On June 5, 2019, the Boston Patent Law Association (BPLA) hosted their annual Judges Dinner to honor the federal judiciary at the John Joseph Moakley Courthouse in Boston. Over 200 guests attended, including 14 judges from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
BPLA President and Hamilton Brook Smith Reynolds Principal Deirdre Sanders presented U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr. with the 2019 Distinguished Public Service Award in recognition of his many years of public service. It was a wonderful evening spent recognizing Judge O’Toole’s accomplishments. Deirdre stated, “I was honored to present Judge O’Toole with this year’s Distinguished Public Service Award. The BPLA’s mission focuses on education, service, and community, and Judge O’Toole has made a positive impact in all of these areas.”
2019 BPLA Board Members with The Honorable George A. O’Toole, Jr. Left to Right - Rory Pheiffer, Rachel Emsley, Josh Dalton, The Honorable George A. O’Toole, Jr., Deirdre Sanders, Rebecca McNeill, Keith Toms, Emily Whelan, Daniel Young, and Michael Bergman
BPLA President, Deirdre Sanders presenting The Honorable George A. O’Toole, Jr. with the 2019 Distinguished Public Service Award
Deirdre continued: “From his appointment as a Boston Municipal Court Associate Justice to his current position as Senior District Judge of the United States District Court, District of Massachusetts, Judge O’Toole has contributed significantly in terms of his well-reasoned decisions plus his educational and administrative roles. The BPLA especially appreciates his contributions working with the BPLA and other organizations in crafting local rules. We especially thank Judge O’Toole for his interesting and thought-provoking speech at our Annual Judges Dinner. We are fortunate to have Judge O’Toole a part of our judicial community.”
The evening concluded with a keynote speech from Nathalia Holt, Ph.D., the author of
Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us from Missiles to the Moon to Mars and Cured: The People Who Defeated HIV
and a former fellow at the Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT, and Harvard University. Nathalia captivated guests with her enlightening and educational story, which focused heavily on women in STEM, the subjects of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.Keynote Speaker Nathalia Holt, Ph.D. Spoke to the Guests about Her Book Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us from Missiles to the Moon to Mars
Kristen Salvaggio, BPLA Activities Chair and Associate at Hamilton Brook Smith Reynolds, commented on Nathalia’s speech, “Nathalia brought to life the women who worked as human ‘computers’ in the 1940s and 50s at a lab that would one day become part of NASA. It was fascinating to learn that, at a time when most engineering programs were closed to women, there existed an entirely female group of computers at the core of the early days of the space program. Many thanks to Nathalia for providing us with such a fascinating window into their world.”
On behalf of the BPLA, Deirdre would like to thank its members, the members of the judiciary who attended and the event sponsors.
