Judge Rima Ghandour Receives 2023 MBA Diversity Award

by Cynthia Newton MBA Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committee

The MBA has selected the Honorable Rima Ghandour as the 2023 recipient of its Diversity Award.

Since joining the Oregon bar over 20 years ago, Judge Ghandour has demonstrated her deep commitment to equity and inclusion within the legal community. After joining the bar in 2003, Judge Ghandour practiced in Multnomah County, focusing on civil litigation and pro bono work on behalf of refugees. In December 2022, then-Governor Kate Brown appointed her to the Multnomah County Circuit Court.

Judge Ghandour has served as MBA President, OWLS Queen’s Bench President, and co-founder and one-time president of the Arab American Cultural Center of Oregon (AACCO). She worked hard inside each organization before and after serving as its designated leader, consistently shedding light on DE&I issues, exposing many members to those concepts for the first time, and working successfully to make each group’s orientation and membership more diverse and inclusive. She regularly encouraged those at the margins to speak, and supported the work of affinity bars. Further, she conveyed tirelessly, in words and actions, her conviction that each bar member has great potential to participate actively in and serve our richly diverse community. Just one concrete example of her work to foster the potential of every bar member to serve is her work to ensure accessibility of the new Multnomah County Courthouse for every person, even those with hidden disabilities. Her efforts increase and expand access to justice.

Judge Ghandour leads by example and serves as a role model for other attorneys by generously giving back to the legal community and its varied organizations by sharing her lived experience in a forthright way. She builds coalitions and creates