R.i. Women Lawyers:past, Present, & Future

• Citation: Vol. 73 No. 2 Pg. 0013
• Publication year: 2024
• Pages: 0013
• Year: 2024

Rhode Island Women Lawyers: Past, Present, & Future Vol. 73 No. 2 Pg. 13 Rhode Island Bar Journal September/October 2024

Angela Yingling, Esq. Jenna Giguere, Esq.

RI Assistant Public Defender

This series was inspired by Roger Williams University School of Law's annual Women in Robes event and was created in alliance with their exciting new project, The First Women, which recognizes and honors the first women of the Rhode Island Bar.

Tamera Rocha, Esq.

Attorney Tamera Rocha's interest in the judicial system began when she was a child. As the daughter of a former police officer and current criminal justice professor, she had the opportunity to watch her father testify in court several times. She has fond memories of these court visits, where she could see her father in action, and even recalls the judge letting her sit at the bench and bang the gavel a few times—a harbinger, perhaps, of her future role leading the Rhode Island Supreme Court's Access to Justice Office.

The road to Ms. Rocha's current position, however, was not a direct one. As a marketing and logistics undergraduate student, Ms. Rocha added a minor in legal studies late in her collegiate career at Central Michigan University. As if that was not enough, she also ran track at Central Michigan University, where she earned Division IA All-American honors, specializing in the heptathlon, pentathlon, hurdles, long jump, and high jump. After graduating, she took a year off to run track professionally before being accepted to law school at the University of Toledo. Ms. Rocha continued multitasking during her first semester at law school, where she not only handled a full 1L...