Gladys Kessler

Gladys Kessler (January 22, 1938 – March 16, 2023) was a United States district judge of the District Court for the District of Columbia. Education and career After receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University and Bachelor of Laws from Harvard Law School, she was hired by the National Labor Relations Board. She worked as a legislative assistant to Senator Harrison A. Williams (D–NJ), and subsequently for United States Congressman Jonathan B. Bingham (D–NY). Kessler worked for the New York City Board of Education, and then opened a public interest law firm. Judicial career Superior Court of the District of Columbia service In June 1977, she was appointed as an associate judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, and from 1981 to 1985 served as presiding judge of the family division. She was president of the National Association of Women Judges from 1983 to 1984, and served on the executive committee of the American Bar Association Conference of Federal Trial Judges and the U.S. Judicial Conference's Committee on Court Administration and Management.