Awards Schedule

  • Thursday Luncheon | Younger Federal Lawyer Award(s), Unsung Hero Award, Shaw Award + Grant, Elaine R. “Boots” Fisher Award
  • Friday Luncheon | Robyn J. Spalter Award, Peter J. Mazza Award
  • Saturday Luncheon (Presidential Installation) | Earl W. Kintner Award
  • National Council Meeting |Outstanding Newsletter, Section & Division Recognition, Chapter Community Outreach, Chapter Presidential Excellence, Chapter of the Year, Outstanding Section and Division Leader, Outstanding Chapter Leader(s), CVP Outstanding Leader

Presented during Thursday’s Luncheon 

Younger Federal Lawyer Award (YFLA) Recipients

Emily Czerniejewski is an Assistant United States Attorney with the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Ohio.  She joined the Columbus, Ohio office as a federal prosecutor in January 2021, specializing in child exploitation and human trafficking violations of federal law.  She returned to her Ohio roots having grown up in Toledo, Ohio and graduating from the University of Toledo with her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.  Upon graduation from the University of Toledo, Emily moved to Chicago, Illinois to attend the DePaul University College of Law.  After receiving her Juris Doctorate degree from DePaul, Emily began her legal career as an Assistant States Attorney at the Chicago, Cook County States Attorney’s Office.  In her role as a Chicago prosecutor, Emily worked in a number of different bureaus including the appellate, juvenile, and violent crimes divisions.  She served as a Chicago prosecutor for almost a decade.  While in Chicago, Emily also worked as an Adjunct Professor at DePaul, teaching Trial Advocacy and coaching mock trial teams for the American Association of Justice national mock trial competition.  She currently resides in Dublin, Ohio with her husband and two young boys and is consistently surrounded by the chaos they bring in rooting for the University of Michigan football team despite her allegiance to The Ohio State Buckeyes.

Mary Cile Glover-Rogers is an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of California, where she is assigned in the Civil Division.  She previously served as a law clerk in federal and state court and litigated in private practice for several years in Missoula, Montana, and San Diego. Mary Cile is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and the University of Missouri School of Law. She served as 2023 President of the San Diego Chapter of the FBA and presently serves on the San Diego Federal Bar Foundation Board and San Diego Federal Daycare Board.

Brittney M. Harris has been an Assistant United States Attorney with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California for seven years and a Deputy Chief for the last three years.  She prosecutes organized crime, cartel, and major drug trafficking, money laundering and racketeering cases.  Brittney is also the Opioids Coordinator for the office and in that role, she runs the overdose justice program, which targets fentanyl and other drug dealers whose drugs cause fatal overdoses.  Prior to the USAO, Brittney was a Deputy Attorney General with the California Attorney General’s Office.  Brittney graduated from UC Berkeley School of Law.

Zachary Moor is a Senior attorney in the Environmental Enforcement Section at the U.S. Department of Justice.  His achievements include a leadership role in the Fiat Chrysler “defeat device” litigation, negotiating a record-setting settlement addressing Benzene and VOC emissions at BP Products’ Whiting Refinery, and litigating a Superfund cost-recovery action to favorable judgment regarding improper disposal of hazardous waste.  He was recently awarded U.S. EPA’s Gold Medal for Exceptional Service. Before U.S. DOJ, Zack completed the U.S. EPA Federal Honors Attorney Program where he brought enforcement actions under the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act.   He is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and Boston University Law School.

Matthew E. Ritzman has dedicated twelve years of service to the United States government. Prior to his legal career, Matt held a non-attorney role as a Drug Treatment Specialist with the Federal Bureau of Prisons where he provided counseling services to inmates in a federal prison. Matt also served as the President of the American Federation of Government Employees Union, Local 1741. In his current role as a Field Attorney, representing the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), he investigates and prosecutes unfair labor practice complaints. Prior to attending law school, Matt also earned a Ph.D.

Unsung Hero Award

Ray Chapdelaine served in Law Enforcement for 47 years. He was a local police officer and joined the Massachusetts State Police in 1978. He was a patrol officer, worked in the Crime Prevention and Mounted Units, and was an undercover narcotics officer. He moved up the ranks to Corporal and Sergeant and supervised a new unit of DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) where he oversaw state troopers and taught at schools and served as the Massachusetts DARE officers association president. As a Lieutenant, he was assigned to headquarters and supervised the DARE, Domestic Violence, and Community Service Units. He was an instructor at the State Police Academy and was a guest lecturer at Harvard University. He initiated a program called DARE to Ski which gave opportunity to students as an alternative to drugs. He ended his career as a Station Commander and retired from the State Police in 2008. In 2009 he was hired as a Court Security Officer for the Federal District Court in Springfield, MA and is currently employed there for Walden Security. In 2023 he was awarded Court Security Officer of the year for the District of Massachusetts by Walden Security. He is the third oldest of 11 children and married his wife Linda in 2020. He has three children and four grandchildren.

