At Seattle University School of Law’s third annual Technology, Innovation Law, and Ethics (TILE) Institute’s Annual Celebration of Alumni, Microsoft Director of Compliance and Responsible AI Catherine Romero ’96, who works on Microsoft’s philanthropic AI for Good team, received the 2025 TILE Alumni Award for her mentorship of law students.
Romero, whom Dean Anthony E. Varona called “a shining example of how our alumni truly are leaders serving justice,” co-founded the Hispanic National Bar Association’s (HNBA) Intellectual Property Law Institute (IPLI), an intellectual property and tech law immersion program for law students, and actively mentors many Hispanic law students and lawyers.
“I love that [the Alumni Award] is focused on service and making the world a better place,” Romero said. “That was really instilled in me when I went to this law school, and I don’t know if I would have [founded the IPLI] without those values instilled in me.”
Romero said she was inspired to start the program because of the disproportionately low numbers of Latino/a lawyers in the U.S.
“I wanted to build a family,” Romero said. “I wanted a place where the students could go and have a safe space to talk to each other, to lean on each other.”
Each year, the IPLI selects up to 30 scholars from law schools across the country to spend a week in Washington, D.C., where they participate in substantive educational programming, hands-on practical experiences, writing and interviewing workshops, mentoring and networking opportunities, and visits to U.S. government institutions.
IPLI alum and 3L Mirtha Lopez said the program made it possible for her to “walk into rooms I never thought I’d enter.”
“Thank you for your vision, your advocacy, and your belief that we belong,” she said.
Trina Saldana ’15 and Letty Walker ’15, both corporate counsel at Microsoft who jointly emceed the event, spoke warmly of Romero’s mentorship. Walker said that Microsoft was a company that she never thought she would work for as an immigrant and first-generation lawyer.
“Romero changed the trajectory of my life and my children’s lives,” Walker said.
Dean Emerita Annette Clark praised Romero’s leadership efforts for aspiring Hispanic lawyers while remaining “the same humble, kind, down-to-Earth person that I met many years ago.”
“Without her, this remarkable and lifechanging program would not have come to be,” Clark said. “Congratulations, Catherine, for being a role model and inspiration for all of us.”
The event, which followed TILE’s first symposium, brought together faculty, alumni, students, and staff who are instrumental in the TILE Institute, which allows students pursuing a JD, Master of Legal Studies (MLS), Master of Laws (LLM), and Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) degrees to learn about the legal disciplines and ethical principles needed for a career in technology-related areas of law.
“One of our biggest secret weapons at Seattle U Law is our large and distinguished alumni community, which consists of literally hundreds of our graduates who practice in fields related to technology and innovation law,” said TILE Faculty Director Margaret Chon.
In his opening remarks, Varona stated the intersection between technology and law is “an intersection that grows more vital and important with each passing moment nowadays.”
“This is a moment when we come together as a community to reconnect, to recognize, and be inspired by the incredible impact our graduates are making in the world of TILE and justice,” Varona said.