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THE WEBB SCHOOLS webb.org
SUMMER 2021 WEBB MAGA ZINE
Alumni Awards 2020 There is no greater testament to The Webb Schools’ mission, culture of service and honorable leadership than our extraordinary alumni. Through our annual Alumni Awards program, the Alumni Council and the Board of Trustees honor alumni whose service and achievements truly exemplify the qualities and values that Webb represents. Alumni Outstanding Achievement The Alumni Outstanding Achievement Award acknowledges alumni who epitomize the core values of their school’s motto: Webb School of California: Principes non Homines, “Leaders, Not Common Men” Vivian Webb School: Sapientia Amicitia Atque Honor, “Wisdom, Friendship and Honor”
Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ’93 Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Throughout her distinguished career, the Honorable Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ’93 has exemplified the Vivian Webb School ideals of Wisdom, Friendship and Honor. Upon graduation from Harvard University, she worked as a public high school teacher in Ghana. After earning her J.D. from Yale University in 2001, she clerked for a judge on the Federal Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, worked at an international law firm and then served in the Justice Department during President Obama’s administration. In 2015, she joined the Millennium Challenge Corp. in Washington, D.C., a foreign aid agency run by the United States government.
Over the course of her legal career, Judge Frimpong practiced numerous areas of the law, including whitecollar crime, immigration, civil rights, international law, and consumer protection. She was appointed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2015 and took the bench in 2016. She serves as an assistant supervising judge of the Criminal Division and presides over a criminal courtroom in downtown Los Angeles. “I had wanted to become a lawyer to make society work better and fairer … and I truly loved advocating for my clients,” Frimpong said. “Over time, however, I came to see that the judge is also an advocate – for justice and the rule of law. The more I considered it, the more I felt drawn to the role. And ultimately, the opportunity to grapple with complex legal questions, make difficult decisions, demystify the justice system for the public, and protect the rights of all who come before me was too intriguing not to try.” Frimpong has also been a strong supporter of Vivian Webb School (from which she graduated as valedictorian), engaging with Webb students whenever she can. She’s been a guest speaker multiple times at Sophomore Career Evening, delivered the keynote address at the 2018 Honors Symposium, hosted alumni in her Los Angeles courtroom (including Jason Brooks ’99 and his class of high school students), served as an alumni mentor for Webb’s first-ever Black student-alumni affinity meeting and gave the keynote address for the 2021 Vivian Webb School Commencement.
