Sharon A. Fullmer Legal Aid Attorney of the Year Award
Established in February 1997, this award recognizes that legal services lawyer in Arizona whose service to low-income people encompasses both aggressive advocacy on behalf of individuals in extreme need as well as impact advocacy designed to address systemic issues affecting significant numbers of low-income people.
2025 Recipient
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Valentina Restrepo-Montoya is the Executive Director and CEO of Arizona Legal Women and Youth Services (ALWAYS), an organization that provides free legal and social services to trafficking survivors of all ages and people under 25 impacted by crime, homelessness, or foster care. Prior to joining ALWAYS, she was a Mental Health Attorney at The Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project where she represented immigrants in deportation proceedings who were deemed “incompetent” to represent themselves. Before moving to Arizona, Valentina was an Assistant Public Defender in Birmingham, Alabama. After graduating from Berkeley Law in 2014, Valentina began her legal career at the Southern Poverty Law Center, where she focused on litigation against the Alabama Department of Corrections in response to the inadequate medical care and mental health care they were providing incarcerated persons, as well as ADOC’s refusal to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. During law school, Valentina interned at the Southern Center for Human Rights, Contra Costa Public Defender’s Office, and East Bay Community Law Center. She volunteered her time with the California Asylum Representation Clinic and Centro Legal de la Raza. Valentina is sustained by Bob Dylan’s catalog, the New England Patriots, and trips to the movies. |
Previous Recipients
The award has been presented to:
| 1997 | Sharon A. Fullmer (posthumously) |
| 1998 | Lois T. Kermott (posthumously) |
| 1999 | William E. Morris |
| 2000 | Dolores H. Milkie |
| 2001 | Thomas J. Berning Edwad E. Coghlan |
| 2002 | Sylvia J. Struss |
| 2003 | Veronika Fabian Denise I. Young |
| 2004 | Lydia A. Glasson |
| 2005 | George H. McKay |
| 2006 | Patricia J. Gerrich |
| 2007 | Anthony L. Young |
| 2008 | Valerie C. Hink |
| 2009 | Rachel Wilson |
| 2010 | Prof. Andrew Silverman |
| 2011 | Pamela M. Bridge |
| 2012 | Mary V. Day |
| 2013 | Beverly B. Parker |
| 2014 | Ellen Sue Katz |
| 2015 | Laura Belous |
| 2016 | Stanley Silas |
| 2017 | Golden E. McCarthy |
| 2018 | Anne M. Ryan |
| 2019 | Deonissa Cañez-Anderson |
| 2020 | January F. E. Contreras Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project |
| 2021 | Jamie Balson |
| 2022 | Nina Targovnik |
| 2023 | Habib A. Pierce-Byrd |
| 2024 | David J. Newstone |
State Bar Annual Awards
- Award of Appreciation
- Award of Special Merit
- Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Award
- Hon. John R. Sticht Disability Achievement Award
- James A. Walsh Outstanding Jurist Award
- Mark I. Harrison Excellence in Mentorship Award
- Member of the Year Award
- Michael C. Cudahy Criminal Justice Award
- Outstanding In-House Counsel of the Year Award
- President's Award
- Sharon A. Fullmer Legal Aid Attorney of the Year Award
- Tom Karas Criminal Justice Award