The Detroit Bar Association Diversity & Inclusion Committee
and Ingham County Bar Association Presents
The 24 in '24 Diversity & Inclusion Reflections Meeting
December 11, 2024
4:30-5:30 p.m. - Zoom
The Detroit Bar Association & Ingham County Bar Association are wrapping up the 24 in '24 D&I Challenge. Join us for the 2024 D&I Reflections meeting with special guests Michigan Supreme Court Justice Hon. Elizabeth Welch and Michigan’s 36th District Court Judge Hon. Austin W. Garrett, who will share more about the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission and its strategic plan.
Austin W. Garrett is Co-Chair of the Commission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Michigan Judiciary. He serves as a judge at Michigan’s 36th District Court and is currently assigned to the Domestic Violence docket and presides over misdemeanor domestic violence complaints in the City of Detroit. Additionally, Austin serves as a Street Outreach Court judge; a specialty court dealing with defendants that are homeless or at risk of homelessness. As a native Detroiter, Austin is grateful to serve in the city where he was born and raised and relishes the opportunity to have a positive impact on the lives of Detroiters. Judge Garrett maintains membership in several professional organizations, including the Association of Black Judges of Michigan, the State Bar of Michigan’s Civil Procedure and Courts Committee, the Detroit Bar Association, Michigan Association for Justice, Wolverine Bar Association, D. Augustus Straker Bar Association, and the Black Women Lawyer’s Association.
Justice Elizabeth M. Welch joined the Michigan Supreme Court on January 1, 2021. She currently serves as the Justice liaison to data gathering and transparency work and the Michigan Judicial Institute. She is a co-chair of the Diversity Equity & Inclusion Commission, co-chairs the Justice for All Commission’s Data Workgroup, and serves on the Justice for All Commission’s Resource and Communications Workgroups. She received her law degree from Ohio State University and her undergraduate degree from Penn State University.
Justice Welch has a long history of serving professional and nonprofit boards. She currently is Vice President of the Steelcase Foundation, a Trustee of the Grand Valley University Foundation, and an active member of the National Association of Women Judges. Prior to her joining the Court, Justice Welch was a trustee on her local school board and worked for more than 15 years on public education and voting rights policy.
Justice Welch has received several awards in recognition for her public school and other community work. She and her husband Brian Schwartz live in Grand Rapids and have four adult children.
Download the 24 in '24 Challenge PDF
For questions, contact Sheena Law-Killinger at slawkillinger@detroitlawyer.org.
The information provided in this programming does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available are for general informational purposes only.