SIDEBAR Summer/Fall 2020 - 39

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Women Who
Inspire Us
2020 marks the 100th anniversary of
the ratification of the 19th Amendment
to the United States Constitution, which
granted women the right to vote.
In coordination with the national
Law Day event celebrating the same
occasion, the MBA's Women in the Law
Committee asked members to submit
a brief write-up about a woman who
inspired them (and why)! Here are their
stories.

breakfast. For this reason, and for the
surely countless other selfless acts that
I have not witnessed in person, I am so
very pleased to recognize the Hon. Cheryl
Lynn Austin in conjunction with our
Women in the Law Committee's 19th
Amendment Project.

THE HONORABLE
WENDY DEMCHICK-ALLOY
THE HONORABLE
CHERYL LYNNE AUSTIN
Submitted by Patrick J. Kurtas, Esq.
I have had the great honor and
fortune of seeing Judge Austin utilize
her talents and experiences to motivate,
encourage and inspire a multitude of
individuals, including: the hundreds
of students she has instructed in the
Liberty and Law program; the nearly
one hundred students who have engaged
in our Diversity 1L program, for which
she has served as a vital component
since its inception; our own Leadership
Academy members, who have routinely
benefited from her words of wisdom;
and now all of those in attendance at this
year's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Submitted by The Honorable
Henry S. Hilles, III
I have had the distinct honor and
pleasure of working with Judge Wendy
Demchick-Alloy both as a prosecutor
in the Montgomery County District
Attorney's Office (where she was my
direct supervisor in the late 1990s) and,
presently, as a Judge of the Montgomery
County Court of Common Pleas. As
a young prosecutor, I probably learned
more about trial advocacy from Judge
Demchick-Alloy than anyone else. Her
ability to present her case and persuade
a jury was second-to-none and she was a
fierce, passionate and effective advocate
for Montgomery County's youngest
victims.
In 2004, while she was still a
prosecutor, Judge Demchick-Alloy co-

founded (along with then-prosecutor,
now Judge Risa Vetri Ferman) the
Montgomery Child Advocate Project
(MCAP) which provides free legal
representation to abused and neglected
children. MCAP has become a
powerful force in Montgomery County,
representing vulnerable children in
thousands of cases.
Judge Demchick-Alloy has spent
much of her 10 years on the bench as
"Judge Wendy" in Juvenile Court working
with families and youth to positively
affect young lives. In her distinguished
career, Judge Demchick-Alloy has
consistently strived to effectuate justice
while helping those who need it most.
She has absolutely been an inspiration
to me as she has to so many citizens of
Montgomery County.

MY DAUGHTERS
Submitted by The Honorable
Wendy Demchick-Alloy
The two women who inspire me the
most in my life are my two daughters.
They each, in their own way, inspire me
to be a better human being: to be more
reflective, mindful, and honest with
myself and others. My daughters have
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