Four local leaders have made history, becoming the first women to head Orange County courts in all aspects. The League of Women Voters of Orange County hosts a March 11 Hot Topics panel discussion that will celebrate their achievements as part of Women’s History Month.
Doors open at 10:30 a.m. at the Winter Park Events Center for a buffet lunch. The panel discussion, “Making History: Women Leading the Justice System,” starts at 11:45 a.m. at 1050 W. Morse Blvd. in Winter Park and ends at 1 p.m. Tickets are $30 for League members, $37 non-members. Register at www.LWVOC.org/HotTopics.
The moderator is Patricia Broussard, a constitutional law professor at Florida A&M University College of Law. The panelists are the Hon. Lisa T. Munyon, chief judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court; State Attorney Monique Worrell; Orange County Court Clerk Tiffany Moore Russell, and Public Defender Melissa Vickers.
Women’s History Month began as a local celebration and Women’s History Week in Santa Rosa, California, in 1978. The organizers selected the week to correspond with International Women’s Day on March 8. The movement spread across the country the following year, and Congress designated March as Women’s History Month in 1987. The 2026 theme is “Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future.”
Among the issues to be discussed at Hot Topics:
- Systemic changes that they have fought for and achieved (or want to achieve).
- Trends they are seeing in the court systems.
- How personal experiences inspired them to pursue their careers.
Their plans and ideas for the future (Hint: they’re not done yet.)
The panel discussion will be streamed live on the League’s Facebook page and an edited version will be available later on the League’s YouTube channel, League of Women Voters Orange County - YouTube.
Visionary sponsors: Phil and Jennifer Anderson. Silver sponsors: Lyn and David Berelsman; Voting Voices — Michele Levy, Charley Williams, Caroline Emmons-Schramm and Laurie and Richard Wack; The Kindred Three — Lee Rambeau Kemp, Sue Foreman and Joan Erwin; a new Silver sponsor group, Friends of the League — the Hon. Fred Lauten and Shelley Lauten, the Hon. Bob LeBlanc and Joanie Schuler LeBlanc, and Dr. Gloria Pickar. Bronze sponsors: Alex and the Hon. Cynthia Mackinnon.
The League of Women Voters of Orange County, Florida, is a nonpartisan civic organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.