UC Law Distinguished Alumni Awards Luncheon
Friday, May 22
11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Nippert West Pavilion
2700 Bearcat Way
Cincinnati, OH
The College of Law is proud to announce this year’s distinguished alumni honorees, whose exceptional achievements and enduring contributions have left a lasting mark on the legal profession and their communities.
Join us for our annual Distinguished Alumni Luncheon, celebrating the remarkable achievements of our 2026 honorees. Connect with fellow Law Bearcats during a networking session before lunch, followed by the presentation of awards and an update from Dean Haider Ala Hamoudi.
2026 Honorees
Mina’s career spans the legal ecosystem, beginning as a law firm associate and rising to partner before transitioning to legal education, the profession’s entry point, where she led career development initiatives and ultimately served as Associate Dean and Chief of Staff. Most recently, she was a C-suite leader within a law firm. Across each role, Mina applies systems thinking to identify and minimize unintended obstacles to success in the workplace and throughout one’s career.
Mina has a strong record of service to the legal profession, including appointments by the Supreme Court of Ohio to both the CLE Commission and the Commission on Professionalism. She has supported Miami University through service on its Women in Law Leadership Symposium committee. Nationally, she served two terms on the National Association for Law Placement Board of Directors and was ultimately elected Board President.
A frequent speaker on career and professional development, Mina is driven by her “why”: the a-ha moment when individuals move from working on it to truly walking in it. She has served numerous boards in the Greater Cincinnati area, including Pro Kids, the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Bar Foundation, and Mount Notre Dame High School.
Her leadership and influence have been widely recognized. Mina is a 2022 Cincinnati Business Courier Women Who Mean Business honoree, a 2023 Bizwomen 100 national awardee, and one of CIO Views’ 10 Most Influential HR Leaders to Follow in 2025.
Scott’s practice focuses primarily on LGBTQ+ legal issues, estate planning and administration, and Social Security Disability/SSI benefits. He opened the first estate in Ohio in which a man was legally recognized as the spouse of his deceased husband and successfully argued two pro bono LGBTQ+ rights cases before the Ohio Supreme Court. He has also been a lecturer at the Ohio Judicial College, educating Ohio probate court judges on marriage equality and related issues.
Scott has received numerous honors over three decades, including the 1999 Stonewall Cincinnati Ron Adkins Leadership Award and the 2018 Human Rights Campaign Cincinnati Chapter David C. Crowley Leadership Award, recognizing his legal work on behalf of the gay, lesbian, and transgender communities. In 2022, he received the Nicholas J. Longworth III Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Cincinnati College of Law. He has been named CityBeat Magazine’s “Best Lawyer” seven times and received a Certificate of Outstanding Community Service from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine’s Infectious Diseases Center and University of Cincinnati Hospital for his legal advocacy on behalf of individuals living with HIV.
He currently serves on the boards of the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library Foundation, the Holocaust and Humanity Center, Equality Cincinnati PAC, the Ohio Lesbian Archives, and the Hamilton County Democratic Party Executive Committee.
Scott was especially honored to serve as Grand Marshal of the Cincinnati Pride Parade in 2005 and to receive the 2014 Cincinnati Bar Association Potter Stewart Inn of Court Andrew B. Dennison Courageous Advocate Award, recognizing an attorney who upholds the professional obligation to represent the poor, the unpopular, or the friendless.
A seasoned executive and legal expert, Emma is President and CEO of CincyTech, one of the Midwest’s most active early-stage venture capital firms and venture development organizations. She assumed leadership of the firm in January 2024, bringing extensive experience in private capital markets and a strong commitment to advancing the region’s innovation-driven economy.
Prior to joining CincyTech, Emma built a distinguished legal career advising private investment firms, funds, and U.S. and international public and private companies on complex commercial matters. Her work spanned mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, reorganizations, joint ventures, corporate governance, fiduciary matters, and capital raising and investment across a wide range of industries.
