Committees! Committees Committees!

By Judge Heidi M. Pasichow

Superior Court of the District of Columbia Heidi.Pasichow@dcsc.gov NAWJ Committees Liaison AWJ Committees provide a framework and an opportunity for all Association members. Committee participants contribute dynamically toward fulfilling the Association’s mission to “promote the judicial role of protecting the rights of individuals under the rule of law through strong, committed, diverse judicial leadership; fairness and equality in the courts; and equal access to justice.” By participating in Committees, members proactively choose and commit to share their interest, expertise, and focus on issues the Association has prioritized, through meetings, program development, presentations, and panels, which are available to all members and to the greater community as appropriate. Today we see that proactive contribution aplenty among our Committee members and activities. Most of the Committees submitted full reports for the Midyear Board Book. I am hopeful that other Committees will also submit their reports for the Annual Board Book in October. Our Midyear Board Book included some especially notable Committee-oriented activities focused on communications, operational efficiency, and web site enhancements, major elements of the Strategic Plan. We have seen in the reports submitted by Committees a wealth of cooperative efforts between and among Committees on programs and webinars; this is a valuable tradition in NAWJ, and has continued enthusiastically. We are considering ways to further enhance this cooperation by having Committee members share their special expertise and experience in using technology for creating webinars, videos, etc., with other Committees in need of such expertise. Also, we continue to see Committees actively working with other Committees and with outside organizations on a variety of topics, such as the recent work with the Illinois State Bar Association (Human Trafficking Committee), the American Law Institute (Human Trafficking Committee and Domestic Violence Committee), the American College of Trial Lawyers (Judicial Independence Committee), and the ABA Standing Committee on Armed Forces Law (Military and Veteran Judges Committee), to name a few. Several Committees are focusing on redefining and rewriting their mission statements. Several are looking for new recruitment options to enhance and broaden their membership. To that end, we have begun discussing a simple web tool to enable existing members, and applicants for new Association membership, to express their interest in serving on specific Committees. This enhancement will allow the President, Executive Director, and Committee chairs to be fully and currently informed of such member interest and importantly to encourage increased interest and participation by all members. We hope and plan to increase