MARIELSA A. BERNARD, Associate Judge, Montgomery County Circuit Court, 6th Judicial Circuit, since March 1, 2002. Associate Judge, District Court of Maryland, District 6, Montgomery County, October 16, 1998 to March 1, 2002. Member, Criminal Law and Procedure Committee, 1999-2001, and Public Awareness Committee, 2001-04, Maryland Judicial Conference. Member, Business and Technology Division Task Force, 2000; Public Trust and Confidence Implementation Committee, 2000-; Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Judicial Process, 2002-04. Member, Juvenile Drug Court Initiative Committee, Montgomery County Circuit Court, 2003-.
Member, East County Advisory Board, Montgomery County, 1994-96; Hispanic and Latino Advisory Group to County Executive, Montgomery County, 1994-98; Community Partnership Board, Montgomery County, 1995-98; Steering Committee, Bi-County Task Force on Gang Activity, 2004 (co-chair, suppression subcommittee). Born in Washington, DC, October 15, 1955. Attended Thomas S. Wootton High School, Rockville, Maryland; Loyola College, B.A. (political science), 1977; Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America, J.D., 1980. Admitted to Maryland Bar, 1981; District of Columbia Bar, 1981. Associate, Ferretti, Ehrlich & Gordon, 1981-84 (law clerk, 1978-81); Tietz & Ferretti, 1984-86; Vincent E. Ferretti, Jr., 1986-87. Sole practitioner, 1987-97. Partner, Keiffer, Johnston, Reinstein, Bernard & Heffron, L.L.C. 1997-98. Member, Maryland State Bar Association (chair, hispanic-latino lawyers committee, 1995-98; co-chair, leadership academy, 2002-); Montgomery County Bar Association (co-chair, outreach section; chair, nomination & elections committee; chair, executive committee, 2000-01; co-chair, special committee on leadership academy, 2002-); Maryland Hispanic Bar Association (president, 1994-95; board member, 1993-2004); Women's Bar Association of Montgomery County (chair, take-your-daughter-to-work-day program, 1997-2000). Member, Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys Association; National Association of Women Judges. Fellow, Maryland Bar Foundation, 1998; Montgomery Bar Foundation, 1999. Board member, Hispanic Alliance, 1995-98. Board of Directors, Maryland Chapter, National Association of Women Judges, 2000-02. Founder, The Story Book Project (program for incarcerated mothers), National Association of Women Judges, 2001-. Board of Directors, Catholic Community Services, Archdiocese of Washington, 2004-. Executive Citation for outstanding community service, Office of County Executive, Montgomery County, 1982, 1998. Citation, Governor's Commission on Hispanic Affairs, 1994. Award for public service to the community, Hispanic National Law Enforcement Association, 1995. Award for outstanding contributions to Montgomery County, Montgomery County Public Schools, 1997. Award for dedicated leadership, Hispanic Alliance, 1998. Maryland Leadership in Law Award, Daily Record, 2003. Maryland's Top 100 Women, Daily Record, 2003, 2005.
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