Former STEP Student Named Court of Appeals Judge

On Monday September 27, O. Rogeriee Thompson became the first black person and the second woman to serve as a full judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit. She also happens to be a 1969 graduate of Scarsdale High School, where she attended as the second STEP student, moving here from her home in Greenville, S.C. to live with Scarsdale host parents Jane and Donald Johnson, who attended the reception on Monday.

Michelle Lichetenberg, the current president of STEP, travelled to Cranston, Rhode Island with past STEP presidents Gina Duncason and Tara Tyberg and STEP Founder Eric Rothschild, to attend the investiture ceremony.

Thompson, now 58 years-old, grew up in a segregated area of Greenville, S.C. After her two-year stint in Scarsdale, she went on to Brown University and Boston University School of Law. She had a private law practice before entering the judiciary and also served as senior staff attorney for Rhode Island Legal Services and as an assistant solicitor for the City of Providence.

U.S. Senator Jack Reed recommended Thompson’s appointment to President Obama and called Thompson “a remarkable woman” with integrity, intelligence and industry who has used those qualities to help others throughout her life.

(Pictured above from left to right: Gina Duncason, Michelle Lichtenberg, O. Rogeriee Thompson, Eric Rothschild, and Tara Tyberg)