenberger, Helle Rode, Diane Rynerson, Agnes Sowle, Ruth Spetter and Lisa Vogt.
Advisory members of the Steering Committee included:
Susana Alba, Edward L. Clark, Jr., Diana Craine, Hon. Mercedes Deiz, Phylis Myles, Katherine O’Neil, Hon. Edwin J. Peterson, Kathryn Ricciardelli and Hon. Betty Roberts.
Trish Nelson did the lion’s share of preparing the documents for the incorporation of the Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation as an Oregon public benefit non-profit corporation. The Articles of Incorporation were filed on September 9, 1996. Thus, the Foundation is now thirty years old!
With much collaboration among the Steering Committee members, Trish Nelson prepared and filed the “Application for Recognition of Exemption” with the IRS on March 31, 1999. On June 9, 1999, the IRS issued its “determination letter” recognizing the OWLS Foundation’s 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. After that the Foundation starting making grants.
The Foundation’s mission has many of the same concepts as OWLS’ but is differently stated:
“Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation seeks to advance and enhance equity, inclusion and belonging in the Oregon legal profession and to promote access to justice for underserved people.”
Our mission and our work is as vital now as it ever was. As of June 2026, the Foundation has made 238 grants for a total of $584,167.03! That’s a lot to celebrate!
There are four main Grants for law students and OWLS members. Two of these are what we call our “Flagship Grants”:
In 2003, the Foundation created the Vernellia R. Randall Bar Exam Grant. This grant now pays $5,000 to each qualifying parent taking the Oregon Bar Exam who has one or more children under the age of 18 and who intend to practice law in Oregon. Vernellia Randall was vice president on the founding Board of OWLS and now is an emerita professor at the University of Dayton Law School. She was named one of the “Top 10 Most Influential African-Americans” on the 2001 Black Equal Opportunity Employment Journal list. We have made 55 of these grants since 2003.
In 2007, the Foundation instituted the Armonica Law Student Grant program, which now provides a $3000 grant to six deserving law students in their final year at any Oregon law school who intend to work in Oregon after graduating. This grant also matches each recipient with a judge or lawyer who serves as the student’s mentor for the remainder of the school year. The grant program was founded in memory of Armonica Gilford, the first African-American female assistant attorney general in the Oregon Department of Justice, who also had a second career as a jazz singer and served on the boards of both OWLS and the Foundation. We have made 96 of these grants since 2007.
In addition to these two types of grants, the Foundation became a partner in the Multnomah Bar Association’s “Bar Fellows” program, when it started in 2018. This grant currently pays a stipend of $15,000 to St. Andrew Legal Clinic for a summer internship of one of the fellows, who is a student who has just completed their first year of law school and has a sincere interest in building a legal career in Oregon. We’ve funded eight of these, starting in 2019.
115 women have served on the Foundation’s board since incorporation. The first president of the Foundation was Ann Bartsch. The other officers joining her were: Trish Nelson as vice president, Katherine O’Neil as secretary and Corky Lai as treasurer. For the 2026-27 board year, the officers are: President Julie Preciado, President-Elect Leona Yazdidoust, Secretary and Historian Trudy Allen, and Treasurer Stefyni Allen. A huge thanks goes to all of the 115 women for their support and dedication to our mission ever since our founding!
We’ve come a long way in thirty years! This milestone, that is often called a “Pearl” anniversary, can be celebrated for many things, including the beauty of a long-lasting relationship. That feels very fitting for the Foundation’s relationships with its donors, grantees and Armonica Grant mentors.
We want to express our heartfelt thanks, especially, to all who have been donors to the Foundation over the last three decades! We couldn’t have done our work without you!
To learn more about the Foundation’s work and additional grants - and to find out how to donate to ensure that we can continue to expand our grants, visit: www.owlsfoundation.org.
Trudy Allen has been the historian of the OWLS Foundation since 1999.
Oregon Women Lawyers was formed in 1989 with a 501(c)(6) (educational) status under the Internal Revenue Code. One of OWLS’ goals was to provide scholarships and grants to women and minorities (as the term was stated at the time) who faced obstacles in accessing and participating in the justice system. In the early 1990s, Diane Rynerson, OWLS’ first Executive Director, received a number of inquiries from OWLS members about whether they could make donations that would qualify for charitable tax treatment, and Diane had to let them know that it wasn’t possible at that point. This inspired the OWLS board to move ahead with forming a separate “sister” organization that would afford donors the opportunity to qualify for favorable 501(c)(3) tax treatment for their donations.
