Bay View Honors Alums Goldberg, Lero
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Bay View Academy honors two alumna this month - a veteran member of the judiciary and a young member of the US military.
RI Supreme Court Associate Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg (class of '69) is BVA's outstanding alumna of the year. while Anne Lero (class of '00) has been named outstanding young alumna of the year. Both women represent values inherent in the school's mission to educate and elevate young women to positions of service as well as leadership.
Goldberg: Pioneer on the bench
“Two hundred and fifty-eight years, and they are all men,” said Goldberg. As the first woman to fill the Rhode Island chief justice seat on even an interim basis, Goldberg has already diversified those ranks. Although she is profoundly aware of her historic position, Goldberg does not see herself as a crusader.
“I don’t remember ever being at a disadvantage because of my gender,” she said. “The legal profession was one of the first to open up access to women because it is, after all, the legal profession.”
Goldberg is aware of the inequities that still exist in her field. She noted that while the number of women in the law is now roughly equal to the number of men, the numbers don’t always translate to the highest legal ranks.
“The judiciary in this state has not kept pace with these changes,” she said. “The boys like to appoint boys.”
After graduating from Providence College, Goldberg taught elementary school in Providence’s inner city schools for two years before pursuing her lifelong dream of becoming a lawyer. Her time at Suffolk Law, she says, helped steer her towards a career in prosecution.
Lero: Service in the field of war
While attending the University of Vermont on a scholarship, Lero managed to juggle her studies and her ROTC commitment with her participation in the varsity crew team, her involvement in her sorority as the community service chairwoman, and her performance in the university’s orchestra.
When she graduated in 2004 as the only female graduate in her entire Mechanical Engineering department, she was commissioned in the United States Army as a Military Intelligence officer. In five years, Lero deployed three times and served her country honorably in Iraq, Afghanistan, and working with the United Nations in Liberia.
After she returned from her final deployment, to Afghanistan, Lero left active duty and joined the Army Reserves. She decided to continue the work she started during her first trip to Liberia and immediately received a highly coveted position working for the Clinton AIDS Foundation.
Moving to Liberia for eight more months, Lero evaluated medical clinics throughout the Monrovia capital region. She often travelled to remote villages to see their clinics and speak with the villagers. She was so moved by the people she met, Lero often devoted the little free time she had to volunteering at local orphanages and hospice centers. She continued her volunteerism when she returned to Liberia as a civilian.
Galvanized, Lero returned to RI to pursue a new vocation as a nurse, and has recently been accepted to the prestigious Johns Hopkins Accelerated Nursing Program.
Goldberg and Lero will be honored at their alma mater in ceremonies this Sunday.
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