Emma’s leadership and influence have earned broad recognition. She is a Forty Under 40 honoree and was named a Top Woman in Tech 2024 by Purpose Jobs. She was selected as a Bosses to Watch by the Cincinnati Business Courier and named one of the region’s Top 300 Most Powerful Business Leaders by Cincinnati Magazine in both 2024 and 2025. In the legal field, she has been ranked by Chambers USA for Corporate/M&A and recognized by Legal 500 as a Next Generation Partner and one of the nation’s top M&A attorneys.
In addition to her executive role, Emma is active in civic leadership, serving on the boards of ArtsWave and Ohio Life Sciences.
Judy Pershern is the former Vice President and Counsel of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, where she built a distinguished 28-year career. A deeply engaged alumna of the UC College of Law, Pershern has contributed extensively to the College through her service on multiple committees, including the Advisory Board and International Advisory Board, and as Chair of the Women in Law Committee.
The Women in Law Program was co-founded during the COVID-19 pandemic by Judy and fellow alumna Melanie Stinson Newby ’74, and was designed to connect UC Law alumnae while fostering meaningful philanthropic impact. Programs supported through Women in Law have included the Summer Public Interest Fellowship, the UC Legal Access Clinic, and Study Abroad international partnerships. Pershern’s most recent contribution to the College of Law is the establishment of a scholarship fund dedicated to supporting first-generation college students.
Beyond the College of Law, Judy has served on the UC Foundation Board since 2019, including a term as Chair of the Committee on Trustees and Governance. In recognition of her philanthropic leadership, she has been inducted into the Herman Schneider Legacy Society.
Judy is also highly active in the Greater Cincinnati community. Her volunteer leadership includes chairing the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women initiative, as well as service on the Allocation Committee of the United Way of Greater Cincinnati. She is also involved with ArtsWave, Impact 100, and the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative.
Supporter Opportunities
- Prominent display of your company’s logo:
-On event web site
-In email marketing materials
-Featured in printed program - Name recognition during program
- Twenty company seats at reserved tables(s)
- Prominent display of your company’s logo:
-On event web site
-Featured in printed program - Company name included in email marketing materials
- Name recognition during program
- Ten company seats at reserved tables(s)
- Company name included in the following matierals:
-Event web site
-Email marketing
-Printed program - Name recognition during program
- Ten company seats at reserved tables(s)
Thank You to Our Supporters
1980 HON. DAVID PORTER ’34
1981 HON. TIMOTHY S. HOGAN
C.R. “BOB” BEIRNE ’32 (POSTHUMOUSLY)
1982 HON. THEODORE M. BERRY ’31
LOUIS NIPPERT ’28
1983 WILLIAM J. KEATING ’50