So, the OWLS board set the process in motion for forming the Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation (“OWLS Foundation” or “the Foundation”) by creating a “Steering Committee” to determine next steps. This committee had its first meeting on April 19, 1996 and began strategizing for the formation of the OWLS Foundation.
Core members of the Steering Committee were:
Jane Angus, Ann Bartsch, Antonio DeMeo, Hon. Paul DeMuniz, Elizabeth Harchenko, Patricia (who goes by “Trish”) Heatherman (now Patricia Nelson), Kay Kinsley, Janet Knauss (now Janet Larsen), Hon. Susan Leeson, Marilyn Litzenberger, Helle Rode, Diane Rynerson, Agnes Sowle, Ruth Spetter and Lisa Vogt.
Advisory members of the Steering Committee included:
Susana Alba, Edward L. Clark, Jr., Diana Craine, Hon. Mercedes Deiz, Phylis Myles, Katherine O’Neil, Hon. Edwin J. Peterson, Kathryn Ricciardelli and Hon. Betty Roberts.
Trish Nelson did the lion’s share of preparing the documents for the incorporation of the Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation as an Oregon public benefit non-profit corporation. The Articles of Incorporation were filed on September 9, 1996. Thus, the Foundation is now thirty years old!
With much collaboration among the Steering Committee members, Trish Nelson prepared and filed the “Application for Recognition of Exemption” with the IRS on March 31, 1999. On June 9, 1999, the IRS issued its “determination letter” recognizing the OWLS Foundation’s 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. After that the Foundation starting making grants.
The Foundation’s mission has many of the same concepts as OWLS’ but is differently stated:
“Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation seeks to advance and enhance equity, inclusion and belonging in the Oregon legal profession and to promote access to justice for underserved people.”
Our mission and our work is as vital now as it ever was. As of June 2026, the Foundation has made 238 grants for a total of $584,167.03! That’s a lot to celebrate!
There are four main Grants for law students and OWLS members. Two of these are what we call our “Flagship Grants”:
In 2003, the Foundation created the Vernellia R. Randall Bar Exam Grant. This grant now pays $5,000 to each qualifying parent taking the Oregon Bar Exam who has one or more children under the age of 18 and who intend to practice law in Oregon. Vernellia Randall was vice president on the founding Board of OWLS and now is an emerita professor at the University of Dayton Law School. She was named one of the “Top 10 Most Influential African-Americans” on the 2001 Black Equal Opportunity Employment Journal list. We have made 55 of these grants since 2003.
In 2007, the Foundation instituted the Armonica Law Student Grant program, which now provides a $3000 grant to six deserving law students in their final year at any Oregon law school who intend to work in Oregon after graduating. This grant also matches each recipient with a judge or lawyer who serves as the student’s mentor for the remainder of the school year. The grant program was founded in memory of Armonica Gilford, the first African-American female assistant attorney general in the Oregon Department of Justice, who also had a second career as a jazz singer and served on the boards of both OWLS and the Foundation. We have made 96 of these grants since 2007.
In addition to these two types of grants, the Foundation became a partner in the Multnomah Bar Association’s “Bar Fellows” program, when it started in 2018. This grant currently pays a stipend of $15,000 to St. Andrew Legal Clinic for a summer internship of one of the fellows, who is a student who has just completed their first year of law school and has a sincere interest in building a legal career in Oregon. We’ve funded eight of these, starting in 2019.
115 women have served on the Foundation’s board since incorporation. The first president of the Foundation was Ann Bartsch. The other officers joining her were: Trish Nelson as vice president, Katherine O’Neil as secretary and Corky Lai as treasurer. For the 2026-27 board year, the officers are: President Julie Preciado, President-Elect Leona Yazdidoust, Secretary and Historian Trudy Allen, and Treasurer Stefyni Allen. A huge thanks goes to all of the 115 women for their support and dedication to our mission ever since our founding!
We’ve come a long way in thirty years! This milestone, that is often called a “Pearl” anniversary, can be celebrated for many things, including the beauty of a long-lasting relationship. That feels very fitting for the Foundation’s relationships with its donors, grantees and Armonica Grant mentors.
We want to express our heartfelt thanks, especially, to all who have been donors to the Foundation over the last three decades! We couldn’t have done our work without you!
To learn more about the Foundation’s work and additional grants - and to find out how to donate to ensure that we can continue to expand our grants, visit: www.owlsfoundation.org.
Trudy Allen has been the historian of the OWLS Foundation since 1999.
