Pamela Scott Washington
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Washington was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and spent some time as a child in Jackson, Mississippi.[2][4] In 1975, when she was in the 8th grade, her stepfather moved the family to Anchorage, Alaska.[2][4] She attended Clark Middle School for one year.[2][4] The family then moved to Eagle River, Anchorage.[2] She was graduated from Chugiak High School in Chugiak, Alaska in 1980.[1][2][4][3] She was the only black girl in her class.[1][3]
She was graduated from Northern Arizona University with a degree in telecommunications in 1984 and then earned a J.D. degree from Arizona State University College of Law in 1991.[4][5]
Career
After law school, Washington returned to Alaska and clerked in the Public Defender Agency and for Alaska Superior Court Judge John Reese.[4] For the next 13 years, Washington was in private practice operating in the areas of family law, employment law, criminal defense, and personal injury.[4] In 2006, she became a domestic violence prosecutor for the Municipality of Anchorage's Department of Law, Criminal Division.[5][4] As a lawyer, she was frequently the only black attorney in the courthouse.[3]
Washington was appointed as a judge on August 9, 2010, by Governor Sean Parnell.[4][1][2][5] She was installed on November 5, 2010.[6] In the spring of 2010, Washington was an adjunct faculty member at the University of Alaska Anchorage.[5][4][6]