HON. WILLIAM S. RICHARDSON ’43
1984 HON. OLIVE L. HOLMES ’43
PROF. RICHARD E. SPEIDEL ’57
1985 HON. GEORGE H. PALMER ’49
HON. JOHN W. PECK ’38
1986 AMBASSADOR RICHARD D. KEARNEY ’38
1987 JOHN W. HUDSON ’30
HON. JOSEPH P. KINNEARY ’35
1988 MARTHA H. PERIN ’48
JOHN J. GETGEY ’60 (POSTHUMOUSLY)
1989 CHARLES A. CORRY ’59
ROBERT G. STACHLER ’57
1990 STANLEY M. CHESLEY ’60
HENRY W. HOBSON, JR. ’48
1991 DR. H. ELSIE AUSTIN ’30
JOHN L. MUETHING ’48
1992 HON. WILLIAM O. BERTELSMAN ’61
JOHN S. STITH ’64
1993 DONALD P. KLEKAMP ’57
HARRY H. SANTEN ’57
1994 PROF. SAMUEL S. WILSON ’61
THOMAS C. SPRAUL ’50 (POSTHUMOUSLY)
1995 BRUCE I. PETRIE, SR. ’50
HON. CARL B. RUBIN ’44
1996 LLOYD H. O’HARA ’42
HON. JOHN W. KEEFE ’39
1997 HON. JOHN D. HOLSCHUH ’51
HON. RAYMOND E. SHANNON ’48
1998 PROF. ROBERT L. FELIX ’59
HON. DONALD C. WINTERSHEIMER ’59
1999 PROF. KENNETH L. APLIN ’59
HON. THOMAS C. NURRE, ’57
2000 FAY DANNER DUPUIS ’69
MILTON J. SCHLOSS, SR. ’37
2001 MARIANNA BROWN BETTMAN ’77
DOLORIS F. LEARMONTH ’78
2002 WILLIAM R. MARTIN ’76
BARBARA G. WATTS ’78
2003 JOHN D. ALTENBURG, JR. ’73
WILBERT L. ZIEGLER ’56
2004 NICHOLAS L. WHITE ’56
LEO J. BRESLIN ’53 (POSTHUMOUSLY)
2005 MICHAEL H. NEUMARK ’70
COLOMBE M. NICHOLAS ’68
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT 1880 (POSTHUMOUSLY)
2006 HON. WILLIAM M. BARKER ’67
MELANY STINSON NEWBY ’74
2007 JOHN P. WILLIAMS, JR. ’66
ANN MARIE TRACEY ’75
PROF. STANLEY E. HARPER, JR. ’48
2008 HON. RANDALL J. NEWSOME ‘75
PATRICIA MANN SMITSON ‘77
FREDERICK H. BRAUN ’56 (POSTHUMOUSLY)
2009 HON. SANDRA S. BECKWITH ’68
HON. MARK P. PAINTER ’73
JOHN F. PEYTON, JR. ’69 (POSTHUMOUSLY)
2010 NORMAN I. BARRON ’60 (POSTHUMOUSLY)
ANTHONY C. COLLINSWORTH ’91
WILLIAM P. MORELLI ’78
2011 GEORGE FABE ’81
LOUIS F. GILLIGAN ’68
COL. LEVATOR NORSWORTHY, JR. ’73
2012 DANIEL P. CARMICHAEL ’68
HON. CHERYL D. GRANT ’73
JAMES C. KENNEDY ’76
2013 DANIEL J. BUCKLEY ’74
HON. DENNIS S. HELMICK ’72
JAMES L. JOHNSON ’80
2014 BARBARA J. HOWARD ’79
SHARON J. ZEALEY ’84
2015 KATHLEEN M. BRINKMAN ’75
HON. ROBERT H. GORMAN ’60
DAVID P. KAMP ’81
2016 HON. MICHAEL R. BARRETT ’77
KEN K. PATEL ’90
CAROLYN A. TAGGART ’78
2017 JAMES B. HELMER, Jr. ’75
GARY P. KREIDER ’64
HON. BETH A. MYERS ’82
2018 KEVIN R. LYNN ’83, ’87
HON. THOMAS M. ROSE ’73
SUSAN B. ZAUNBRECHER ’90
2019 WILLIAM J. KEATING, JR. ’79 (POSTHUMOUSLY)
JAMES L. O’CONNELL ’58
HON. HEATHER RUSSELL ’83
2020-2021 NATE LAMPLEY ‘88
KAREN LITKOVITZ ‘84
STEVE WOLNITZEK ‘74
2022 KATHERINE B. BLACKBURN ’89
GARY A. GARFIELD ’81
HON. ALICE O. MCCOLLUM ’72
2023 GERALD A. KAFKA ’75
SCOTT A. KANE ’97
SUSAN STREET WHALEY ’99
2024 HON. STEPHEN J. MARKMAN ’74
TED T. MARTIN ’82
TARA M. ROSNELL ’91
SARAH D. TOPY ’12 (RISING STAR AWARD)
2025 BARBARA J. BRONSON ’73
THOMAS L. CUNI '75
ZAHKI D. DAVIS, Esq.’19
PAUL V. MUETHING '77
This event is open to all University of Cincinnati alumni, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, sexual orientation, or any other class or status protected by applicable law.
Shelley Johnson
Senior Director, Alumni Engagement, College of Law