Distinguished Honors Awards

(L to R) Dean Jennifer Johnson and Emeritus Dean and Professor of Law Jim Huffman.

April 2, 2022

(L to R) Brandon Kline’15, LLM ’16, Dean Jennifer Johnson, Román Hernández ’00 and Peter Ricoy ’05.

The Lewis & Clark Law School Distinguished Honors Awards recognized the following for their accomplishments and service to the law school and community. Román D. Hernández ’00 was named Distinguished Graduate, Emeritus Dean and Professor of Law Jim Huffman, was named Honorary Graduate, Jeremiah Rigsby ’14 received the Rising Star Award, and Amira Streeter ’13 received the Community Spirit Award.

Román Hernández has a national litigation practice and focuses on employment law and commercial litigation as office managing partner of Troutman Pepper’s Portland office. Hernández is the former President of the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA), and also served as the first-ever chair of the Oregon Community Foundation’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion board. In March of 2020, Hernández was selected by Mayor Ted Wheeler to serve on the mayor’s COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force.

Professor Huffman originally joined the Lewis & Clark Law School faculty in 1973. He was appointed acting dean in 1993 and dean in 1994, and returned to full-time teaching in 2006. Huffman has been a fellow at the Humane Studies Institute and a distinguished Bradley scholar at the Heritage Foundation. Huffman now serves on the board of the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Environment and Property Rights Practice Group of the Federalist Society. Huffman is the author of three books and more than 100 articles and chapters on a wide range of topics.

(L to R) Dean Jennifer Johnson, Jeremiah Rigsby ’14 and Molly Marcum ’82.Jeremiah Rigsby serves as the chief of staff of CareOregon and helps to develop and advocate for Medicaid and Medicare policy. Before moving to Oregon, Jeremiah was a congressional aide to U.S. representatives Henry Cuellar and Kurt Schrader, focusing on health-care policy through the development and passage of the Affordable Care Act.

Amira Streeter serves as the climate, energy, and transportation policy advisor for Governor Kate Brown ’85. Prior to this position, she worked as a policy director for the Portland city commissioner, and as a policy analyst and legislative liaison for Senator Lew Fredrick. Streeter has also had many leadership positions with environmental organizations, such as the Environmental Professionals of Color, the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club, and the Oregon Environmental Council. Streeter is also a recipient of the 2020 Women of Achievement Award from the Oregon Commission for Women.

(L to R) Lawrence Pittman ’18, Amira Streeter ’13 and Dean Jennifer Johnson.