The Oregon Hispanic Bar Association (OHBA) celebrated Professor Susan Felstiner as the inaugural recipient of the Alianza Award, a recognition of allies whose sustained partnership and advocacy have uplifted the Latin/x community in exceptional ways.
The award was presented at the OHBA’s annual awards dinner in fall 2025, recognizing outstanding Latine attorneys, law students, and legal professionals across Oregon. In the words of Dean Alicia Ouellette, this was “a large, moving, and emotional event, with speakers and folks in the crowd sharing heartfelt stories.”
Reflecting on the award, Professor Festiner remarked, “This award is the most meaningful honor of my career.” Professor Felstiner explained, “I enjoy mentoring and connecting with students. I truly learn from them just as much as they learn from me.”
As one of the founding members of the OHBA, Professor Felstiner’s ongoing goal has been to build a legal community where law students would feel both comfortable and welcome practicing law in Oregon. With a large percentage of the Oregon legal community being Latine, she and her cofounders aimed to build a bar and a bench that represented the people of Oregon. “That starts with building a community here so that law students know that they have people who look like them, who have gone through similar experiences and issues as them,” Professor Felstiner said. Professionally fluent in Spanish, she has spent much of her legal career providing culturally specific legal services to the Latine business community.
The honor of receiving the Alianza Award itself was compounded by the fact that it was presented to Professor Felstiner by Silvia Tanner ’15, a Lewis & Clark alumna, and a student and mentee of Felstiner. Silvia first met Felstiner during her second year at Lewis & Clark when she was the LLS representative for the OHBA, and their connection continued to develop when she interned at the Small Business Legal Clinic twice, serving as the Student Director the second time.
“Professor Felstiner is one of those people who go above and beyond for her mentees,” Silvia effused, “She saw what I could bring to the legal community before I could see it believed in me before I could believe in myself. She supported me with care and dedication. She centered my needs and was there in ways that I did not know I needed at the time, but that looking back I see were crucial to my wellbeing… I strive to model my mentorship after all that Susan gave me. It was beautiful to have had the opportunity to present the award to her.”
Reflecting on the years of work that led up to this award, Professor Felstiner concluded that “the relationships that I’ve built from founding the OHBA and being involved for as many years have been integral to my growth as a lawyer and satisfaction in my career. I take pride in and celebrate how the OHBA has grown over the years through the dedication and leadership of the folks who have taken the helm and moved it forward. The many talented and dedicated OHBA attorneys have made the Oregon bar stronger.”
