Past Shining Star Highlights
2025 Shining Star Celebration
Photos courtesy of Steph Stevens Photo
Stéphane Babonneau and Antoine Camus
2025 Leadership Awardees
VRLC recognized attorneys Stéphane Babonneau and Antoine Camus for their remarkable work representing client Gisèle Pelicot. in the French case that drew international attention and spurred a renewed dialogue about cultural contributors. Their support, advocacy, and unique strategy enabled Ms. Pelicot to seek justice and use her voice to inspire survivors around the world.
Stéphane and Antoine had to cancel their plans to be with us in order to stand alongside Ms. Pelicot as she testified during the appeal of a single assailant. Hours before our event they got word that the conviction was upheld and the rapist’s sentence was increased. Stéphane spoke with our Stacy Malone early the next morning. Click below to watch their conversation.
Kristen Gibbons Feden, Esq.
2018 Leadership Awardee and Member of VRLC’s Board of Directors
As special prosecutor in the Bill Cosby case, Kristen Gibbons Feden, Esq., shares the experience of representing a survivor in the midst of intense media interest. Kristen provided commentary on the Pelicot case and the impact it’s had on French law and naming cultural attitude that promote sexual violence.
Anthony Mirenda, Esq.
2025 Shining Star Awardee
Anthony Mirenda, Esq., is a Partner at Foley Hoag and Co-Chair of its White Collar Crime and Government Investigations Practice. Tony defends companies, and their officers, directors, and other individuals, in complex criminal and regulatory investigations, enforcement actions, and civil litigation. He also advises clients on corporate compliance matters, conducts confidential internal investigations, and helps organizations develop and implement effective cross-border compliance programs.
As a committed advocate for survivors’ rights, Tony has been a dedicated volunteer with VRLC for over two decades, making a profound impact on privacy rights. He has played a pivotal role in shaping legal arguments through multiple VRLC amicus briefs advocating for the protection and confidentiality of survivors’ medical, therapy, and personal digital records. In collaboration with Foley Hoag’s pro bono counsel, he has overseen numerous VRLC pro bono cases ensuring survivors receive critical legal support. Through his unwavering leadership, guidance and advocacy, Tony has established himself as a dedicated champion for survivors.
McDermott, Will & Schulte
2025 Champion Awardee
McDermott, Will & Schulte is a long-standing partner of the Victim Rights Law Center, consistently providing invaluable pro bono support on numerous cases over the years.
Recently, McDermott took on its first Dwyer appeal, which was ultimately heard by the Supreme Judicial Court. The Firm provided exceptional pro bono representation to a minor sexual assault survivor, successfully opposing persistent attempts to access the survivor’s confidential mental health records.
Their advocacy was marked by a masterful command of complex legal precedent and strategic judgment. They argued that a mandated reporter’s 51A filing alone should not justify breaching therapeutic confidentiality.
The significance of this case extends beyond the individual survivor. It ensures the continued accessibility of confidential therapeutic support for other minor survivors.
McDermott’s work exemplifies the highest ideals of pro bono service and reflects an unwavering commitment to protecting the dignity and privacy of sexual assault survivors.
VRLC Client
2025 Courage Awardee
2024 Shining Star Celebration
Photos by Jodi Hilton
Evelyn Yang
2024 Leadership Awardee
2024 Leadership Awardee Evelyn Yang is a mother and wife, author, and survivor-advocate.
Join us as we honor her remarkable courage and persistence in pursuing justice after experiencing sexual assault. In the midst of her husband’s 2020 Presidential campaign, Evelyn used her national platform to disclose her victimization by OBGYN Robert Hadden and the failures of his employer and the criminal justice system to protect patients from continued abuse. Thanks to her bravery, numerous women stepped forward to also report abuse at his hands, and in 2023 he was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Evelyn has continued her advocacy through education and legislation. She has actively supported numerous bills to support survivors, including the Child Victims Act and the Adult Survivors Act. Her book, A Kid’s Book About Sexual Abuse, was released in 2021.
With introduction by
Dana Bash
CNN Anchor and Chief Political Correspondent
Bash notes that a highlight of her career was the 2020 interview with Evelyn Yang in which Yang revealed that she was sexually assaulted by her doctor while she was pregnant.
Noah J. Kaufman, Esq.
2024 Shining Star Awardee
Noah Kaufman, Esq., a Partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, is a skilled litigator representing clients in high-stakes antitrust matters in trial and appellate courts across the country. He represents clients in a variety of sectors, including higher education, life sciences, retail, automotive, and nonprofit. Noah became a VRLC pro bono attorney in 2011 while he was an Associate at Foley Hoag LLP and brought his volunteer work with him to his current position as a Partner at Morgan Lewis. Noah has consistently provided representation on 209Aand 258E protection order hearings for VRLC sexual assault clients, represented survivors on appeals, and highlighted systemic issues in several courts around the Commonwealth to guide VRLC’s strategies. In his years as a pro bono attorney, Noah has represented VRLC clients in protection order matters at the district court and appellate level. Noah has consistently gone above and beyond for his clients, who have come from a variety of backgrounds, stages of life, and some of whom have limited English proficiency. In addition to direct representation of VRLC clients, Noah takes pride in mentoring young lawyers in their own representation of sexual assault survivors. Noah has been a consistent advocate for victims of sexual assault through his work with the VRLC.
