The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) and its Women of Color Committee announces its upcoming Pioneering Women of Color Celebration.  The annual event will take place on June 7, 2023 at 5:30 p.m.  The WBA will honor two terrific women at the celebration:  Professor Aziza Ahmed and Attorney Payal Salsburg. 

Aziza Ahmed is a Professor of Law at Boston University School of Law.  Professor Ahmed is being recognized for her commitment to advancing women by dismantling barriers to reproductive justice. She is the co-director of the BU Law Program in Reproductive Justice.  Her scholarship “examines the intersection of law, politics, and science in the fields of constitutional law, criminal law, health law, and family law.” Professor Ahmed’s forthcoming book is entitled Feminism’s Medicine: Law, Science, and Social Movements in the AIDS Response.

Payal Salsburg is a partner at Laredo & Smith LLP.  Attorney Salsburg is being recognized for her long record of service to the community, her deep commitment to empowering women of color in the legal community, and her dynamic mentorship of future attorneys of color.  Her varied practice includes business litigation, corporate advice and counsel, and white-color criminal defense.  She represents corporations, small businesses, and individuals.

In honoring both Professor Ahmed and Attorney Salsburg, WBA President Jessica Babine remarked, “These two honorees are leaders in their fields and amplify the mission of the WBA through their work.  Where reproductive rights are under attack, Professor Ahmed is at the center and advancing fact-based scholarship that will hopefully cut through misinformation in this space.  Attorney Salsburg, in addition to serving on the WBA’s Executive Board, is a shining example of committing to the advancement of not only women in the legal profession, but the advancement of all people in the community.  I am thrilled to honor both Professor Ahmed and Attorney Salsburg as Pioneering Women of Color.”