Quarles & Brady LLP Managing Partner Nicole Stanton was honored by the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS with its 2016 Outstanding Achievement Award during the organization’s 21st Annual Night for Life Gala, which took place on Saturday, May 14 at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“The Night for Life Outstanding Achievement Award recognizes an individual who has had a monumental, personal impact on achieving our mission, which is to reduce infection, improve quality of life and contribute to worldwide HIV/AIDS research,” said Cindy Quenneville, CEO of the Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS. “In addition to co-chairing our Night for Life Gala in 2014, Nicole was also the co-chair of the Inaugural Red Brunch, a community event hosted by Aunt Rita’s Foundation that funded 16 local AIDS service organizations. Nicole continues to be a spokesperson for this cause by speaking at public gatherings, most recently the World AIDS Day Candlelight Vigil in Phoenix, which included the presentation of panels from the Names Project Memorial Quilt.”
In addition to her position as office manager partner at Quarles & Brady and as a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation Group, Stanton is the founder of The Dion Initiative for Child Well-Being and Bullying Prevention at Arizona State University, which is committed to promoting environments that foster children’s health, well-being, and academic success.
To accomplish this, The Dion Initiative brings together renowned educators, dedicated direct service providers, and private-sector innovators to create a greater understanding of the obstacles our children face and to develop and share evidenced-based and easily replicable programs that overcome those obstacles.
“The seeds for The Dion Initiative, which is named for my late brother Dion who was bullied relentlessly as a child and teen for his sexual orientation, began when I launched a Stop Bullying AZ Initiative at an anti-bullying summit at Arizona State University’s Tempe campus in 2012,” Stanton said. “The summit provided about 300 school administrators with information and strategies to help stop bullying in schools. The support we received from educators, local and national leaders, parents, and students was overwhelming. So much so, in fact, in 2015 Stop Bullying AZ was renamed the Dion Initiative and is now under the direction of ASU President, Dr. Michael Crow.”
Recently elected to the American Law Institute as a member and the Arizona Equal Justice Foundation board of directors, Stanton serves the local Phoenix community as a founding board member and past president of the Women’s Metropolitan Arts Council of the Phoenix Art Museum as well as a member of Charter 100 Women.
She also is an adjunct professor at Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law teaching professional responsibility, and served as a member of the Business Court Advisory Committee.
A graduate of Valley Leadership Class XXIX, Stanton is a recent recipient of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) Phoenix Ally Award, which is given annually to local leaders who advocate for safe and respectful schools and create positive change for all students, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth, and was named as the 2015 “Philanthropic Leader of the Year” at the 8th Annual Positively Powerful Woman Awards. She is a past YWCA of Maricopa County’s Tribute to Women honoree in the Business Leader category. Stanton has also been honored as one of the “Most Admired Leaders in Arizona” by the Phoenix Business Journal and “50 Most Influential Women in Business” by AZ Business Magazine.
Stanton received her law degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Arizona and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah.
