NACC is pleased to announce the 2025 winners of the Promoting Excellence Awards. Each year, NACC honors lawyers, law students, and children’s law offices or agencies that raise the bar and set the standard of excellence in the field of child welfare law. These remarkable advocates help improve the lives of children and families.
2025 Promoting Excellence Award Winners:
Outstanding Legal Advocate: Melissa Colangelo, Appellate Director, Children’s Law Center, Washington DC
Outstanding New Lawyer: Samantha Zabo, Attorney, Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada
Outstanding Law Student: Jenna Matthews, Nashville School of Law
Outstanding Children’s Law Office: Child Advocacy Unit, Defender Association of Philadelphia
Distinguished Achievement: Howard Talenfeld, Partner, Justice for Kids Division, Kelley Kronenberg Attorneys at Law; Board President, Florida’s Children First
NACC will honor these award winners at the 48th National Child Welfare Law Conference in Cleveland in August and online in November. Please join us in congratulating them!