Dechert
2024 Champion Awardee
Dechert is a global law firm, representing corporations, financial institutions, sovereign states, quasi-sovereign entities, and private and high-net-worth individuals worldwide. Dechert has been an invaluable partner to VRLC since 2020. They provided regular meeting space for VRLC to use for clients and internal meetings throughout the pandemic when the organization was between Boston offices. Dechert hosted VRLC’s national convening of managing attorneys from across the country to strengthen their legal representation of survivors and their supervisory skills and to build a nationwide network of mentorship, peer support, and training for legal services organizations. Also, Dechert fiercely represented VRLC when a defense counsel attempted to subpoena a wide range of VRLC records and training materials. Dechert’s assistance ultimately helped to keep those records and materials secure and helped the teen survivor at the center of the case pursue justice.
VRLC Client
2024 Courage Awardee
2023 Shining Star Gala
Photos by Kate Brindley Photography
We are particularly delighted to have writer and columnist E. Jean Carroll join us.
Madeleine Rodriguez, Esq.
2023 Shining Star Awardee
Madeleine “Maddy” Rodriguez, a partner at Foley Hoag, is a litigator whose practice is built on a strong foundation of state, federal, and international trial and arbitration experience. As Co- Chair of the firm’s Education practice, Maddy principally represents colleges and universities in civil cases, internal and regulatory investigations, and settlement negotiations. She also represents foreign States, State-controlled entities, and multinational corporations in U.S. federal courts and investment treaty disputes before international arbitral tribunals. Maddy has been a VRLC pro bono attorney since 2017. She has taken on interlocutory appeals on Rule 17 cases, helping to ensure survivor privacy; and has steadfastly been available to VRLC attorneys for last-minute questions, editing Rule 17 filings, and helping VRLC become more involved in the appellate space. Maddy’s expertise has been invaluable for VRLC and survivors.
Stephen Bartlett, Esq.
2023 Shining Star Awardee
Stephen “Steve” Bartlett, an Associate at Foley Hoag, counsels both public and private clients operating in heavily regulated industries on energy and environmental disputes, real estate, transportation and infrastructure projects and state and federal regulatory compliance issues. He also has extensive experience advising medical and adult use cannabis companies on complex state licensing questions and related regulatory compliance and enforcement matters. Steve has been volunteering as a VRLC pro bono attorney since 2017. He has been a zealous advocate for some of VRLC’s most vulnerable clients, including adult survivors of childhood sexual assault; and has collaborated with other pro bono attorneys to help moot several appeals cases throughout the years. Steve has made an incredible difference in the lives of so many survivors.
Shook, Hardy & Bacon
2023 Champion Awardee
Shook, Hardy & Bacon’s (Shook’s) reputation as a trial litigation powerhouse is founded on long-standing collaborations with industry leaders in science, health and technology. Working at the intersection of litigation, regulation and public policy, the firm’s attorneys stay ahead of emerging issues to help companies execute their long-term objectives. Shook has been an exceptional pro bono partner with VRLC since 2021. Shook lawyers have contributed well over 3,000 hours to our projects, completing updates to our national practice manual, researching extensive legal questions to update national law surveys, and conducting topic-specific research to help us create new national legal resources. VRLC’s national training and technical assistance team could never conduct the breadth and depth of legal research that Shook has conducted, which makes a tremendous difference on the services provided to survivors throughout the country. What’s most impressive is that this important work is just part of the firm’s larger pro bono program. In fact, VRLC learned that last year, Shook experienced a 34% increase in average hours and a 65% increase in attorney participation across all U.S. offices, deepening the firm’s commitment to clients like Victim Rights Law Center.
VRLC Client
2023 Courage Awardee
2022 Shining Star Gala
Photos by Cheryl Richards Photography
Michele Goodwin
2022 Leadership Awardee
Michele Bratcher Goodwin is an acclaimed bioethicist, constitutional law scholar, and prolific author. Author/editor of six books, her award-winning work, Policing The Womb: Invisible Women and the Criminalization of Motherhood, explores how states abuse laws and infringe on rights to police women and their pregnancies. Dr. Goodwin is a Chancellor’s Professor at the University of California, Irvine and founding director of the Center for Biotechnology and Global Health Policy.
Dr. Goodwin directed the first ABA-accredited health law program in the nation and established the first law center focused on race and bioethics. She is a 2022 Margaret Brent Award Honoree of the American Bar Association, an award named for the first woman lawyer in the United States. Her constitutional law scholarship appears in the Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, Chicago Law Review, Cornell Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, California Law Review, Michigan Law Review, New York Law Review, and Northwestern Law Review among others. She is an Executive Committee member of the ACLU and American Constitution Society.
A sought-after public commentator, Dr. Goodwin is the Executive Producer of Ms. Studios, and host of the popular podcast: On The Issues With Michele Goodwin. You may find Dr. Goodwin’s work in print, radio, and television news, including at Politico, Salon.com, Forbes, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, Vox, Mother Jones; ABC News; NBC News; NPR, HBO’s Vice News, and Ms. Magazine among others.
