About CBWLAIt should come as no surprise that two of the history making women attorneys in the coastal bend were also founding members of the Coastal Bend Women Lawyers Association. Hon. Rene Haas was the first to make history by becoming the first female judge in Nueces County in 1982. A few years later in 1985, Hon. Hilda Tagle became the first Hispanic female judge in Nueces County. Judge Tagle continued breaking barriers by becoming the first Hispanic female federal judge when she was appointed in 1998 to the United States Southern District of Texas, Brownsville division.
These women along with Marisela Saldana, Portia Bott, Edna De Los Santos, Ann Kollmorgen, Shirley Selz, and Jeanne Chastain became the organizational founders of a newly formed unincorporated association of female lawyers in the Corpus Christi, Texas area known as the Coastal Bend Women Lawyers Association which officially began on September 1, 1988. |
Past Presidents of CBWLA
1988 – 1989 | Hon. Hilda Tagle
1989 – 1990 | Marisela Saldana 1990 – 1991 | Deanie King 1991 – 1992 | Constance Luedicke 1992 – 1993 | 1993 – 1994 | Kelly Koch 1994 – 1995 | Ida Brazell 1995 – 1996 | Kathleen Morrison 1996 – 1997 | Linda Flores-Resendez 1997 – 1998 | Hon. Nanette Hasette 1998 – 1999 | Debra Rodriguez 1999 – 2000 | Debbie Travis Neuberger 2000 – 2001 | Audrey Vicknair 2001 – 2002 | Linda Kearney 2002 – 2003 | Celeste Robertson 2003 – 2004 | Charlotte Yochem 2004 – 2005 | Charlotte Yochem 2005 – 2006 | Dabney Pettus |
2006 – 2007 | Kathleen Day
2007 – 2008 | Patricia Shackelford 2008 – 2009 | Sandra Sterba-Boatwright 2009 – 2010 | 2010 – 2011 | 2011 – 2012 | 2012 – 2013 | 2013 – 2014 | Susanne Harrold 2014 – 2015 | Kristina Fernandez 2015 – 2016 | Myra Morris 2016 – 2017 | Deborah Rios 2017 – 2018 | Janet Freeman 2018 – 2019 | Kristina Fernandez/Kathy S. Mills 2019 – 2020 | Kathy S. Mills 2020 – 2021 | Deborah Rios 2021 – 2022 | Maria Pia Prebisch 2022 – 2023 | Lauren Braddy |