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Ruthe
Catolico Ashley, RN, MSN, JD, a member of the State
Bar of California Board of Governors, is the Assistant
Dean for Career and Professional Development for the
University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. A
1988 graduate of Pacific McGeorge, Ms. Ashley practiced
law for 14 years prior to returning to her alma mater.
Her prior legal experience includes trial work in both
large and small law firms. In 1998, she was a founding
partner at the first Asian-American women-owned law
firm in the greater Sacramento area which specialized
in healthcare law, civil rights, employment, and business
litigation. Ms. Ashley was a nurse for 15 years prior
to becoming a lawyer. Her nursing career included public
health nursing and as an Assistant Professor of Nursing
for a baccalaureate nursing program.
Ms. Ashley has authored several articles
for healthcare and legal publications. She was included
in the American Bar Association’s recently-released
book, "Dear Sisters, Dear Daughters" which
incorporated Words of Wisdom from Multicultural Women
Attorneys Who’ve Been There and Done That. She
was also featured in "Perspectives", a publication
for and about Women Lawyers released by the American
Bar Association in an issue featuring multicultural
women lawyers. She authors a continuing legal column
in the Journal of Cardiac Nursing. Most recently, Ms.
Ashley was featured as one of Ten Fascinating Women
for the April 2005 issue of Filipinas Magazine.
Ms. Ashley has a strong commitment to
the greater Sacramento and Asian Pacific American (APA)
community and is involved in numerous community, professional
and political activities. Awards include the Heritage
Award presented by the State Assembly (2005), "Filipina’s
Who Could be President (2004), Lifetime Achievement
Award from Pace University School of Law (2004), the
Unity Award for her community service from the Unity
Bar Association (2002), the Unsung Heroes Award from
Sacramento’s public television station KVIE and
Union Bank for her volunteerism and activism (2001),
the "Trailblazer Award" (1998) at an annual
lawyer convention for her leadership in a unique and
innovative organization in the Sacramento area called
the Unity Bar Association. She is a past president of
the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
(NAPABA) which represents the interests of 40,000 APA
lawyers across the nation, a past president of Legal
Services of Northern California, a past chair of the
Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce and a past
president of the Asian Bar Association of Sacramento.
She was a Governor Appointee to the Developmentally
Disabled Area III Board. She continues to serve on other
boards and commissions including the California State
University Foundation Board, Council on Legal Education
Opportunity (CLEO), and American Bar Association’s
Bar Activities committee. She is also a dynamic and
entertaining professional speaker who presents seminars
nationally to healthcare and legal professionals.
Ms. Ashley is a frequent speaker to school
groups of all ages in sharing her story of the American
Dream. She actively seeks opportunities to mentor and
support young people and believes being a role model
for the younger generation is an important aspect of
passing on the torch and building leaders. However,
Ms. Ashley considers her greatest accomplishments are
son Michael (31) and daughter Leilani (28).
Ms. Ashley has
been married to husband, Roger, for almost 36 years
and looks forward to many more.
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