A Project of
the San Diego County Commission on the Status of Women and Girls,
the Women's Museum of California,
SDSU Women's Studies Department, and UCSD Women's Center.
Betty Evans Boone
2013
Empowerer
Betty Evans Boone's efforts to improve the lives of women in San Diego encompassed more than four decades of active participation in the Lawyers Club, her work to increase the hiring of female lawyers in San Diego in the 1960s, and her extensive community service and mentoring. The Lawyers Club is dedicated to the advancement of women in the legal field, and Betty has held many leadership roles within the organization.
The only child of two working parents in the segregated South, Betty obtained an undergraduate and master's degree in Business Administration after marrying her high school sweetheart. In 1959, she enrolled in law school at the University of San Diego and began her long relationship with the law and legal services. Although married, working full time, and with two young children, she graduated as the second woman to receive a law degree from the University of San Diego in 1964. She left behind the beginnings of the San Diego Law Review.
In addition to her legal career, Betty actively mentored women law graduates and developed networks within the legal community. She collaborated with other female lawyers to expose the absence of women in the San Diego District Attorney's office and worked with members of local government entities to address this problem. Betty demonstrated her devotion to female empowerment through her legal work, her mentorship of up-and-coming female lawyers, and her interest in preserving the history of the Lawyers Club.