While all of us here at The Daily Record celebrated the Top 100 Women across the state Monday, another woman on the other side of the country reached a milestone for women in the courts.

Jacqueline H. Nguyen of Los Angeles was confirmed as a judge on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday. The appointment makes her the first Asian Pacific American woman judge on a federal appellate court.

Nguyen came to the United States in 1975 after fleeing Vietnam and studied during breaks while helping her parents at their donut shop in Hollywood, according to the Los Angeles Times.

She went to UCLA School of Law, was appointed to the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 2002 and was chosen by President Barack Obama as a federal judge for the Central District of California in 2009.

The Ninth Circuit Court, where Nguyen was appointed, has jurisdiction over the federal district courts in Hawaii, Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

What did you do during breakfast this morning? If you’re like most people, you skimmed the local paper, grumbled at the weather report, checked your e-mail or tried to keep your kids from ripping each others’ hair out.

Well, my Thursday started much differently than it usually does. Over coffee and a bagel, I discussed abortion, homosexuality, HIV and religion with some of the world’s foremost feminist thinkers.

I had the pleasure and the privilege to start my day at University of Baltimore School of Law’s Feminist Legal Theory Conference. Before the program had even begun, lively chatter broke out among a number of presenters sitting at my table. Though the discourse changed as I slowly drained my cup, the underlying concern on everyone’s mind was apparent: How can we improve the lives of women around the world through legal practice and policy?

The event, in its fourth year, featured guest speaker Toni Morrison (above) – whom, I’m sorry to say, I missed because tickets went like hotcakes — as well as panels on reproductive health, socio-economics, women in combat and feminist activism.

Though I won’t bore you with my own opinions on these pressing global issues,  I will implore you — when this conference comes around again next year, sign up.

I only wish I could start my day the feminist way every morning.