Leadership Florida Presents Barbara Pariente with the 2024 Leroy Collins Lifetime Achievement Award
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jennie Kroeger
jkroeger@leadershipflorida.org
(850) 556-2123
June 24, 2024
LEADERSHIP FLORIDA PRESENTS BARBARA PARIENTE WITH THE 2024 LEROY COLLINS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Leadership Florida presented Former Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court Barbara Pariente with the 2024 LeRoy Collins Lifetime Achievement Award at its Annual Meeting in Charlotte Harbor earlier this month.
The award recognizes an individual who has gone above and beyond by using their leadership abilities over a lifetime to improve the quality of life for all Florida citizens and future generations.
“We are thrilled to recognize Barbara Pariente and the incredible impact she has made throughout her life,” said Wendy Spencer, president and CEO of Leadership Florida. “She is a shining example of the standard of leadership set by Governor LeRoy Collins, and we are proud to have her as an honorary member of the Leadership Florida family.”
Barbara Pariente was chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court from July 1, 2004, to June 30, 2006. She is the second woman to hold the position of chief justice and served on the Florida Supreme Court from 1997 to 2019. She was also the first Jewish woman to sit on the Florida Supreme Court.
“Justice Pariente is a powerhouse, a force of nature, a mentor, an advocate for women and children—their futures and education—and an exceptional jurist,” said Sarah Alsofrom, a graduate of Leadership Florida’s Cornerstone Class 32 who nominated Pariente for the award. “She has unapologetically broken barriers, erased stigmas, and shattered glass ceilings. She has carved a path for and brought the opportunity to people from all walks of life who have no voice.”
She began her 45-year legal career as the first female attorney with the law firm of Cone, Wagner and Nugent in West Palm Beach and became a partner after only two years. She later founded the law firm Pariente & Silber where she continued her focus on civil trial litigation. She earned certification by the Florida Bar as a Board-Certified Civil Trial Lawyer as well as national certification by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.
From 1993 to 1997 she was a judge on Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeals. Governor Lawton Chiles then appointed her to the Florida Supreme Court. During her 21 years on the Florida Supreme Court, she authored over 1,000 majority opinions and concurrences and worked to reform the family law system in Florida.
She chaired the Florida Supreme Court's Steering Committee on Families and Children in the Courts and was a member of the Governor's Advisory on Character Education and the Florida Bar’s Commission on the Legal Needs of Children. She worked to improve methods for handling cases involving families and children in the courts while collaborating with many agencies to ensure the interests and needs of the child were paramount.
In 2003, Pariente was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a radical double mastectomy and a full course of chemotherapy. During her treatment she was noted for never missing an oral argument or judicial conference. Her decision to sit on the bench without wearing a wig during televised court proceedings was widely hailed as a breakthrough for other women facing cancer treatment.
“Justice Pariente is a woman of many firsts,” said Alsofrom, “but she fights every day to ensure those doors she pushed wide open stay open for future generations.”
About Leadership Florida
For the past 42 years, Leadership Florida has engaged more than 3,500 leaders through a competitive application process who represent all sectors of Florida’s economy and reflect the diverse demographics of the state. Through experiential classes, these leaders renew their leadership skills and build their networks with the goal of addressing key issues facing the state of Florida. For more information, visit www.leadershipflorida.org. Leadership Florida is a federally registered trademark.
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