[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 36 (Monday, March 7, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E281]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN RECOGNITION OF PATRICIA BRESEE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 7, 2016

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor my good friend Patricia 
Bresee, a highly respected and recognized expert in juvenile law, who 
has served on the Board of Directors of the California Court Appointed 
Special Advocates (CASA) for nine years as a remarkable leader with 
exceptional integrity and the capacity to inspire everyone around her. 
Pat Bresee's devotion to children is unmatched and she has dedicated 
her entire professional life to advocate for those in need. We are very 
fortunate that she will continue her advocacy for children in the 
dependency system through service on the Board of Directors for 
National CASA.
  Pat served as a Superior Court Commissioner in San Mateo County for 
15 years. She was assigned to sit as a Juvenile Court Judge, handling 
dependency and delinquency issues and adoptions and guardianships. She 
was one of the original members of the California Judicial Council's 
Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee and served as the chair of 
the Juvenile Law Rules and Forms Committee. She teaches at the 
California Center for Judicial Education and trains attorneys and 
judicial officers in Juvenile Delinquency Law. She still manages to 
find time to be a regular presenter at Beyond the Bench and fills in as 
a judge at the Juvenile Court in San Mateo County.
  Her commitment to fight for justice is unwavering and she has freely 
volunteered her expertise and time to a number of organizations 
including the American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley, the Peninsula 
Community Foundation, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the San 
Mateo County First Five Commission, and most importantly, California 
CASA. I had the great honor and pleasure of working with Pat in her 
role at the San Mateo County Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention Commission and the San Mateo County Blue Ribbon Commission 
on Children in Foster Care. Both commissions made recommendations on 
ways in which the courts could improve safety, permanency, well-being 
and fairness for children and families in our state.
  Pat's outstanding work has been proclaimed by the California Judges 
Association in 1994 when she was named Juvenile Court Judge of the Year 
and again in 1998 by National CASA as Judge of the Year. Judge Bresee 
graduated from Purdue University and earned her law degree from San 
Francisco Law School. She was admitted into the State Bar of California 
in 1972. When she is not fighting for justice, Pat likes to travel, 
attend the theater, read and lift weights.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in 
honoring the truly remarkable legal career of Patricia Bresee who 
continues to dedicate her life to advocate for children and thereby 
improves society as a whole. She is an outstanding example of a person 
with a moral compass who brings out the best in others.

                          ____________________