Posted: Thursday, September 11, 2014

A photo taken at the event. Justice Wright is at the center of the second row from the bottom.

The George Family Foundation will recognize Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Wilhelmina M. Wright as one of 84 exceptional women leaders making remarkable contributions to building the Twin Cities at its first-ever “Celebrating Twin Cities Women Leaders” event on Tuesday, September 16, at 5 p.m. at the Guthrie Theater. The event is not open to the general public, but media may attend.

“Celebrating Twin Cities Women Leaders” will be held in conjunction with a preview performance of Wendy Wasserstein’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, The Heidi Chronicles. Written in 1989, The Heidi Chronicles is a story of women struggling to make greater contributions to the world of art, business, and government.

The event celebrates women who are leading the Twin Cities’ colleges and universities and health care organizations, as well as the major arts organizations, the top 100 for-profit and private corporations, and the largest nonprofit organizations. A select group of women trailblazers in government and public service, including Justice Wright, will also be honored. In addition, nine groundbreaking women leaders will be honored posthumously at the event for their contributions to creating the quality of life present in the Twin Cities today. 

Justice Wright was appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court by Governor Mark Dayton, where she has served since Sept. 27, 2012. She was previously appointed by Governor Jesse Ventura to the Minnesota Court of Appeals, where she served from September 2002 to September 2012. Previously she served as a trial judge at Ramsey County District Court in Saint Paul. She has also served as a member of the Minnesota Judicial Council and the Minnesota Courts Public Trust and Confidence Work Group.

Justice Wright graduated with honors in Literature from Yale University in 1986. She received her juris doctorate from Harvard Law School in 1989.

Prior to joining the bench, Justice Wright was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, where she represented the United States in complex economic fraud and violent crime cases in the United States District Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. She was awarded the United States Department of Justice Special Achievement Award in 1997 and the United States Department of Justice Director's Award for Public Service in 2000.

Justice Wright is active in her community, serving on the William Mitchell College of Law Board of Trustees, the Saint Paul Academy Board of Trustees, the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs Advisory Council, and the Minnesota Lawyer Advisory Board. She has previously served on the Mardag Foundation Board of Directors, the Ramsey County Community Corrections Advisory Committee, the Federal Bar Association of Minnesota Board of Directors, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Board of Directors, the Girl Scout Council of Saint Croix Valley Board of Directors, the Hamline University Women in Leadership Advisory Council, the Yale Alumni Schools Committee, and the Saint Paul Public Schools Graduate Standards Advisory Committee.

Justice Wright has also served with International Bridges to Justice in Geneva, Switzerland as a consultant on criminal justice training in the development and application of the rule of law.  She has taught Ethical Leadership in Litigation as an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. She also has lectured at graduate schools in Belgium and Switzerland on judicial selection and judicial accountability in the United States.

"We are pleased to honor Justice Wright for her leadership and contributions to our community. I find the number of talented women who have led the Twin Cities in building institutions and solving significant social problems immensely gratifying,” said Penny George, president of the George Family Foundation. “I hope the community realizes how very fortunate we are for their dedication and their leadership." 

Added Bill George, former chair and CEO of Medtronic who currently teaches at Harvard Business School, “Ever since Penny and I moved to Minnesota in 1970, we have been astounded by the remarkable women who have built the character, culture, and quality of life of the Twin Cities. These women are leading or have led our major corporations, government organizations, nonprofit foundations, health care, universities and colleges, and the arts. We are proud to recognize these outstanding leaders.”