The U.S. Gymnast Sexual Assault Survivors
Accepted by Rachenda Rockwell
2022 Visionary Awardee
Rachenda Rockwell was a USA Gymnastics TOPS national team member who, as a child, competed as an elite gymnast dreaming of becoming an Olympian. Rachenda’s dreams were cut short by Larry Nassar who sexually abused her under the guise of medical treatment, which resulted in Rachenda quitting gymnastics at age 13. Rachenda is among the hundreds of gymnast survivors who filed claims against Michigan State, USA Gymnastics, and the US Olympic Committee for their malfeasance regarding Nassar and his serial abuse of children.
Katharine Foote, Esq.
2022 Shining Star Awardee
Katharine Foote, an associate at Mintz, began volunteering as a pro bono attorney with VRLC in 2019. She is a zealous advocate for survivors who are minors and for the protection of survivors’ housing rights.
Sullivan & Worcester
2022 Champion Awardee
Sullivan & Worcester has been an active pro bono partner of VRLC’s for the past six years. Their attorneys have partnered with VRLC to represent dozens of sexual assault survivors including minors and complex cases. Throughout the pandemic when many survivors were in need of emergency assistance, pro bono attorneys at Sullivan & Worcester consistently stepped up to champion survivors.
2021 Shining Star Gala
Chanel Miller
2021 Leadership Awardee
After experiencing sexual assault in 2015, Chanel Miller’s powerful victim impact statement went viral and was read 11 million times in four days. She later went on to become a New York Times bestseller for her critically acclaimed memoir, Know My Name. Chanel was a 2019 Time “Next 100” honoree and a 2016 Glamour “Woman of the Year” honoree under her pseudonym, “Emily Doe.”
She is a force to be reckoned with, from her clever and thought-provoking illustrations to her continued activism for social change. We are honored to recognize her as our 2021 Leadership Awardee.
Learn more about Chanel and her memoir here, or check out her art debut here!
Kamilah Willingham
2021 Visionary Awardee
Kamilah Willingham is a writer, national activist, and civil rights advocate. Kamilah’s scholarship has been published in Teen Vogue, VICE, Huffpost, and others, and her experience of surviving sexual assault and civil rights violations as a law student at a prestigious university was shared in the award-winning documentary The Hunting Ground.
Kamilah’s work is grounded in advancing the rights of survivors of sexual violence in prisons, schools, and beyond. She currently sits on the board of the Equal Rights Amendment Coalition.
Visit Kamilah’s website to learn more here.
Tiffany Davidson, Esq.
2021 Shining Star Awardee
Tiffany Davidson, Esq. joined Victim Rights Law Center as a pro bono attorney in 2019. Her volunteer work with VRLC has included mentoring VRLC staff attorneys on complex cases and representing individual sexual assault survivors.
During the pandemic when volunteer hours were down, Tiffany stayed committed to helping survivors as a pro bono attorney for VRLC. When asked why she engaged in VRLC’s pro bono program, Tiffany pointed to her strong belief that a lack of financial resources should not be a barrier to quality representation. VRLC deeply appreciates Tiffany’s mentorship and pro bono representation of numerous sexual assault survivors in civil protective order matters prior to and through the pandemic.
Jessica Mindlin, Esq.
2021 Superstar Awardee
Jessica Mindlin, Esq., is Victim Rights Law Center’s National Director of Training and Technical Assistance.
Jessie has been active in the movement to end gender-based violence since the late 1970s. She has trained thousands of lawyers, advocates, health care providers, law enforcement officers, military personnel, and other service providers across the United States, as well as in the Middle East, Latin America, and the Eastern Caribbean. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the U.S. State Department have recognized her expertise in responding to gender-based violence.
Jessie is the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Sexual Violence Resource Center Visionary Voice, American Bar Association’s Sharon Corbitt Award, Transition Project’s Women’s Leadership Award, and the Oregon Daily Journal of Commerce Leader in the Law, among others.
2019 Shining Star Gala
Photos by Cheryl Richards Photography
Leadership Awardees:
Deb Katz, Esq. and Lisa Banks, Esq.
Co-Counsel for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford for the Kavanaugh Congressional Hearings
Shining Star Award
Kristin Knuuttila, Esq.
Knuuttila Law
Champion Award
Courage Award
VRLC Client
2018: 15th Anniversary Shining Star Gala
Photos by Cheryl Richards Photography
Videography by EmVision Productions
Leadership Awardee: Kristen Gibbons Feden, Esq.
Special prosecutor in Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial
Courage Awardee: VRLC Client
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (2014 Leadership Awardee)
The Prosecutor Who Stared Down Bill Cosby
Champion Award
Shining Star Award
Jeremy Meisinger, Esq.
Foley Hoag LLP
2017 Shining Star Gala
Photos by Cheryl Richards Photography
Videography by EmVision Productions
Leadership Awardee: Gloria Steinem
Shining Star Award
Michael Harriman, Esq.
Harriman Law
Courage Award
VRLC Client
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