Bill Text: NY K00974 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Commending The Honorable Lisa Bloch Rodwin upon the occasion of her retirement after more than 35 years of distinguished service to Erie County
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-2)
Status: (Passed) 2020-07-22 - adopted [K00974 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-K00974-Introduced.html
Assembly Resolution No. 974
BY: M. of A. McMahon
COMMENDING The Honorable Lisa Bloch Rodwin upon
the occasion of her retirement after more than 35
years of distinguished service to Erie County
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize and
pay tribute to those singular individuals who devote their purposeful
lives and careers to preserving the rights and protecting the welfare of
the citizens of their community and the State of New York; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to commend The
Honorable Lisa Bloch Rodwin upon the occasion of her retirement after
more than 35 years of distinguished service to Erie County; and
WHEREAS, Lisa Bloch Rodwin was appointed Erie County Family Court
Judge by Governor Eliot Spitzer in May of 2007, and the following year,
she was elected to a full term; prior to this role, she served as an
Assistant District Attorney with the Erie County District Attorney's
Office from 1985-2008, and served as Chief of the Domestic Violence Unit
from 1995-2007; and
WHEREAS, Specializing in matters of abuse, neglect, juvenile
justice, custody and family violence, Judge Lisa Bloch Rodwin was
instrumental in establishing a new partnership with the Department of
Social Services focused on the reduction of the disproportionate number
of minority children placed in foster care; and
WHEREAS, Judge Lisa Bloch Rodwin also created the first local
collaborative in New York State designed to provide outreach and
education to Muslim, immigrant and refugee families connected to the
civil and criminal court systems while concurrently training
professionals from the child welfare and criminal justice systems about
cultural competency issues; and
WHEREAS, Judge Lisa Bloch Rodwin served on the statewide committee
which drafted the Judicial Guide to Domestic Violence Risk Factors for
Family and Supreme Court Judges throughout New York State and was one of
a select few judges chosen to be on the New York State Family Court
Advisory and Rules Committee; and
WHEREAS, This passionate and articulate woman also served as the
Director of the New York State Family Court Judges' Association and was
appointed by the Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals to
the New York State Advisory Council on Immigration Issues in Family
Court; and
WHEREAS, In addition to her role with the Family Court, Judge Lisa
Bloch Rodwin was devoted to serving domestic violence awareness causes;
she was the founder of New York State's first Domestic Violence Bureau
outside of New York City, and was responsible for the prosecution of
more than 4,000 family violence and child abuse cases annually; and
WHEREAS, While at the District Attorney's Office, Judge Lisa Bloch
Rodwin developed protocols for the investigation and prosecution of
domestic violence crimes for local police agencies and initiated
interview and investigation policies for child abuse investigations at
the Child Advocacy Center in Buffalo; and
WHEREAS, Judge Lisa Bloch Rodwin appeared on national television as
a domestic violence expert on "20/20" and "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and
served as a keynote speaker at numerous national conferences on family
violence and has lectured at the State University of New York at Buffalo
School of Law, Canisius College, the National College of District
Attorneys, New York State Prosecutor's Training Institute, and the Erie
County Police Academy; and
WHEREAS, Judge Lisa Bloch Rodwin developed and conducted training on
child abuse and domestic violence laws, the Indian Child Welfare Act,
the over-representation of minority children in foster care, best
practices in working with immigrant and refugee families, internet
crimes against children, elder abuse, stalking and cyber-stalking, and
edited "Supporting Family Safety, A Resource Guide for Erie County
Family Court"; and
WHEREAS, As a volunteer, Judge Lisa Bloch Rodwin was the founder and
first Board President of the Erie County Family Justice Center, as well
as a founder of the Alexa Foundation which serves child abuse and sexual
assault survivors; she served as a State Director and Committee Chair
for the New York State Women's Bar Association and has been a Board
Member of the YWCA and Child Advocacy Center; and
WHEREAS, For her steadfast and unremitting commitment to her
profession and ideals, Judge Lisa Bloch Rodwin has been the recipient of
numerous awards and accolades including the Lois Haight Award of
Excellence and Innovation from the U.S. Congressional Victims' Rights
Caucus, the Women Lawyers of Western New York's Lawyer of the Year
Award, the Susan Still Profile in Courage Award from the Family Justice
Center, the President's Award and Kupferman Juvenile Justice Award from
the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York, the State
University of New York at Buffalo School of Law's Distinguished Alumni
Award, the Award for Excellence from Everywoman Opportunity Center, and
the Leaders in Law Award from The Daily Record, as well as many service
awards from The Buffalo News, the National Federation for Just
Communities, the Alexa Foundation, the Erie County Coalition Against
Family Violence, Hispanics United, New York State Crime Prevention
Coalition, Prevention Focus and Time Warner's Western New York Local
Hero nomination; and
WHEREAS, In April of 2016, Judge Lisa Bloch Rodwin was honored by
the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington, D.C. for forming the
first Immigrant and Refugee Collaborative in New York State in 2010; and
WHEREAS, With her throughout have been her husband, Michael; two
sons, David and Benjamin; and one daughter-in-law, Rozzi, all of whom
feel privileged to be a part of her life and rejoice in her
achievements; and
WHEREAS, The quality and character of life in Erie County has been
ably served and uniquely enriched through the selfless dedication and
benevolent concern of Judge Lisa Bloch Rodwin; and
WHEREAS, Judge Lisa Bloch Rodwin, in every capacity in which she
served, has left her permanent mark on the criminal justice community
and will forever be remembered as a determined, innovative and genuinely
concerned expert in her field; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend The Honorable Lisa Bloch Rodwin upon the occasion of her
retirement after more than 35 years of distinguished service to Erie
County, and to wish her well in all her future endeavors; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Lisa Bloch Rodwin.
