38th Annual Stand for Justice Gala

We celebrated our 38th Annual Stand for Justice Gala on Saturday, September 14, 2019, at Skirball Cultural Center.

Over 400 guests joined us in celebration of our two outstanding honorees.

Our Honorees

Hon. Amy M. PellmanOutstanding Community Service Award

Amy M. Pellman, is a Superior Court Judge for the Los Angeles Superior Court. She was elected a commissioner in 2005 and appointed Judge in 2008. Judge Pellman currently sits in a family law assignment.

She has spent the majority of time on the bench in family law assignments with a five year hiatus at the Edelman’s Children’s Court with a specialized calendar that included dependency, ICWA, adoption and contested terminations for private adoption cases, surrogacy and emancipation. She continues to serve as the only Los Angeles Superior Judge for surrogacy cases.

Judge Pellman has recently been honored by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers as the Southern California Chapter’s, “Distinguished Jurist of the Year for 2019”. Judge Pellman is a nationally recognized advocate for children’s rights and received the highly coveted Child Advocacy Law Award in 2003 from the American Bar Association, a national award that recognizes outstanding work and achievement on behalf of children.

Judge Pellman has numerous publications on issues related to children ranging from a training manual for new judges and lawyers to law review articles. Pellman is also a regular contributor to a treatise on Juvenile Dependency Law, “California Juvenile Dependency Practice,” published by the CEB (California Educational Bar), which covers the nuts and bolts of dependency law practice in California.

Judge Pellman is also a featured speaker at numerous conferences and law schools, and is currently teaching classes at University of Southern California Gould School of Law and Southwestern Law School. This year, Judge Pellman was honored by Southwestern Law School for her work on behalf of children as “2019 Judge of the year” along with two other judges. In 2005, Judge Pellman was awarded the Southwestern Law School, “Adjunct Excellence in Teaching Award”.

Prior to joining the bench, Judge Pellman served as the Legal Director for The Alliance for Children’s Rights, a non-profit legal organization devoted to providing free legal services to children living in poverty. While at The Alliance, Judge Pellman oversaw the legal services for The Alliance, directing litigation and individual legal services for children in foster care, children requiring medical assistance, and children with physical, mental and educational disabilities. Before joining The Alliance, Judge Pellman spent seven years at Dependency Court Legal Services serving as senior trial attorney and appellate counsel representing children in foster care.

Judge Pellman also practiced civil litigation for three years, and also served as a federal clerk for the Second Circuit of New York. Judge Pellman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Mount Holyoke College and a Juris Doctorate from City University of New York Law School. She was admitted to both the California and New York Bars, and serves on numerous state and local judicial committees.

Sylvia S. CastilloEthel Levitt Humanitarian Award

Sylvia S. Castillo serves as director and foundation and community officer for MUFG Union Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility group. She is responsible for building relationships with civic and business leaders, community-based advocacy organizations, and multicultural leaders throughout the communities that the bank serves. Additionally, Ms. Castillo directs initiatives that involve the bank’s Foundation, public policy, and community development efforts. She is based in Los Angeles.
Ms. Castillo has more than 35 years of experience in the banking industry. Prior to joining Union Bank in 2012, she served as a senior vice president and consumer market executive at Bank of America, where she was responsible for driving growth of consumer markets. Ms. Castillo also held several other management and executive positions at Bank of America.
Active in the community, Ms. Castillo serves on the board of Vermont Slauson EDC, The Wiley Center, LA Youth Network, the corporate advisory board of the Brotherhood Crusade and the Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Castillo previously served on the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association, American Stroke Association of Greater Los Angeles, the Governing Board of (MEND) Meet Each Need with Dignity, United Negro College Fund and Leadership Council, the National Latina Women Business Women’s Association Los Angeles Chapter, the Latin Business Association as well as Latino Health Access and New Economics for Women.
Ms. Castillo is a graduate of the UCLA Business Management School and the University of Virginia’s School of Retail Bank Management.