Women and the Law Leadership Celebration Celebrates Eileen Filler-Corn ’93
Sept. 16, 2020
American University Washington College of Law’s Women and the Law Program, along with the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, honored the 56th Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates Eileen Filler-Corn ’93 during this year’s Women and the Law Leadership Celebration.
The Women and the Law Leadership Award recognizes the extraordinary accomplishments of alumnae who made significant contributions to the field of law and their service to the law school. Filler-Corn has represented Virginia’s 41st District since 2010, and is the first female speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates in its over 400-plus year history. Her areas of expertise include information and communications technology, health care, and education, and she has served in the administrations of Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.
Filler-Corn, who was introduced by Acting Dean Robert Dinerstein, called receiving the award and joining the ranks of previous recipients a tremendous honor.
“The values and ideals that brought [AUWCL founders] Mussey and Gillett to establish the Washington College of Law are the same values and ideals that were instilled in me during my time at Washington College of Law,” Filler-Corn said during her remarks. “I proudly carry these values with me throughout my career of public service as I focus on making our society more welcoming and accessible for all.”
When Filler-Corn was first elected, she was one of 17 women serving in the House of Delegates and the only mother of school-aged children. But things have been changing, she said. The 2017 elections spawned a record number of women and mothers to the Virginia General Assembly. Soon after she founded the Parents Caucus.
“I said you know what, this is the time. We need to move forward and welcome and embrace the fact that more women, more moms, are actually running, and winning, and legislating,” she said, adding that the Parents Caucasus provided information on resources such as family activities and daycare, and established lactation rooms in the state capitol.
“Today I’m proud to say we have the most diverse body in the history of the Commonwealth of Virginia – cultural, gender, geographic diversity. And I’m so proud of that. We have the most number of women serving ever, and the most African American law makers serving since the Reconstruction Era...its diversity of thought, diversity of experience, diversity of perspectives.”
The celebration included a Q&A session with Filler-Corn and Daniela Kraiem, director of the Women and the Law Program and interim senior director of Career and Professional Development; Camille Thompson, assistant director of the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Program; and 4L student J.D. LeFrere, president of the Women's Law Association.
Learn more about AUWCL’s Women and the Law Program here.