Beth S. Posner '89 Recognized by ABA for Domestic Violence Work

Beth S. Posner '89 was recently honored by the American Bar Association with the Sharon Corbitt Award.

The award recognizes exceptional service and leadership to improving the legal response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and/or stalking by a lawyer from any area of practice, including non-profit, private firm, government, corporate counsel, and the judiciary.

"In a community created explicitly for the purpose of educating and empowering women, my classmates and professors at Bryn Mawr inspired me to continue the work of empowering women and telling our stories in some form, and the law and legal education have been my arenas." -- Beth S. Posner '89 

Posner has been teaching at UNC School of Law for almost 20 years and has been practicing law almost solely in the area of gender-based violence for 26 years. The core of her work both as a teacher and a lawyer has been lifting up the voices of (mostly) women who have experienced trauma in their private lives and advocating for them in a justice system that is often indifferent to the truth of women’s circumstances. 

"Without a doubt, I learned the importance of this work at Bryn Mawr," says Posner. "In a community created explicitly for the purpose of educating and empowering women, my classmates and professors at Bryn Mawr inspired me to continue the work of empowering women and telling our stories in some form, and the law and legal education have been my arenas. Wonderful teachers and administrators, like Sandra Berwind, Carol Bernstein, Karen Tidmarsh, and Pat McPherson taught me the importance of connecting with students in the classroom, in my office, and in the community. Additionally, it is no coincidence that my professional colleagues are, for the most part, extraordinary women. I attribute my college experience to the expectation that I would always be surrounded by brilliant, fierce, and supportive women, and am very grateful that I have been able to live that expectation." 

Posner earned her A.B. in English from Bryn Mawr with honors, an M.A. in comparative literature from the University of Pennsylvania, and her J.D. with honors from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.