President's Column

Hear from Local Legends on the Austin Bar’s Podcast, Council of Firsts

On April 18, 2023, the Austin Bar Association’s Council of Firsts podcast dropped. The premise of the podcast is that, though many people talk about the importance of diversity, we don’t always celebrate it when it appears, nor remember all of the historical moments that came before us.

Every Tuesday, you will get a new podcast episode, with a story from a local legend.

The first episode featured Velva Price, the first African American female president of the Austin Bar and your Travis County District Clerk.

Velva Price

Since then, I have talked to so many impressive people whose stories should be told. Some of these are legends you know of, like Judge Lora Livingston, the first African American female to preside over a Travis County District Court; Judge Orlinda Naranjo, the first Latina to become an elected judge of a countywide seat; and Justice Gisela Triana, the first Latina justice of the Third Court of Appeals. And some may be people that are new to you—and if so, I am happy to introduce them.

One of these individuals you may not know but definitely should is Richard Pena, the first Hispanic president, and first minority president ever, of the Austin Bar and the State Bar of Texas. There’s also Gary Schumann, founder of the Austin LGBT Bar Association and current chair of the Austin LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Have you met Betty Balli Torres, executive director of the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, first Latina executive director of TAJF, and first Latina Distinguished Lawyer from the Austin Bar Foundation? If you haven’t yet, you should make it a point to listen to the third episode of Council of Firsts

Richard Pena

Betty Balli Torres

You will also hear from leaders of our sister organizations, such as Caroline Hall, president of the Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association, and leaders of emerging organizations, such as Maria Amalia Calef, founder of Cafecitos, an organization for Latina lawyers, as well as many more.

I encourage you to listen to these stories, consider joining the organizations that inspire them, and maybe even donate your time or your money to them.

I hope you enjoy these episodes as much as I do. If you have ideas for future guests, please email me at amanda@austinbar.org.