Woman of the Year 2024
Dean Anthony E. Varona and the Seattle University School of Law Womxn's Law Caucus in collaboration with the Womxn of Color Coalition, invite you to join us as we recognize and celebrate our 2024 Woman of the Year, Bree R. Black Horse '13.
Seattle University School of Law and the Womxn’s Law Caucus in collaboration with the Women of Color Coalition will present this annual award.
The reception will also feature presentations of two scholarships: The Kellye Testy Scholarship will be awarded jointly by WLC and WOCC. This scholarship is made possible by donations from Washington Women Lawyers. The G. Helen Whitener Scholarship will be awarded jointly by WLC, WOCC, and the Black Law Student Association (BLSA).
Please RSVP via Eventbrite
About Bree R. Black Horse '13
Bree Black Horse (Seminole Nation) serves as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington as the first Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) prosecutor. This position is a central component of the U.S. Department of Justice’s new MMIP Regional Outreach Program, which provides specialized support to U.S. Attorney’s offices to address and combat MMIP issues.
Before joining the U.S. Justice Department, Bree worked in the Native American practice group at Kilpatrick Townsend advising Tribal governments and enterprises on all aspects of federal, state, and tribal law, including tribal sovereignty, economic development, treaty rights, and complex Indian country litigation. She also served as the Program Director for the 2023 LSAC Pre-Law Undergraduate Scholars Program, which is a collaboration between Washington’s three law schools and Heritage University that aims to make a law degree more accessible for Latinx and Indigenous people from Central Washington. Bree previously served as a law clerk to Chief U.S. District Court Judge Brian M. Morris in the District of Montana, and as a legal aid attorney and public defender for the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation.
Bree is a 2013 graduate of Seattle University Law School, where she was the Douglas R. Nash Native American Scholar, Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief of the American Indian Law Journal, and President of the Native American Law Student Association. Bree is the Immediate Past Chair of the WSBA Indian Law Section, Immediate Past President of the WWL Yakima Chapter, a Trustee for the Eastern District of Washington Federal Bar Association, and Co-Founder of the WWL Women of Color Legal Education Fund. Bree also serves on the Northwest Harvest Board of Directors, the ACLU-WA Board of Directors, and is Chair of the ACLU-WA Legal Committee.
The Puget Sound Business Journal named Bree as one of its "40 Under 40" in 2024, and recognized Bree as the “Next Gen in Law” in 2023. Kilpatrick Townsend awarded Bree the Pro Bono Associate of the Year in 2022. WWL recognized her as Chapter Member of the Year in 2022. Bree is a 2019 recipient of the Public Service and Leadership Award from the WSBA Young Lawyers Committee. The National Center for American Indian Economic Development recognized Bree with its “40 Under 40” Award in 2016. She was recognized in 2023 and 2024 as one of the “Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch” for Native American Law by The Best Lawyers in America®. Bree was deemed a Washington “Rising Star” in 2023, and the four years immediately preceding for Native American Law by Super Lawyers magazine. The Yakima Herald featured Bree as one of its “39 Under 39” in 2022.