Atty. Sheila Parrish-Spence has been sworn in as a Milwaukee County Supplemental Court Commissioner by the Honorable Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Ana Berrios-Schroeder. Atty. Parrish-Spence continues the family legacy of her father, the late Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Clarence Parrish. He was the first black lawyer in Milwaukee County to win an election – it was a contested judicial race, too. He graduated from St. John’s University School of Law in Queens, New York, and furthered his legal education and graduated from the University of Wisconsin School of Law. Before being elected as a Milwaukee County judge, her father was a magistrate and a judicial court commissioner. Atty. Parrish-Spence’s mother, Mildred Parrish, served on the board of trustees at Alverno College under Sister Joel Read and served on Marquette University committees with Father Raynor, president and chancellor of the Marquette University. Mildred was also owner and publisher of Excellence Magazine and a Marquette University graduate. Those in attendance in person or by Zoom included Judge Lena Taylor, Atty. Parrish-Spence’s son, Jonathan Clarence Parrish Spence, who lives on the East Coast, relatives, friends, and members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, of which Atty. Parrish-Spence is a Golden Soror for 50 years of service, and Karuna Rekhraj, CFRM, of North Carolina Central University School of Law. Other organizations that Atty Parrish-Spence is a part of are the Milwaukee Links, Inc. and Cream City Links, Inc., Top Ladies of Distinction, a member of both St. Mark AME Church and Christ the King Baptist Church, which were in attendance at the swearing in. Atty. Parrish- Spence is a graduate of North Carolina Central University School of Law, an historically black college and university (HBCU).
