June 4, 2019 / Press Release

WELD names Edelman, Wong-Halabi as 2020 Women WELDing the Way® honorees

The Columbus Chapter of Women for Economic and Leadership Development (WELD) announced the 2020 Women WELDing the Way® honorees and the list includes two Porter Wright attorneys -- Joyce Edelman and Michelle Wong-Halabi. Women WELDing the Way® honors women who are high impact leaders within their organizations, support the leadership of other women, give time, talent and resources to their community, and invest in the growth of women-owned businesses.

Joyce Edelman is a partner with more than 30 years' experience representing clients in a variety of industries in high exposure civil litigation. Over the course of her career, Joyce has worked to make a difference in the lives of women and champion diversity and inclusion by increasing awareness of issues for women in the legal profession and for women in the legal system, and involvement in many legal and community organizations addressing issues of gender equity.

Joyce founded and chairs the firm's Women's Leadership Initiative, is on the steering committee of a consortium of Columbus law firms that formed to address issues of gender equity in the legal industry, and is a founding member of the Ohio Women’s Bar Association (OWBA).

Michelle Wong-Halabi recently joined Porter Wright as a partner. She focuses her practice on estate planning and wealth preservation. She also advises professional athletes and coaches on their complex personal and business needs.

Michelle is known for actively advocating for women for internal advancement and leadership roles and serves  as a mentor for younger women attorneys and minority colleagues. In the community, she has been extremely involved with Susan G. Komen Columbus, which organizes the largest Race for the Cure in the United States. Michelle is an inaugural member and past chair of the Komen Young Professionals group, and past member of the Board of Directors.

Porter Wright would also like to congratulate the other recipients of this honor:

  • Victoria Beckman, Partner, Frost Brown Todd
  • Toni Cunningham, Managing Director, Per Scholas
  • Claudia Herrington, Esq., CCEP, Senior Director of Compliance, JobsOhio
  • Mary Howard, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, Executive Director, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, East Hospital
  • Erika Clark Jones, Executive Director, CelebrateOne, City of Columbus
  • Deborah Manos-McHenry, Senior Vice President and Consumer Finance Technology Operations Director, The Huntington National Bank
  • Somers Martin, Director, Small & Diverse Businesses, Columbus Chamber
  • Terri W. Meldrum, Esq., Senior Vice President and General Counsel, OhioHealth Corporation
  • Jennifer Peterson, Chief Executive, Easton, Steiner + Associates
  • Élise Spriggs, Senior Vice President, Associate and External Relations, State Auto Insurance Companies

WELD will honor the achievements of all of the 12 honorees in their annual Women WELDing the Way® calendar and during a reception at the Ohio Statehouse on November 7, 2019 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm.