Attorney Amy Kerr Parker-My Nomination for Pittsburgh's 40 Under 40
Like many other major cities, Pittsburgh has a "40 under 40" program. 
Sponsored by PUMP and Pittsburgh magazine, the program recognizes 40 Pittsburghers under the age of 40 who have demonstrated a committment to shaping up our region and making it a better place.As per the program's website, http://www.40under40pittsburgh.org, over the past ten years, the program has honored a vast array of people - ranging from corporate CEOs to nonprofit volunteers, from people working behind the scenes to those on the front lines.
This year I felt compelled to nominate my business colleague and dear friend, and fellow Southsider, Amy Kerr Parker, a '97 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh undergraduate program and 2001 graduate of Pitt law school.Currently, Amy is a litigation attorney in the law firm of Fox Rothschild LLP. She represents employers in employment law actions, including sexual harassment, age, gender, and disability discrimination actions. She also represents clients in breach of contract and other complex commercial litigation matters. She also counsels clients regarding risk management issues, including the development of employment policies and diversity training.http://www.foxrothschild.com
Here is what I wrote .....Amy Kerr Parker
I met fellow lawyer Amy Kerr Parker six years ago when I first moved back to Pittsburgh after my 7 year stint in another city. A multi-faceted, articulate, razor-sharp lawyer, Amy is one of the many reasons why I now love calling Pittsburgh my hometown. Like so many of us from this Steel Valley, Amy lived in other metropolitan towns but chose to return, bringing her time and talent back to the Pittsburgh region.On numerous occasions, I have watched Amy work tirelessly as one of only a handful of women at two of our city’s top-notch large law firms, bringing her strong work ethic and intelligence to her legal craft. I also witnessed Amy in a prestigious and rigorous law clerk position for the Honorable Nora Barry Fischer, a judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. During this clerkship, she managed Judge Fischer's 11 law student interns and worked into the wee hours of the night to churn out judicial opinions.A graduate of the Coro Women in Leadership Program, Amy is dedicated not only to her profession but also to our Pittsburgh community. With a readily apparent belief that one of her roles as a lawyer is also to bring about social change, and with an obvious dedication to shaping the Pittsburgh region, Amy has served in numerous volunteer capacities. Despite the pressures of working as a commercial litigator in a large law firm and now being the mother of an adorable two-year old boy, Amy serves as the Vice President of the Board and Chair of the Development and Strategic Planning Committees for Lydia’s Place, a non-profit dedicated to helping incarcerated women and their children in Allegheny County. She has also served as a volunteer for Girls on the Run and Animal Friends.
Finally, Amy is committed to mentoring young women lawyers in Pittsburgh. She hopes that, by grooming women to serve as leaders, she can change the culture in the Pittsburgh legal market to be more appealing to women lawyers, in an effort to promote retention. To that end, she also serves on Fox Rothschild's Women's Initiative, a committee designed to promote career development for women lawyers in her firm.I will never forget running Pittsburgh’s Great Race for the first time with Amy Parker, nor the umpteens walks with our dogs on South Side’s River Trail, nor the time we blazed across the Steeler 5k finish line with our new babies in baby strollers.Amy Kerr Parker continues to impress and inspire me with her professional, personal, and community achievements. She is a well-rounded, renaissance woman who epitomizes the best of Pittsburgh. With a most fervent nomination, I nominate Amy Kerr Parker as a winner of Pittsburgh’s 40 Under 40 program. I cannot wait to see how she will continue to change the Pittsburgh region and make it a better place for all of us.Amy's contact information:http://www.foxrothschild.com/attorneys/bioDisplay.aspx?id=4424Fox Rothschild LLP625 Liberty Avenue29th FloorPittsburgh, PA 15222-3115Tel: 412.394.6585Fax 412.391.6984AParker@foxrothschild.com