Est. 1921 · San Francisco Bay Area 105 years of women
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At the Gala · November 19
Honoring our 2026 keynote speaker and awardees
Select a portrait to read a short bio.
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Bank of America Foundation Chair in International Law, UC Law San Francisco
Professor Musalo is the founding director of the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies and the Refugee and Human Rights Clinic at UC Law San Francisco. For more than three decades she has been involved in every major landmark case on gender violence and the right to refugee protection. She was lead counsel in Matter of Kasinga, the decision that recognized gender-based persecution as a basis for asylum in the United States.
Award Recipients
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Administrative Law Judge (Ret.), Office of Administrative Hearings
Queen’s Bench President, 1984Judge Astle served the State of California for three decades, retiring in 2015 as an Administrative Law Judge with the Office of Administrative Hearings in Oakland. She is a co-author of CEB’s California Administrative Hearing Practice, led Queen’s Bench as President in 1984, and continues to serve on the Scholarships Committee.
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Stross Wess Cutcher & Levin LLP
Second Vice President, Queen’s BenchAlexandra is a family law associate at Stross Wess Cutcher & Levin LLP in San Mateo. Her service to Queen’s Bench began when she was a Law Student Liaison. She has since served as Secretary and Treasurer and now serves as Second Vice President, Membership Chair, and Mentorship Committee Co-Chair. She also chairs the Women Lawyers’ Section of the San Mateo County Bar Association.
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Jackson Lewis P.C.
Assistant Secretary-Treasurer, Queen’s BenchIn her first year of membership, Kim joined the Board of Directors as Assistant Secretary-Treasurer, serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Weekly Digest, and is a member of the Gala Committee. She is an associate in the San Francisco office of Jackson Lewis P.C., where she handles disputes under ERISA and advises employers, plan sponsors, and fiduciaries on benefit plans.
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Partner, Flicker Kerin, LLP
Director, Queen’s BenchLinda is the Queen’s Bench 2026 honoree for the Minority Bar Coalition’s Unity Award, recognized for her work on Get Into the Legal Loop (GILL), the association’s pipeline program for first-generation college and law students, and for her leadership of the Mentorship Committee, which she co-chairs. She is a partner at Flicker Kerin, LLP and a Certified Family Law Specialist.
Scholarship Recipients
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UC Law San Francisco, J.D. Candidate 2027
Jenny is a 3L at UC Law San Francisco, where she is Acquisitions Chair and Senior Editor for the Journal for Race and Economic Justice and Co-President of the Law Empowerment and Access Project. She has externed for the Honorable Edward M. Chen of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and Justice Goodwin H. Liu of the California Supreme Court. She hopes to pursue a legal career advocating on behalf of low-income, underrepresented community members.
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University of San Francisco School of Law, J.D. Candidate 2027
Melitza is a J.D. candidate at the University of San Francisco School of Law, where she is a McAuliffe Honors Society member. The 2023 Valedictorian of USF’s College of Arts and Sciences, she externed for Judge Victor Hwang at the San Francisco Superior Court and was a summer associate at Hanson Bridgett LLP. She aspires to focus on litigation and dispute resolution.
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University of San Francisco School of Law, J.D. Candidate 2028
Dalia is a second-year law student at the University of San Francisco School of Law. Born in Jalisco, Mexico, she is the first in her family to receive a formal education. She studied Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, participates in the Immigration Policy Clinic, and is a Civil Procedure tutor.
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University of San Francisco School of Law, J.D. Candidate 2027
Olivia is a third-year J.D. candidate at the University of San Francisco School of Law, where she is President of the Intellectual Property and Cyber Law Association and a staff member on the USF Law Review. In the CREATE Artists’ Rights Clinic, she handles pro bono casework for small creators. She hopes to reform fashion’s environmental operations.
A special note: Professor Musalo and each of our eight awardees will be recognized at the 2026 Annual Gala, Stronger Together, on Thursday, November 19 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco. Please join us in congratulating them.
Also on the program: the Presentation of Hats to 2025 President Elisha Jussen-Cooke.
Counting down The 2026 Annual Gala Thursday, November 19 · 6:00 PM Hyatt Regency San Francisco The Queen’s Bench Annual Gala is on Thursday, November 19, 2026 at 6:00 PM Pacific time, at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco.
The Gala is at capacity. Join the waitlist in case a seat opens.
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In the news
Featured Stories
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Est. 1921 A Century in the MakingMore than one hundred women have taken the gavel as President of Queen’s Bench. A few highlights, decade by decade. Queen’s Bench Foundation · Est. 1974 Research in defense of the law’s promise.Our 501(c)(3) sister organization was established in 1974 by eight Queen’s Bench members — the Great Eight — to perform research and disseminate information in defense of the human and civil rights secured by law. 80Survivors interviewed
75Offenders studied
2DOJ grants
1986Cal. Supreme Court
Lasting impact With U.S. Department of Justice funding, the Foundation’s 1975–76 research — Rape: Prevention and Resistance — was cited by the California Supreme Court in People v. Barnes (1986) 42 Cal.3d 284, confirming California’s abolition of the “resistance requirement” in rape law. The only court opinion citing the Foundation’s research directly. |