The National Council of Jewish Women-St. Louis Section will honor Denise Lieberman with its 2015 Hannah G. Solomon Founder’s Award at its Celebrating Women event, a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26 at Neiman Marcus. The award is NCJW’s highest honor; past recipients include Frankie Muse Friedman, Vivian Zwick (a former president of the Jewish Light), Karen Aroesty, Rabbi Susan Talve and State Sen. Joan Bray. 

Lieberman, a St. Louis native, is a prominent activist on a variety of civil rights and liberty issues, which are central to NCJW’s mission.  She is currently senior attorney with Advancement Project, a national racial justice organization that works to remove systemic barriers to voting. 

A seasoned constitutional and civil rights lawyer, Lieberman works to support broad voter protection initiatives in Missouri and nationwide, engaging in policy analysis, lobbying, legal advocacy, litigation and community building to advance electoral reform.  A nationally recognized expert on voting rights, she has prepared testimony for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and has been featured as a voting expert on MSNBC, CNN, the New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today. 

Lieberman is currently involved in litigating a landmark case under the Voting Rights Act in North Carolina that was recently featured in the New York Times Magazine and other media outlets. Representing the North Carolina NAACP, the suit challenges the first restrictive new voting law passed after the Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling which removed several key provisions of the Voting Rights Act. She has also brought lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Missouri challenging discriminatory Voter Photo ID laws. 

Lieberman is an adjunct professor at Washington University, where she teaches courses on constitutional law, civil rights and voting rights. She co-chairs the Don’t Shoot Coalition, a diverse coalition of more than 50 local organizations calling for dismantling of racially based policing. 

Tickets are $36 or $120 to become an event sponsor. For more information or to register for the Celebrating Women event, go to ncjwstl.org/events.