Nurtured in Texas and California, Emalie Monarrez Ortega grew up to be an intelligent woman of grit and humor. While she was an English professor at Chabot College, she co-advised the Chicano Student Union, marking the start of her advocacy for Mexican American students. And when she attended Stanford Law School to earn her J.D., she served as the school’s first Latina student body president, continuing to break barriers as the first Latina attorney in Santa Clara County. Emalie worked as a criminal defense lawyer for over 30 years. Outside of the courtroom, she was a loving mother and grandmother and served as the former administrator and director of SCU’s Institute for Paralegal Education. On June 8, 2019, Emalie passed away. She is survived by two daughters, Kristin and Kathryn, and two grandsons, Alec and Jared.