Ilene and Michael Shaw Public Service Award and Younger Lawyer Public Service Grant 

Service Award | Kansas-Western District of Missouri Chapter
Service Grant | Orange County Chapter

Elaine R. “Boots” Fisher Award for Exemplary Community, Public, and Charitable Service

Patricia Anne Kinaga is a member of the Los Angeles Chapter Board and has dedicated more than 30 years to social justice causes. A former prosecutor and current employment litigator, her accomplishments include pioneering efforts (Emmy-nominated documentary producer and co-founder of domestic violence shelter) to empower not only survivors but also to increase the visibility of domestic violence as a socioeconomic-cultural issue. She co-founded the country’s first community-based mediation center for Asian-Pacific immigrants. She also co-founded and chairs a unique nonprofit that breaks down cultural barriers to support Asian young adults with mental, physical, and developmental disabilities. She is a recipient of the Peter E. Haas Public Service Award from University of California-Berkeley and was named among the “Who’s Who in Making Asian American Pacific Islander History” by ABC News.

Presented during Friday’s Luncheon 

Peter J. Mazza Outstanding Federal Lawyer Award 

Andrew Haden serves as Senior Litigation Counsel in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.  Andrew joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2010 via the Attorney General’s Honors Program and has prosecuted cases in a variety of subject matter areas, including violent crime, racketeering, public corruption, drug trafficking, immigration offenses, child exploitation, and firearms offenses. Andrew previously served as the Acting U.S. Attorney, the First Assistant U.S. Attorney, the Chief of the Criminal Division, the Inaugural Chief of the Violent Crimes & Human Trafficking Section, and as the Project Safe Neighborhoods Coordinator. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s office, Andrew served as a law clerk to the Honorable Thomas J. Whelan for the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.  Prior to law school, Andrew served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy for five years, which included two overseas deployments in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and Joint Task Force Liberia.

Robyn J. Spalter Outstanding Achievement Award

Kate Marples-Simpson is a partner at Stevens & Brand, L.L.P., in Lawrence, Kansas. She previously clerked for the Honorable Carlos Murguia of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas in Kansas City, Kansas and for the Honorable K. Gary Sebelius for the United States District Court in Topeka, Kansas. Kate graduated from KU Law in 2014, where she started the KU FBA Student Division, and KU in 2011 with a BA in Germanic Languages and Literatures. Kate was awarded the Outstanding Chapter Leader for a Large Chapter for 2020 for her year as President of the Chapter for the Districts of Kansas and Western Missouri. Kate is currently an FBA Circuit Vice President for the 10th Circuit, the Secretary/Treasurer of the Civil Rights Section, Secretary of the Labor & Employment Law Section, and a member of the FBA Judiciary Division’s Federal Judicial Law Clerk Committee.

Presented during Saturday’s National Council Meeting

Outstanding Newsletter Awards
Admiralty Law Section
Dayton Chapter
Federal Litigation Section
Hon. Raymond L. Acosta Puerto Rico Chapter
Minnesota Chapter
New Orleans Chapter
Northern District of Ohio Chapter
Oklahoma City Chapter
South Florida Chapter
Tampa Bay Chapter

Section and Division Recognition Awards
Admiralty Law Section
Civil Rights Law Section
Federal Litigation Section
International Law Section
Judiciary Division
Law Student Division

Chapter Community Outreach Award
New Orleans Chapter

Chapter Presidential Excellence Awards
Atlanta Chapter
Broward County Chapter
New Orleans Chapter
Oklahoma City Chapter
Phoenix Chapter
San Diego Chapter
South Florida Chapter
Southern District of Illinois Chapter
Tampa Bay Chapter
> Presidential Citation | Southern District of Illinois Chapter (Women in the Law Symposium)

Chapter of the Year
South Florida Chapter

Outstanding Section and Division Leader Award
Andrea L. Marconi | Chair, Federal Litigation Section

Outstanding Chapter Leader Awards
David Byrne | Montgomery Chapter
Zachary New | Colorado Chapter
Stephanie Turk | South Florida Chapter

Vice Presidents for the Circuits Outstanding Leader Award
Kate Marples Simpson | 10th Circuit

Presented during Saturday’s Luncheon

Earl W. Kintner Award for Distinguished Service

Martha Hardwick Hofmeister is a business litigator and a founding partner of the Dallas-based law firm Shackelford, McKinley & Norton.  Martha’s law practice is focused on employment, fiduciary, probate, real estate, contract, and aviation matters. Martha, a member of the Federal Bar Association for more than 30 years, has served the organization in multiple roles, including as Fifth Circuit Vice President in 2002-04 and the President of the Dallas Chapter (1999-2000). She was honored with the Elaine R. “Boots” Fisher Award for exemplary community, public, and charitable service in 1999 and with the President’s Award in 2003 after she chaired the successful Dallas Convention the previous year.  Martha became a Sustaining Charter Life Fellow of the Foundation of the Federal Bar Association in 2001; was asked to be Fellows Chair immediately thereafter; and served as a Trustee of the Foundation from 2003-18. In addition to serving as Foundation president from 2013-15, Martha conceived of and implemented the Foundation’s Chapter Community Outreach Grant program; these grants have increased FBA chapters’ ability to provide community service, such as civics programming. Martha’s extracurricular activities have included significant positions of leadership in Altrusa International, Inc., an international community service organization; the William “Mac” Taylor, Jr. American Inn of Court; Commercial Law Group, a network of commercial law firms largely based in Europe; and the Dallas Bar Association.  With respect to the last, Martha has served as the first and only director of an annual four-night theatrical production which raises money for minority law student scholarships and features a cast of lawyers and judges; in the 36 plus years of its existence, Bar None has provided more than $2.4 million to the scholarships.