GRAWA welcomes newest members

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GRAWA welcomes newest members

By Nora A. Jones
New York Daily Record Special to The Daily Record
Posted: 6:20 pm Thu, October 18, 2012 6:20 pm Thu, October 18, 2012

New members Hadley Matarazzo, Susan Wormer, Natasha Noras and Kelly Foss.

The Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys held its annual New Members Reception on Oct. 3. In addition to casual socializing, GRAWA Program Co-Chairs Meghan Lynch and Elaine Cole introduced the new members in attendance and shared a few facts about each.

“There is definitely a ‘return to family’ theme among our new members,” Cole said as she helped introduce the about 20 new members in attendance. “We’re happy to see that both new attorneys and women who started their legal careers elsewhere agree that the Rochester area is a great place to live and work,” she continued.

GRAWA President Kim Duguay and GRAWA President-elect Melanie Wolk were both on hand to meet new members and catch up with friends and colleagues. Andrea Composto, a member of the Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association represented the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York. She currently holds a vice president position with WBASNY and serves as a liaison to various chapters.

The New Members Reception is also an opportunity for GRAWA to recognize members who passed the bar exam 25 years ago. This year’s 25-year celebrants included Lisa Reagan and Laura Taylor. Other 25-year honorees, Rachel Brody Bandych, Anna Lynch and the Hon. Connor Jane O’Brien, were unable to attend.

At latest count, GRAWA said the group has 32 new members since the June 1 start of the fiscal year. Membership applications and information can be found at the GRAWA website: www.grawa.org.

— Photos by Nora A. Jones

Heather Neu, chair of GRAWA’s Newly Admitted Women Attorneys Committee, with Heather Mapstone, new GRAWA member.

New member honorees included, from left, Stephanie Batcheller, Heather Mapstone, Erin Beatty, Christine O’Connor, Cristin Nagle, Laura Smith, Amanda Dwyer and Kate McClung Sher.

New GRAWA member Leticia Astacio poses with Margaret Sánchez and Josie Sheppard. Sánchez and Associates provides administrative services for GRAWA and Sheppard is currently the chair of the Diversity Committee.