Vol. 2022, No. 11 December 2022

Dear Members and Friends of the Hispanic Bar Association of Orange County,

As 2022 comes to an end, we reflect on the amazing year it was for us here at the HBA. Our successful year was all due to your undying support and your commitment to our community and our future generations of young law professionals.

Together we awarded the Wally Davis Scholarships at our Annual Gala to Isabella Guerrero and Andrea Valencia. We also awarded our Bar Stipend Scholarship to Nancy Bailon, all well deserving and extraordinary law students. 

We had two historic appointments, the first Latina Justice Patricia Guerrero appointed to the California Supreme Court and nominated for Chief Justice and the first Black woman Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the United States Supreme Court. These appointments give us hope for our future generations where little girls and boys in our country can look up to the highest courts of our state and nation and see themselves represented.  

We adopted a class from Thomas Jefferson Elementary School and provided Easter baskets filled with fun toys, fidgets and fun treats.  

We celebrated our past President Yolanda V. Torres’ appointment as Judge of the Orange County Superior Court.   

Our members embarked on our yearly CLE trip to Belize and had an amazing time.

With a generous donation from Sheppard Mullin we donated Texas Instrument graphing calculators to kids at SOY (Save Our Youth). 

With your generous donations we donated backpacks filled with school supplies to help our Orange County students and families. 

Our last event of the year, our Annual Holiday Party, Meeting & Toy Drive was a great night filled with good company, good food and lots of gifts for the children of the TKO Boxing Club. Thank you all for attending and closing out a great 2022 year.

Congratulations to the 2023 Board! 

President: Jeannette Garcia

President-Elect: Shelly Aronson

VP: Frank Chirino

CFO: Laura Hassan

Secretary: Patricia Santamaria

Immediate Past President: Christopher Ayala

New Board Members 

Angela Chavez

Catherine Navarro

Violeta Schultz

Crystal de Aenlle-Fernandez

Melissa Padilla

Alejandro Ruiz

I am so proud to have served as your 2022 HBA President; it was a great and rewarding year. I am honored to have worked with an amazing board, members, judges and past presidents who all together worked hard to make this year such a success. We made a positive impact upon our Orange County community and continued to pave the way for our future generations of Hispanic legal professionals. In reflecting of our past we must look to the future of the HBA and I am confident the HBA will be in great hands with incoming President Jeannette Garcia. As a member, board member and executive board member she excelled and provided invaluable support and worked arduously to serve our social, outreach, fundraising and community service events. I look forward to a great 2023 for the HBA under Jeannette’s leadership.

Please mark your calendars for our 45^th Annual Gala on March 4, 2023 at the Irvine Marriot. Our Annual Gala is our biggest fundraising event for our scholarships and bar stipend. Please consider sponsoring and supporting our efforts to continue to promote education, unity, and excellence in the Hispanic legal community.

I look forward to a great 2023 full of exciting events, remember to renew your membership. We are offering a special deal, join now and your membership will include the reminder of 2022 and ALL of 2023. Don’t miss out on this great membership deal!

Wish you and your loved ones a safe and happy holiday season. 

Warmest regards, 

Christopher J. Ayala

Ayala Law Group, APC

2009 N. Broadway

Santa Ana, CA 92706

(714) 541-4100