Women of Worth: Chief ALJ Brenda Murray

The employees of the SEC are often in the news when it comes to the regulation of the securities markets.  Less often do they get there because of civic involvement unrelated to these markets.  An exception is the recent nomination of Brenda Murray, the Chief ALJ at the Commission, for an award titled "Women of Worth" and sponsored by L'Oreal.  

Most know Judge Murray as a smart, no nonsense ALJ who has served as chief forever (actually since 1994).  Less well known is her involvement in the Women in Prison Project where she has coordinated efforts to provide educational opportunities for women in prison.  According to the Women of Worth web site:    

• Judge Brenda Murray understood early on that if you improve the life of a woman, you transform the lives of her children, grandchildren, extended family and community as well. For the past 20 years, Brenda has been transforming conditions and providing educational opportunities for thousands of women behind bars.
  
  The effort officially began in 2006 when, as co-chair of the Women in Prison Project sponsored by the National Association of Women Judges, Judge Murray sent an e-mail asking Baltimore and Washington, D.C., area professors to participate in a prison book club. About a dozen professors responded, in the process becoming educated about criminal justice issues and becoming ambassadors for the incarcerated women. With no money and a small volunteer army of academics and correction officials, Judge Murray ultimately created a college program in Maryland’s only women’s prison.
  
  When incarcerated people lost their eligibility for Pell Grants in 1994, the vast majority of college degree programs in prison ended. Since then, little has been done to equip those incarcerated with the necessary tools – education, career counseling and placement services – to successfully re-enter society. In Maryland, there is very little in the way of post-secondary education, despite compelling evidence that an investment in higher education is the most effective way to reduce re-incarceration and crime rates, lessen the taxpayers’ burdens, make prisons safer and more manageable, and create better transitions for convicted felons to become productive and valued members of the community.
  
  Although most college degree programs in prison have ended, Judge Murray continues to directly impact the lives of virtually all 900 women in the prison, by infusing hope, respect and trust into the culture of the institution and by empowering the women to educate themselves. She is known as a direct and plain-spoken federal judge who practices tough love with selflessness and sympathy.

How will the ultimate recipient be selected?  By online voting.  So go to the site (http://www.womenofworth.com/honorees/Honorees_2009.aspx) and cast a vote for Judge Murray.